NSSA Soccer
April 12 & 13
It was a mixed bag for NSSA soccer teams this past weekend, some sun, some rain, some conditions that sent teams scrambling to get off the field in approaching lightning. For the players, it was a mixed bag of results as well.

On a miserable Saturday morning the U11 girls traveled to Mashpee. Initially intimidated by the opposition's physical size, Nantucket soon got down to business. In their third season as a team, Nantucket preserved its perfect record in not being scored on first, when Kate Daniels broke the ice at the ninth minute off passes from Haley Kinnerson and Nora MacLellan to take the slim lead into the half. Mashpee, momentarily stunned by the goal, repeatedly allowed Nantucket to keep the action in the Mashpee end, only getting off three shots on keeper Renee Perkins. After the half, Mashpee went on the attack, firing off ten quality shots on Perkins, who deflected every one for the 3-0 shutout. Daniels scored two more times for her second hat trick of the season, off assists from Margaret Troast and Kelli Molloy, respectively, who sent a long ball up to a waiting Daniels at mid-field, that allowed her to beat the defense.

At the same time the U13 girls, playing at home, opened up against last year's semi-final opponent Westport. Nantucket eked out the double overtime victory over Westport on their way to taking the championship trophy. This game did not disappoint, though the outcome was reversed with Nantucket narrowly losing 2-1. Though Nantucket dominated play for over 80 percent of the match, Westport, having learned its lesson well, came prepared. Each time a Nantucket player got within striking distance as many as five defensive players surrounded the player, preventing quality shots from being taken. However, in the first half Nantucket managed to fire off eleven shots to Westport's three. With only three minutes left in the half Westport got a break away to send the ball over the defense for a free shot past keeper Kate Freed to end the half one up. Nantucket's Alexa Crosby netted two minutes into the second to draw even. Play was more even until a patient Westport took advantage and inched head 2-1. "It was a good team effort for the squad's first game, but a tough way to start the season against what will probably be the team's toughest opponent this season" Assistant Coach Louisa Crosby said, "particularly for the younger players just coming up from a smaller field and 8 v 8 as opposed to full field and 11 v 11".

Also seeing action on Saturday were the U11 and U13 boys' teams. The U11boys lost their first game of the season to a skilled Martha's Vineyard squad on a neutral site in Falmouth amid lightening strikes that drove everyone back to their cars and buses in the soaking rain before the game could start. Riley Powers scored Nantucket's only goal on a beautiful run from the 30 off a precision forward pass from Ben Zieff, who had several good runs on the day himself.

Bourne was the second team in a row that wished they had never seen Nantucket's U13 boys team. After Nantucket trounced their opponent last week, Bourne fell victim to a 10-1 loss against a team that has already jelled at this early point in the season. Scoring was spread out among the players and started when Dana Sundell sent a pass from Ben Daniels into the corner five minutes into the game. Chris Sylvia, off a feed from Daniels scored six minutes later and Daniels then scored himself assisted by Sundell five minutes after that on a play that resulted from six consecutive passes beginning with Jojo Zieff in center fullback. Bourne scored its lone goal midway through the first half. The second half was all about Nantucket's taking control. Chris Sylvia scored four times with Caleb Gomes adding two more, one from a perfectly placed direct kick that soared into the goal from close to midfield. Sundell scored one more time on Gomes' sweet little chip over the defender's head for Sundell to tap in. Conrad Troast had several assists on the day. Keeper Christian Lombardi was unchallenged most of the match and had four saves.

Sunday saw stable weather conditions for the remaining teams. The new young U9 girls team lost to a more seasoned Sandwich Team #2 by 4-2 at home. Goalies Sophie Kuhl and Jillian Fey were steady in between the posts for Nantucket. Eliza Thomas and Sophie Kuhl accounted for Nantucket's two goals while Taylor McEachern and Charlotte Hofford had a good game in the field. Nantucket seemed to play stronger offensively than defensively with back and forth play. The U9 Team #2 boys traveled into the hot bed of soccer in Taunton and lost in their first off-island match of the season and first off-island competitive game of any kind for several boys.

The U15 boys took a tough Taunton team to the Delta Field mat earning the 1-0 squeaker. Though Nantucket had controlled a majority of play, the teams went into the break stuck at 0-0. It looked like the game would end in a draw until Jose Ramirez broke away with 15 minutes left on a through ball at mid field. He fired a low skimmer from the top of the 18 after the goalie had committed. In goal for Nantucket, Alex Perkins made at least 10 saves with the game ending save coming with about 10 to go as a Taunton player had managed to slip by the defense to send a laser shot towards a poaching striker poised to send the header in for the tie. Perkins handled the ball cleanly out of the air to end Taunton's last real scoring chance.

In the last home game on Sunday, the U10 boys racked up their second win this season by downing usually from

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second usually strong Freetown-Lakeville before the large home crowd 8-1. In goal for Nantucket were Timmy Earle, who had the first half shut out, and Jack Sylvia, who preserved the win in the second half. Their outstanding play made the difference. The first 15 minutes the game looked like it could have gone either way, with Freetown- Lakeville having the early momentum. Once Nantucket got clicking, Nantucket scored at will with Sylvia (1), Gus Day (2), Xander Raith (1), Ethan Wing (1) and Raheem Spence (2) tallying by using their passing, foot skill and speed advantage. Unfortunately Freetown-Lakeville could not catch a break and also scored on its own keeper. Adam Smart and Dominic Costanzo had strong games on defense for Nantucket. Coach Jess Mulson was enthusiastic about the win. "It was a true team win; everyone played equal minutes and all over the field. We had offense playing defense, defense playing offense, It was great!" Nantucket's bench will probably be too deep and strong for teams to get the upper hand on too

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