The Martha’s Vineyard Vineyard Regional High School girls varsity soccer team celebrated their senior night with a solid 3-0 shutout of Falmouth High School on Wednesday at the McCarthy stadium.
The defense, which has been an anchor for the squad all season, didn’t give much space for the Clippers to get going, while the offense continued to find the net.
“Overall collectively, as a team, they played great, they really shut down Falmouth, and they didn’t give them any space,” said head coach Matt Malowski.
The win puts the Vineyarders at 12-4-1 on the season and on the doorstep of clinching the league title, which they could do against rivals Nantucket on Saturday.
On Wednesday, Laney Light (No. 2) opened the scoring with four-minutes left in the first half, burying a hard, low shot into the bottom right corner of Falmouth’s goal off a cross from Ava Townes (No. 4) from deep in the corner.
In the second half, Sydney Bruguier (No. 9) made it 2-0 after tucking a beautiful forward pass by Leah Thomson (No. 15) into the far side of the net just out of reach of the Falmouth keeper.
With less than five-minutes remaining in the game, Light drew a penalty deep inside Falmouth’s offensive zone, setting up Eleanor Mone (No.10) for a chance at a penalty kick. Mone buried a hard shot in the top left corner of the net.
Head coach Matt Malowski said he was proud of his team being able to effectively implement a new 4-4-2 diamond formation on short notice.
“We normally play a 4-3-3 and today we went with this 4-4-2 diamond because we wanted to get some attacks going,” he said. “We really only had a day-and-a-half to actually practice it and I thought they did a great job of implementing it today.”
Malowski also gave a shoutout for standout performances from Light, Esme Colon (No. 18), and Ella Ehrman (No. 12), and Thomson.
Wednesday marked the final home game of the regular season for seven seniors. After the game, the senior captains reflected on a season that they defined by a uniquely strong team chemistry with players from every grade level.
“We have a really diverse team. We have a bunch of freshmen, and people from every grade, and a lot of us have never played together before,” said Mone. “Finding our chemistry and pushing each other to be better while hyping each other up — today, we all started senior day crying. And then, by the start of this game, we’re jumping, we’re energized.”
Mone recounted her mindset for staying focused under the pressure of penalty kicks.
“I just try to close my eyes and think about where I’m gonna hit it, and then I try not to think about anything else. If I don’t even look at the goalie or anyone around me and just look at the net and, I see it in my head, where I’m gonna hit the ball, then, hopefully, my body does the rest,” she said.
Senior captain Ella Ehrman noted the long history among the upperclassmen.
“This season’s really special because all three of us and all of the seniors have been playing together since we were, like, five years old, 13 years,” Ehrman said. “I’ve grown up with these girls, and I learned how to play soccer with them, and I think that’s why our chemistry is so strong.”
Senior captain Reese Malowski echoed the sentiment.
“I’ve never seen so much chemistry in a team before the past three years,” Malowski said. “We’ve connected and distributed everything so well. This is the best we’ve done.”
The Vineyard soccer faces the Nantucket Whalers on Saturday at the Nantucket High School to defend their Golden Anchor trophy.
“We’re just gonna go in with high energy, intensity, ready to run, ready to shoot, score, pass,” Mone said. “It’s our last regular season game.”
Malowski described Nantucket as a tough matchup, and the league as full of upsets.
“All these teams can do anything,” he said. “They’re gonna show up, It’s their home field, it’s the Golden Anchor, it’s the last game of the season, we just gotta raise the bar.”
Other seniors on the team include Julia Caldwell, Charlotte Sebastian, and team manager Eva Giordano.
For head coach Malowski, who is in his last season of coaching his daughter, Reese, he called the Vineyard soccer team special.
“It’s bittersweet. I’ve watched these kids grow up since they were little, and it’s been a really special group,” Malowski said. “I’m really gonna miss it.”
