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Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
Alvaro Castro changes direction with the ball around a Cardinal Spellman defender during Saturday’s game. The Whalers lost the home opener 1-0.
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By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Editor
It may be early in the season, but the boys soccer team picked up an important win over Lighthouse Conference rival Cape Cod Academy 1-0 on the road Tuesday afternoon. It was the first win for the Whalers, who opened with a loss to Cardinal Spellman 1-0 on Saturday and tied Cohasset 3-3 on Sunday, both at home.
The Whalers (1-1-1 overall, 1-0 league) are scheduled to host Lighthouse Conference opponent Provincetown this afternoon before challenging rival Martha’s Vineyard next Wednesday.
The progress of the Nantucket squad was evident in the back-to-back weekend games against Cardinal Spellman and Cohasset, and even more so on Tuesday.
“It was a much, much improved game,” head coach Rich Brannigan said. “We were really organized in the back, defensively, and more importantly we kept the ball on the ground, which was very important because of the wet field. Our passing game was top-notch.”
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Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
Philipe Bazilio sticks with the ball as Cardinal Spellman's goalie saves the shot in the second half. Nantucket lost 1-0.
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The team defense was much more in sync against the Seahawks. Henry Farrell and Jasper Young led the Whalers’ back line, while between the posts, goalie Russell Bartlett made 10 saves against Cohasset, picked off 12 shots against Cardinal Spellman and needed only six saves for the shutout against Cape Cod Academy.
“Setting the tone as far as the league is concerned is really important for us,” Brannigan said. “If we had tied or lost the game, it would have been more pressure on us when we played them again.”
Against the Seahawks, both teams battled to a scoreless tie at the half. Fifteen minutes into the second half, the Whalers got on the scoreboard. Farrell started the play from the defense, playing the ball ahead to Martin Manov, who passed off to Carl Stevens. Stevens made the pass back to Manov who was running in on goal and took the shot from the 18 to beat the goalie up high.
“There weren’t a lot of scoring opportunities for either team, but we had total momentum and run of play all game. They were playing catch-up and chasing the passer. It was almost a keep-away game, essentially,” Brannigan said.
The midfield core of Alvaro Castro, Bryan Tarcitano, Sebastian McFarlane, Fransisco Mancia and Emerson Gouzman controlled the ball to keep the Seahawks off the scoreboard.
Against Cohasset on Sunday, the Skippers put two goals on the board in the first 15 minutes of the game.
“It wasn’t that we were flat, I think they just got a couple bounces and a couple things went their way,” Brannigan said. “They kept plucking away and getting chances. We started turning the tide in maybe the 20th minute.”
Twenty-five minutes in, the Whalers picked up their first goal of the season. Left back Carlos Portillo played a direct ball into the heart of the Cohasset defense. Stevens was in perfect position when the defenders misplayed the ball.
“Their defender was able to get a foot on the ball, but didn’t settle it or control it and Carl took the ball right off the bad touch by the defender and was able to pass it by the goalkeeper,” Brannigan said.
The two teams went into the half with Cohasset on top 2-1. The Whalers carried the momentum of their first goal of the season into the second half. Castro scored the game-tying and go-ahead goals, both assisted by Philipe Bazilio before the midway point of the half.
Five minutes later the Skippers added the equalizer.
“We definitely had a better flow to our game. There was more attacking, more midfield play. We really dominated the midfield a lot of the time (on Sunday),” Brannigan said.
The Whalers were kept off the scoreboard in their first game of the season against Cardinal Spellman. Nantucket had knocked the Cardinals out of the playoffs last season with a 3-2 first-round win at home.
In their return to the Whalers’ home field, Cardinal Spellman battled with the same intensity. Neither team could break the ice in the first half.
“It is a hard game to start with because of the level of competition.
Sometimes you like to have a tune-up game. Given that, I think that it took us a while to feel them out and to get settled. It was exciting, it was 0-0 until they scored late in the second half,” Brannigan said.
The second half saw very physical play as a number of Whalers limped to the sidelines including defender Devon Kohler, who was knocked out with a broken wrist.
With 12 minutes remaining in the game, following a handball penalty just outside the box, Cardinal Spellman’s Justin Perry sent the direct kick from the left side just out of reach of Bartlett’s dive high and to his left.
The Whalers had some golden opportunities to put one in the back of the net in the final minutes. Bazilio was making a run on net late in the half when he was tripped up by a Cardinal defender. The official ruled the play obstruction and awarded Bazilio with an indirect kick. The Nantucket sidelines believed he was taken out in the box and deserved a penalty kick.
“In this case Philipe had beat the man and was in the 18-yard box and was taken out from behind. You can’t obstruct someone if you are coming from behind,” Brannigan said.
The subsequent shot from Tarcitano sailed over the crossbar. Tarcitano had another chance on goal with the ball on his foot right in front of net. The shot hit the crossbar and bounced straight up and over.
“Breaking the ice, getting that first goal of the season is important and I think the guys were looking for that, but it didn’t come on Saturday, so it was nice to get in on Sunday,” Brannigan said. “It’s hard to play without scoring. If you can’t score, it hurts confidence a lot. I have had teams in the past that played decent soccer, but just can’t score. The guys came back on Sunday and found ways to put the ball in the back of the net, so that was good to see.”
Reach Allison Goldsmith at sports@inkym.com
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