Vineyard soccer beats Cape Cod 6-0

The Martha’s Vineyard varsity boys’ soccer team controlled the field against Cape Cod Regional Technical High School Monday and earned a dominant 6-0 win at home. 

Junior Victor Da Silva (No. 10) scored four of the six goals during the lopsided Vineyard victory. 

Da Silva opened the scoring with 32:28 left in the first half. He collected a loose ball in front of Cape Cod’s goal and battled through traffic to make a bouncing shot that found its way to the back of the net. He added another tally for the Vineyarders just 10 minutes later, shooting from the top of the box with Cape Cod pressure on his back. Then, he scored two penalty kicks, one with 15:11 left in the half, and another with 12:48 left. Both shots went low to the left of Cape Cod’s goalie and pushed the Vineyard lead to 4-0 before halftime. 

In the second half, senior Miguel Mantesso (No. 11) converted a penalty kick with 26:47 left, then, sophomore captain Moses Thomson (No. 19), who anchors the midfield for the Vineyarders, faked a free kick from the top of Cape Cod’s penalty box. Thomson stepped over the ball to freeze the defense before senior captain Chris DaSilva (No. 4) took a shot with a lot of forward spin that rolled up the Cape Cod keeper’s arms and into the top of the net. 

The Vineyarders improved their overall record to 7-2-4 with Monday’s win and are now ranked 16th in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Division III power rankings. Head Coach Rodrigo Honorato said the team’s performance was strong against Cape Cod Regional Technical High School on Monday but noted the season has had its “ups and downs.” 

Looking ahead, the boys’ soccer team is zeroing in on a busy week. The Vineyarders host Falmouth on Wednesday at 5 pm at home, travel to Nantucket on Saturday for the Battle of the Atlantic at 1:30 pm, and face Sandwich next Monday at home at 3 pm and Nauset on Tuesday in an away game at 4 pm. All four are league contests and will contribute to the Vineyarders’ overall league standings and MIAA state standings. 

“The boys are taking it one game at a time,” Honorato said.”The Battle of the Atlantic is always chippy. It’s going to be interesting.” 

In an interview after Monday’s match, Thomson said that with the busy schedule ahead, the goal is to keep the team healthy and keep their heads down. 

“We are in the running with Nantucket to win the league,” Thomson said. “We need to stay healthy and keep our pedal to the medal.” 

Thomson noted that the Vineyarders lost to the Nantucket Whalers earlier in the season, but said the loss only makes them hungrier for a win in the rivalry game this Saturday. 

The Vineyarders took the trophy last year in a shootout and beat Nantucket 4-2, reversing the fate of the prior year’s match when Nantucket won 4-2 and took the trophy, also in a shootout. 

“We’re [going to] go and fight as hard as we can, like always,” Thomson said.

Junior captain Kenny Martinez (No. 2), who plays forward and left back, said the team needs to stay close on and off the field in order to keep the chemistry high.

“We’ve gotten closer, team dinners and staying connected on and off the field,” Martinez said. “Today we kept the game under control, shot more, and committed fewer fouls.”

Looking back at the four ties on their record, Honorato said that the two-referee system is a persistent issue, and multiple goals have been called back this season for offsides by referees too far away to see the action up close. 

“I hate blaming the refs, but the two-man system doesn’t work,” Honorato said. “It should be three. Overall, I’m happy with the performance.”