The girls soccer team’s playoff run ended Sunday afternoon when they fell to Bishop Fenwick 2-1 in Peabody.
After a 10-win season and successful defense of their golden anchor trophy against Nantucket, the girls took an early lead on the Crusaders as Iyla Story netted a goal with an assist from Eleanor Mone. Story, a freshman, scored on a perfectly placed chip shot in the 16th minute.
Unfortunately, soon after going ahead, the Vineyarders surrendered two counter attack goals and that was all of the scoring for the contest as purple struggled to recapture their offensive groove. Their opponents’ high press was successful in double-teaming and swarming the Vineyard center midfielders making it difficult to play the ball wide and forcing play to the middle.
“We wanted to take advantage of the wings because that’s where they were the weakest and we just couldn’t execute,” Coach Matt Malowski said.
Despite the first-round exit, this was an impressive season for a team that lost a lot of talent from last year in graduating seniors and school transfers. Freshmen and sophomores up and down the roster showed great poise in critical roles and big situations, which resulted in wins and allowed them to gain valuable varsity experience to build on for next year.
“All things considered, I thought the girls earned the right to play in the postseason and we had a lot of players stepping up into new positions and roles,” Coach Malowski said.
He also said a lot of the girls’ success this season could be attributed to their leadership.
We have a very kind and supportive group of seniors and we will miss them.”
In other high school sports news, the football team officially captured a second consecutive Cape and Islands League Lighthouse Division title with a 27-6 win over Saint John Paul II at home Thursday and Nantucket’s forfeit loss to Monomoy.
The Vineyarders took their opening drive in for a touchdown on a Matthew MacMillian jet sweep from five yards out. Then, on their opponent’s first drive, Landon Mederios snagged an interception and Guilherme Oliveria ran one in from 11 yards out to put the Vineyard up 14-0.
In the second half, quarterback William Nicholson found a wide-open MacMillian for a 19-yard touchdown strike then Oliveria had an interception and punched it in for another score from one yard out.
Up next, the boys will play at home at least once more before the showdown at Fenway Park with Nantucket for the Island Cup. With the season transitioning to the playoffs but the Vineyarders missing the cut, they will have to wait to find out who they will play in the consolation bracket. This week’s opponent is still to be determined as of Sunday evening.
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