The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School varsity girls soccer team came out to McCarthy Stadium on Friday night with force, dominating in a 6-0 victory over Barnstable in their only under-the-lights game of the year. The win puts the Vineyarders at 7–4 on the season.
A hefty student section painted the bleachers black for the highly anticipated blackout game, and the team wore pink socks in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
On the field, the Vineyarders asserted control early, and never looked back. Junior midfielder Eleanor Mone, No. 10 — continuing her hot streak — set the tone, scoring the first goal off a well-placed centering pass from senior captain Talia Maccaferri, No. 3.
Shortly after, standout forward Ava Townes, No. 7, had a breakaway opportunity, colliding with Barnstable’s goalkeeper as two Barnstable defenders trailed within arm’s length. Although Townes found the back of the net, the goal was called off, with a red card going to the Barnstable goalkeeper for an aggressive attempt to break up Townes’ shot opportunity moments before the ball crossed the goal line. Townes was awarded a penalty kick, but the Barnstable goalie made a crucial save.
Undeterred, the Vineyarders regrouped, and Reese Malowski, No. 13, extended the lead with a top-shelf goal from the slot, making it 2-0.
The Vineyarders went into the half up 3-0 after Sydney Bruguiere, No. 9, burst into the Barnstable 18-yard box and ripped a shot at the keeper, leaving a juicy rebound for Laina Dubin, No. 17, to bury.
The momentum continued into the second half with Avery Mulvy, No. 12, scoring on a header from a perfectly placed cross by Bruguiere on the wing, pushing the lead to 4-0. Bruguiere scored the next goal with an assist from Mone, widening the Vineyard’s lead to 5-0. Townes capped off the scoring with a penalty kick after a Barnstable defender pushed her from behind, inside the 18-yard box.
Head Coach Mathew Malowski was feeling good after the win. “When you’re playing against a team that’s up and coming like that — they got a lot of younger, newer players on that team — our goal is to still play our style of soccer and not play down, and I think they did that,” Malowski said.
While the Vineyard team maintained ball possession for the majority of the game, they were trying some new strategies and positionings. Center midfielder Mone and Malowski controlled the tempo of the game while Maccaferri tore it up on the wing, and the trusted back line held solid.
“I am grateful; they have worked hard, and they do the preseason stuff, working throughout August. I am a little disappointed in the three losses we had, because I know we can win those games — those are definitely coulda-, shoulda-, woulda-type games, but I am really happy where the girls are at,” said Coach Malowski. “They are confident, but it’s the little things. Even here we did some little things you can’t do against good teams like Nauset and Archbishop Williams and Falmouth. So what we work on is keeping our style of play no matter who we play against, and keep improving on the small things.”
The night was not only special for the girls squad but also the M.V. United program. Players ages 4 to 11 from the Island’s recreational soccer league and mini-kicker programs walked out with the varsity players during the starting lineup introductions, and served as ball boys and girls.
M.V. United’s involvement was spearheaded by Coach Malowski, Veronica Buckley, and Nika Mone, mother of junior Eleanor Mone. “We’re just trying to bring more of a community to the sport, and help younger kids watch the older kids play,” said Buckley.
The Vineyard girls split a pair of games outside of the win against Barnstable. The team secured a 1-0 win against Falmouth on Wednesday last week, with junior Mone scoring off a direct kick in the first half. The scoring stopped there, and goalkeeper Delilah Oliver earned her third shutout of the season.
Over the weekend, MV fell 4-1 to Archbishop Williams. Bruguiere scored for the girls team in the second half, but fatigue and missing players took their toll.
The Vineyard squad, now 7–4, is entering the toughest stretch of the season, with games against Falmouth, Milford, Monomoy, Nantucket, and Nauset.
The team’s next game is against Falmouth on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 3 pm, on home turf.