Boys soccer falls to Cardinal Spellman

PHOTO BY LINDA WILLIAMS

Striker Jose Ramirez takes control of the ball in last week's match against Cardinal Spellman. PHOTO BY LINDA WILLIAMS For the third time this season, No. 9 Nantucket played undefeated No. 1 Cardinal Spellman. This time Nantucket was shut out 2-0, eliminating the Whalers from the semi-final round of the MIAA South Division 3 tournament.

Nantucket was pushed back on its heels for more than half of the first period after Cardinal Spellman jumped off to the early lead within four minutes on a throw-in that deflected off a player. The Whalers finally amped it up with 16 minutes to the break and controlled the ball or matched the opponent shot for shot. Nantucket appeared to tie it up with just over six minutes left when Philipe Bazilio headed the ball into Emil Bender who jammed the keeper into the net. The ball appeared to cross the goal line before the keeper snagged it. No call in Nantucket's favor left the Whalers scoreless.

Cardinal Spellman got off a corner kick that was headed by three consecutive players with four minutes to go. After Perkins strung several quality saves together within seconds, Cardinal Spellman managed to finally get the ball over a falling Perkins for the 2-0 lead at the half.

In the second half, Nantucket shut Cardinal Spellman down and had its chances, even outshooting its opponent.

"Cardinal Spellman was scared, particularly in the second half as they were calling a lot of timeouts trying to slow the game down. They also kicked the ball out a lot more," said Brannigan.

"We played Cardinal Spellman tighter in those 240 minutes than most other teams that were trounced and shut out during the season. Players felt that they could beat them going in," said Brannigan. "Not many people can say that they played the number one team as close as we did and certainly not three times in one season."

Cardinal Spellman went on to beat Westport on Sunday for the championship 2-1.

Keeper Alex Perkins kept Nantucket in the game, making several highlight film- worthy saves, including one that was so stellar that the referee was overheard praising Perkins to by-standers.

"Alex played a huge game and has been outstanding all season. He has been instrumental in keeping us in games," said Brannigan. "Each season has its ups and downs, and you never know what is going to happen at the beginning of the season. We had our best start ever and played well and I am looking forward to next year already. We have a lot of talent coming up." I