The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School varsity girls soccer team kicked off their season with a shutout on Thursday. The girls defeated the Monomoy Regional High School Sharks 4-0 in their first game on the McCarthy Stadium pitch.
The Sharks never really had a chance as the Vineyarders controlled possession and dominated the offensive zone throughout the entire game.
For Head Coach Matt Malowski, the girls controlled the pace of play, a good sign for the season ahead.
“I thought they played fantastic. They controlled possession, they won ball turnovers and were getting interceptions,” the head coach said. “I thought they completely controlled the game and did a great job.”
The scoring began early on Thursday when junior Leah Thomson (No. 15) capitalized on a precision cross from senior captain Eleanor Mone (No. 10) for her first ever varsity goal. From the far corner, Mones’ pass landed nearly at the feet of Thomson in front of the net, and she buried the shot with 35 minutes still remaining in the half.
Just under ten minutes later, the Vineyarders struck again. Senior Sydney Bruguiere (No. 9) was able to get a rebound and put the ball decisively past Monomoy’s keeper with 26 minutes left in the first half, increasing the Vineyarders lead to 2-0.
The Vineyarders missed some scoring opportunities, but with 9:29 left in the first half, a rebounding shot from junior Ava Townes (No. 4) left Mone with the ball in the slot, and she buried it top shelf for the third goal of the match.
In the second half, Monomoy switched goalies and the Vineyarders had a lot more scoring opportunities, but they struggled to put it past an aggressive keeper who was rushing any ball in her zone.
An impressive lob shot from Townes concluded the scoring for the Vineyarders. From outside the penalty box, she soared one over the goalkeeper’s head and into the back of the net to bring the girls up 4-0 to finish out the game.
Malowski, while happy with the win, said that going forward, they’ll be working on finishing.
“I think we’re going to work a lot on finishing.They did the hard stuff really, really well, they got down into the attacking third, got into the box, they played nice through balls, we just got to work on cleaning up that last little finishing touch, which is just putting the ball in the back of the net. We could of had a lot more.”
The girl’s team is coming off an impressive season and they are looking to keep the momentum going. They ranked 35 out of 207 other teams in Massachusetts last season, and retained their Golden Anchor Trophy against the Nantucket Whalers.
“We are looking pretty solid this year,” said head coach Matthew Malowski. “We are really hoping to put some pressure on our opponents with our speed and possession style of play.”
The team has four new freshmen and two new sophomores, and are led by seven returning seniors, including their three senior captains, Ella Ehrman (No. 12), Mone, and Reese Malowski (No. 6).
“I think our seniors are the players to watch as they’re our veteran players who are so composed and have an amazing work ethic,” coach Malowski said.
For the captains themselves, there were a lot of standout performances in the game against Monomoy on Thursday.
For Ehrman, she praised sophomore Mackenna Metell’s (No. 5) disciplined defense for keeping the score low. “I thought Mackenna really stood out today, even though she was on the defense. She was in the box all the time, dribbling up and making passing chains,” said Ehrman.
Senior captain Malowski was impressed by freshman Laney Light (No. 2), who in her very first varsity game showed a lot of confidence. “She was tackling, going for every ball, making good passes, and I think she played amazing in her very first game,” said Malowski.
Mone praised their freshman goalkeeper Lucy Doyle (No. 1) for notching a shutout in her first game; the senior captain highlighted how she embraced the responsibility. “She came in and we didn’t have a goalie so she had big shoes to fill. There weren’t as many shots today but she stepped into the role and she’s good with the ball at her feet so I think that was awesome,” said Mone. “All of our defensive back line trusts her.”
For head coach Malowski, the defense as a collective unit, were the players of the game.
“I think collectively, defensively this year we are really focusing on defending in the other teams half, so Ella [Ehrman] and Esme [Colon (No. 18)] our two senior center backs, our other outside backs, our defensive midfielders, really all just kept the pressure in the attacking half of the field.”
Mone said games in the past have been pretty tight with Monomoy, so she’s feeling good about the season ahead.
“I think to come out here and connect and feel that chemistry on the field, gives me a good feeling about the season,” said Mone
The Martha’s Vineyard varsity girls’ soccer team is set to face the Sutton High School Suttonians in Sutton on Saturday, September 6, at 12:30 pm. This match marks the Vineyarders’ first-ever clash with this new opponent. The team will embark on an overnight team-bonding trip, which includes attending a women’s soccer game between Harvard University and Northeastern University on Sunday.