Game time is 4:30 p.m. under the lights at the regional high school field.
The boys ended their regular season with a 15-0-2 record and a perfect 8-0 Eastern Athletic Conference record. They are seeded number one in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletics Association division three south section tournament.
The Vineyard varsity boys’ soccer team closed out the regular season in similar fashion to the way they started it — by shutting out a challenging opponent.
The Vineyard boy’s soccer team was expected to be good this year — everyone from captains to coaches agrees on that — but no one thought they would be unbeaten.
Victory was in the air Saturday afternoon as five Vineyard sports teams hosted rival Nantucket at home under clear blue skies. Both of the varsity soccer teams shut out their Whaler opponents, while varsity field hockey and boys’ junior varisty soccer also earned wins. Junior varsity field hockey tied with Nantucket.
Football and soccer shined brightly for the Vineyard over the weekend. On the gridiron the Vineyarders picked up their first win of the season Friday night, defeating Randolph 18-6 in an away contest. On Saturday afternoon, both girls’ and boys’ soccer earned 1-0 wins over visiting Whitinsville Christian School. Field hockey fell to visiting Needham 2-0 on Saturday.
Football’s win Friday night was “mainly due to the special teams,” head coach Donald Herman said. “They were the heroes.”
The Vineyarders were on the wrong end of an offensive shootout during Saturday’s home game against the Brighton Bengals, falling 60-41.
The Vineyard jumped on the board first after senior back Joe Turney rushed for a five-yard touchdown, but Brighton answered with a score of its own on a 60 yard pass.
Regional high school students start classes later than usual this year, but the fall athletes are already on the fields preparing for the upcoming season. Mornings and evenings bring a flurry of activity to the quiet school campus as football, field hockey, cross country, soccer and golf shake off the summer haze and get down to business.
It’s a time of tryouts, when varsity and junior varsity teams are created, and a time of camaraderie as teammates work through drills and circuits. It is also exhausting.
Postseason play begins this weekend for the MV United travel soccer squads, who had an outstanding season even by the high standards of the Vineyard league. Of the eight teams in the program eligible for the South Coast Soccer League postseason, five made it to the playoffs: both under-11 boys’ squads, the under-13 girls’ team, the under-15 girls team, and the under-18 boys’ team. The under-18 team, largely sophomores, finished first in their division and will host Westport in the first round on Sunday at Veterans Field. Game time is at 1:30 p.m.
The playoff runs of field hockey and boys’ soccer ended this week, leaving football and cross country the only Vineyard teams still in action. Football takes on league opponent Coyle-Cassidy in an away game tomorrow at 1 p.m. Cross country travels to the Eastern Massachusetts Divisional Championship meet, held in Wrentham, tomorrow.
Football plays its second-to-last home game of the season tonight at 6:30 p.m., taking on Eastern Athletic Conference opponent Bishop Stang.
The field hockey squad took on Plymouth South in its first post-season game on Thursday afternoon. Game coverage is available online at www.mvgazette.com
Boys’ soccer plays its first tournament game in an away game against Scituate Sunday at 3:30 p.m., and the varsity cross country runners compete in the Coaches’ Invitational this Saturday in Wrentham.
