Varsity boys soccer squad falls just short of top spot
BY LINDAWILLIAMS
It was 6:38 p.m. Thursday night in Brockton when the final whistle blew and Cinderella's

Jubilation ... and frustration capped a memorable season for the boys' soccer team. Yuve Montenegro (above) dives for the ball that is just out of reach during Saturday's Division 3 final. Below, Nantucket players celebrate at Rocky Marciano Stadium in Brockton after beating Seekonk Thursday night.

clock refused to strike midnight for the seventhseeded Nantucket varsity boys soccer team, a squad that found itself improbably marching to the Division 3 South final for the first time. In fact, it was the first time any Nantucket team had worked its way through any bracket in any sport to vie for a championship. "It was a real team effort and everyone stepped up to the plate," praised Coach Rich Brannigan. The team knocked out sixth-seeded Seekonk, 1-0, a team that trounced Nantucket, 6-0, last year in the postseason. Seekonk's team was back with 15 seniors out of 21 players on the roster to Nantucket's five seniors.

No team really gained the advantage for several minutes, with Seekonk playing long ball and Nantucket using the finesse for which it is known to control the ball. Caleb Mitchell was outstanding in mid-field, hunting down every ball as if it was "his ball and he was going to get it back," as one parent put it. A nearby Seekonk parent expressed general frustration with Nantucket's defense. "A Nantucket player is always in the way no matter where the ball is."

Eleven minutes in, Nantucket finally got on the board when Yuve Montenegro, having been dragged down and hurt on a play with no call, got back up in time to one-touch the rebounded ball, tapping it back into the net. Seekonk constantly kept fresh legs on the field, substituting every few minutes, trying to break up Nantucket's momentum.

In the second half, Seekonk stepped up the aggressive and physical play that must have been the reason that the team made it to the semi-finals, overpowering Nantucket and sending players tumbling to the turf. Seekonk neutralized Caio Correa, but left him enough room to constantly feed other charging players headed to the net.

Man of the match would have to be Jon Gray, along with the entire defensive line of Henry Farrell, Jasper Young, Martin Manov and senior captain Toby Glidden. Without Gray's effort, Seekonk would certainly have scored, particularly when coach Brannigan changed to a strictly defensive formation in the second half to protect the slim lead, with Philipe Bazilio the lone striker. This allowed Seekonk to keep a majority of the tense action down in Nantucket's end. On the wings, Harrison O'Rourke and Steven Cranston were instrumental in keeping Seekonk restricted to the mid-field area on any run on keeper Russell Bartlett who had another solid performance in the net.

Old Rochester depended on physical play during Saturday's title game. State scoring leader Caio Correa (10) is sent flying. He scored Nantucket's lone goal in the 3-1 loss. Jon Gray (3) was outstanding in both weekend games.

Nantucket went on a scouting trip to Quincy after the game to watch top-seeded Hanover fall to 20th seed Old Rochester Regional High School. Varsity girls soccer coach Jorge Rojas reported that Old Rochester "was really fast and aggressive and we would rather have faced Hanover than Old Rochester. It is going to be a tough matchup." Nantucket learned that the #20 ranking was very misleading.

THE FINALS You can say Nantucket deserved to be in the finals and that they had an unprecedented

stellar season, which would be correct. But sometimes a team does not have a chance when there are twelve opposing players on the field, one wearing a yellow shirt. In a game that saw Nantucket players pulled down by shirts, deliberately tripped and elbowed in the face without getting a call, the local squad rose to the occasion, and stayed in the match despite adversity.

There was nothing more Nantucket could have done to win the game. They left their hearts on the field of play but went down, 3-1. Nantucket was also hampered by the absence of two pivotal players, Steven Cranston and Martin Manov, who were key contributors during the season and instrumental in Thursday's win. Neither player was eligible to participate in the game with the pain evident on Manov's face as he stood behind the fence, not being able to help his team.

Despite all the factors against Nantucket, the team took control of the first half and outplayed Old Rochester. Nevertheless, Old Rochester's Kyle Amicicci was able to get past Nantucket's defenders to fire one past a diving Russell Bartlett to take the lead 13 minutes in. Nantucket knotted it ten minutes later when Correa took a pass from Mitchell and drove past defenders from just past mid-field into the right side of the box. He nailed a low skimming shot towards the far post, just curving it in. For Nantucket, Bartlett had several key saves during the match to keep Nantucket in the game.

Nantucket appeared to take the lead just before the break when Correa sent a shot in from deep in the right corner to a poaching Bazilio, who had the drop on the keeper to tap the ball past him for the temporary lead and pandemonium in the stands. Unfortunately, the official behind the play called offsides against Bazilio, notwithstanding the fact that a defensive player was clearly between him and the net.

Nantucket maintained the momentum going into the second half. Old Rochester tied up Correa but allowed Bazilio and Montenegro to engineer runs on the net, which inevitably ended with a body on the ground and no call for Nantucket.

Still tied at 1, the game changed dramatically when Bartlett was inexplicably given a yellow card with 33 minutes left for allegedly tripping an onrushing striker. It was evident that the player tripped on his own when Bartlett knocked the ball away without interfering with the progress of the player. A penalty kick was awarded Old Rochester, with Montenegro having to quickly don Bartlett's gloves to step into goal. He guessed correctly, diving to the right to block the shot from Conor Brown, but it sailed in just out of his reach.

The air visibly let out of Nantucket's sails. Instead of being tied at 2-2, with the nullified goal and the PK, Old Rochester had the lead, 2-1, forcing Nantucket to come from behind. As Old Rochester had not been called on the physical play, they stepped it up and visibly frustrated Nantucket players. With 26 minutes left, one of the most aggressive players was finally carded for a particularly brutal takedown of Glidden.

With 20 minutes left, Amicicci was able to get free, beating a tripped up Gray in the box. Bartlett overcommitted charging to the right, only to see the ball fly past for the open netter and a 3-1 lead. With little time left, Nantucket started to pepper the Old Rochester keeper, just missing the net. A second yellow card was finally issued to Amicicci for delay of game when he sent the ball a hundred feet out of bounds after a whistle with five minutes left. In an ironic twist, with the red card, Amicicci was not eligible to play in the Division 3 state semi-final game on Tuesday against the Division 3 North winner.

Bartlett continued to challenge Old Rochester attacks, and with six minutes left snagged a hard shot off a corner to keep Old Rochester out of the net again. Most notable about this was that Old Rochester left five players surrounding Correa alone at mid-field rather than stationed in the box for the corner, showing respect for a talented great young player.

Correa got one more scoring chance in stoppage time, picking up the ball beyond mid-field and threading through defenders. Normally if there is a call on a defender, there is no call to disrupt the forward movement if the offensive player maintains control. Unfortunately, the play was whistled dead, stopping Correa's progress just outside the 18 and allowing the defense to set up. Whatever advantage Correa had was lost and the game-ending whistle quickly blew.

The picture of a crushed Jon Gray kneeling at mid-field with his head in his hands epitomized the feelings of the team. Losing on an even playing field to a better team provides some feelings of accomplishment. Losing due to factors the team could not control leaves an unsettling taste. Afterwards, Correa was subdued. "The penalty kick should never have been given," he said. "The game turned around on that and we had to play against the clock. It was not easy. They never should have scored the third goal either. Our momentum was shifted after that." He praised his teammates. "I am very proud of everyone. We came so far this year and did so well. We deserved to be here."

Caleb Mitchell said, "The officials definitely did not call the best game they could. The penalty kick changed the course of the game, along with the goal being called back. We had the momentum going into the second half. Everything changed after that." He added that, "Caio was on the ground every time he got the ball and there were no calls." He was also proud of the season. "We had the best season ever."

Standing off to the side by himself and leaning on the railing gazing out at the pitch, an emotional Toby Glidden, a team mainstay for four years, was taking it all in one more time. He summed it all up. "It was hard thinking this was my last game for Nantucket. It is tough playing soccer every day with these guys and now seeing it end. It was a hard way to go out, but we will be okay."

Brannigan had mixed feelings about the game. "I was disappointed with the outcome but not disappointed with our players. I think the ref made the difference. Our guys were the better team, but sometimes the game is not fair. I think that was part of what happened this weekend." He was still amazed at the 17-4-1 season. "We played through adverse conditions including injuries. Everybody contributed considering that we did not have the same 11 on the field all season. That was cool. A game is one-third the team, one-third the opposition and one-third the referees, and we definitely won two-thirds of that game.

"There was nothing for them to hang their heads about," he reflected. "It was just awesome for the Nantucket community as a whole, and I am looking forward to seeing what the team can do next year."

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