Vineyard Boys Soccer boots Bishops in state tourney opener

Three De Oliveira goals do the trick.

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Updated Nov. 6

Luidi De Oliveira notched a hat trick and Emanuel Silva added another goal to lead the MVRHS boys soccer team to a 4-0 win over Archbishop Williams in the opening match of the Division 3 South Sectional, Sunday afternoon at Dan McCarthy Field in Oak Bluffs.

The seventh-seeded Vineyarders (15-3-1) broke open a tight game with three goals in the second half, and got stellar play from backliners Jack Holmes, Daniel Bonneau, and Finn Monahan. Hiaggo Goncalves earned the shutout in the Vineyard net.

Backed by a large, enthusiastic home crowd, the Vineyarders were well-organized, intense, and focused throughout a physical, often ill-tempered match. Once in each half, the teams gathered en masse and had to be separated. After the first such incident, the referees called a timeout to settle things down.

The Bishops (9-4-6), seeded 10th, had the first shot on goal, but the Vineyarders quickly took over the lion’s share of possession and dominated the rest of the way. Seven minutes into the match, Luidi de Oliveira fired a shot that was mishandled by Williams keeper Alexander Kennedy, who had the ball backspin through his grip and roll into the back of the net for a 1-0 Vineyard lead.

The hosts nearly doubled their lead 10 minutes later when the referee awarded a penalty kick after Kennedy pushed a Vineyard player in the box. De Oliveira converted the spot kick, but stutter-stepped in his delivery, and the goal was disallowed.

The Vineyarders kept pressing for another goal before halftime, but couldn’t cash in. Daniel Bonneau had the best shot, crushing a 35-yarder that Kennedy tipped over the crossbar. Freshman Lucas Da Silva, up from the JV squad, buzzed up and down the pitch like a force of nature.

In the second half, the relentless Vineyard pressure paid off. In the 52nd minute, Ygor Da Silva put a ball into the box that took a fortuitous bounce in the Bishop crease. Emanuel Silva stepped up and coolly slotted the ball into the open net for a 2-0 lead.

De Oliveira scored his second goal of the match in the 65th minute, burying a rebound after Josh Billings took the initial shot, and tallied a third time in the 69th by twisting his way through three Bishop defenders to score after falling to the ground.

After the match, Vineyard Coach Esteban Aranzabe was pleased with his team’s bright start to the postseason. “It took a little bit, but we knew that we could win,” he said. “It’s always tough. We worked hard, and I’m happy that we could play everybody. The school and the fans and the parents had an opportunity to see everybody play. It’s the first playoff [match], so maybe it’s the beginning of a nice story.”

Tuesday’s scheduled game against No. 2 seed Seekonk (15-0-4) in the South Sectional quarterfinals was postponed. It was scheduled to be played Wednesday afternoon.

Updated with details on rescheduling of quarterfinal game.