High hopes for new jv girls' soccer squad
BY LINDAWILLIAMS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The new junior varsity girls' squad is being coached by "K" Bradford, who describes herself as "a paralegal by day and a soccer coach by night." She has had some coaching experience helping out with siblings' teams in New Hampshire, but this experience at the high school level is her first. Bradford developed a relationship with several of the girls on the team when she acted as assistant coach for one of the NSSA spring travel teams earlier this year.

The young team has been working on becoming a unit over the past three weeks, starting out with an early scrimmage against a tough North Quincy team, losing 4-1. "They played really well and it was mostly luck for North Quincy as three goals rolled in with only one really good shot on net," Bradford said. Julia Crosby netted Nantucket's lone goal.

Nantucket then faced an aggressive Mashpee team for the first game of the season, losing again 4-1. Bradford attributed the loss to several injuries to key players due to injuries resulting from rough play. Co-captain Crosby was tripped then kicked and went down. Cocaptain Winnie Maggs twisted her ankle as well. Bradford praised Maggs' play. "She does not hold back and always goes full force forward, taking advantage of every chance. She gets a lot of injuries because of that but never backs down."

Last Tuesday the squad faced off against Cape Cod Academy. Maggs went down again and ended up with a hairline fracture of her wrist in a similar accident that took out starting player Devon Kohler on the boys' varsity team the same week. In a solid performance, Nantucket tallied its first win, 2-0, with the first goal off a spectacular angled shot from deep into the right corner from Grace MacLellan. Carly Jensen scored the second off an assist by MacLellan. Bradford praised the two girls. "Grace has a great foot for crossing from corners and Carly thinks really fast. When she looks up and sees an opening she goes for it without hesitation."

The team squared off against Coyle-Cassidy in a match that was delayed due to unsafe field conditions brought to the referees' attention by Bradford. During a field inspection, which should have been done by the referees, Bradford found that the nets were not stabilized and the nets not attached properly to the posts. She would not let the players take the field until the situation was rectified. "The refereeing was less than adequate and they appeared to not have had a lot of experience allowing such stuff as illegal substitutions. Couple that together with the net problems, the terrible field conditions with only a few patches of real grass and the rain, we had a lot of stuff working against us," Bradford added. "Despite that, we played a really good game and made our best effort, only losing 3-0."

Bradford also noted that some new players have joined the team in the past week, giving the squad a full roster of 13 players. The JVs usually have varsity keeper Sarah Poor at game time, but junior Parinda Darden has stepped in to take the position when necessary. "She took her position in the net on Saturday and saved our rears but she is really good at it," Bradford noted. First timer Lindsay Fry has also expressed an interest in learning the position.

Bradford also has high praise for sweeper Cecilia Gutierrez, a sophomore defensive powerhouse, getting her first real field experience. "She controls the defense and is very vocal on the field."

Bradford is excited about the future. "The team is getting better each day and with each practice. Our next game is going to be the big one. It has been a quick season and we need to make the most out of it. They are beginning to bond and there is a lot of potential on the team."

Both girls' JV and varsity teams will meet Martha's Vineyard tonight over in the land of the purple on the

"other" island. I