Soccer boys win a pair
Vineyard showdown here tonight
BY LINDAWILLIAMS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Nantucket boys' varsity soccer team had a successful week, racking up two wins in a row against Lighthouse Conference foes and ending the week with a 2-1-1 record.

Last Tuesday, Nantucket traveled to Cape Cod Academy to face a very strong squad. Thanks to a goal by senior co-captain Martin Manov in his first game coming off the disabled list, and an assist by Carl Stevens, Nantucket squeaked by with a 1-0 win. Coach Rich Brannigan praised his midfielders. "We dominated the midfield on both sides of the ball, which was key and in the second half CCA never got past the midfield line."

Senior goalkeeper Russell Bartlett only had to make five saves in the first half and one in the second to preserve the win. "CCA is a good team and had just tied Harwich 1-1. They are always strong in soccer because they only have golf and running in the fall. All of their top athletes play soccer."

On Thursday, Nantucket romped over Provincetown, 7-0. Provincetown is clearly going through a rebuilding period with all of the outstanding players from a few seasons ago having graduated. There were several middle school players on the field against seasoned Nantucket upperclassmen. Brannigan started substituting JV players after only about 15 minutes into the first half and the entire JV squad took the field for the final 15 minutes in the second half, including Alex Perkins who went in for Bartlett between the posts and made several stops to get the shutout.

Several players scored, with varsity players Manov tallying two and Stevens, Emerson Guzman and Brian Tarcitano providing one each. The final two goals were scored by JV players Luke Daniels and Roneik Gordon. Brannigan was pleased with the way the team played, particularly the JVs.

Nantucket is off to a good start. "I am not disappointed where we are after only four games," Brannigan added. "Last year we were 1-2-1 at this point. I do not expect us to be blown out by anyone on the schedule this year." Nantucket will get a chance to continue on a win streak tonight when Martha's Vineyard visits Nantucket under the lights for a 6 p.m. match on the football field.

The JVs will play at 4 p.m.

In other action, the Nantucket varsity girls' team opened up the season against always strong Mashpee, losing a nail-biter 1-0. The team then faced Cape Cod Academy, a Lighthouse foe, narrowly going down by one goal again, 3-2. The first win came last Tuesday against another Lighthouse opponent, Provincetown, off island, when they trounced the Fisherpeople, 9-1. Scoring was spread out among the team, with Kate MacLellan, Shantal Hanniford and Aileen Fredericks contributing two goals each, and Grace MacLellan, Justine Paradis and Samantha Lockley adding one each in the win. Sarah Poor was in goal for the match.

In a complete reversal of fortune, the team then faced powerhouse Coyle-Cassidy in Taunton this past Saturday, losing, 9-1 with Nantucket's lone goal coming from Brianna Vittorini off a feed from Grace MacLellan.

The girls take on the Vineyard

(on the Vineyard) tonight. I