By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Editor
Despite losing to Norwood 5-0 at home on Sunday, the Nantucket girls varsity soccer team impressed their head coach and the head coach of the visiting Mustangs.
With the loss, the Whalers dropped to 4-6-2 overall on the season following back-to-back shut-out losses to the Division I school. Nantucket hopes to use the two games against the established varsity program to prepare for upcoming Lighthouse Conference matches against Cape Cod Academy and Sturgis.
The Whalers, who hold a record of 2-1-1 against conference opponents, were scheduled to play Cape Cod Academy yesterday at home, too late for this edition of Sports. Nantucket lost to the Seahawks 5-2 in the first meeting this season. Sturgis will travel to the island on Friday for the final Lighthouse Conference match-up of the season.
“I think we prepared very well. We are seeing the ball move fast and now we are keeping up with that. We are getting used to it and we are able to deal with it. I told the girls, we can compete at any level. It is just up to us, if we show up to play,” Rojas said. “They are showing maturity as soccer players. They are becoming more alert and knowing what it takes to win at the varsity level.”
After losing to the Mustangs 8-0 a week earlier in Norwood, the Whalers reorganized the field to put more of an emphasis on the defensive end. The results showed with three fewer goals on the scoreboard.
Bethany Gray, Maxine Daniels, Molly MacKay and Justine Paradis defended the net while Whitney Jennison and Haley Cabre worked the outside.
“We did improve on our defense. We were very organized in the back. We approached the game from a tactical point of view instead of technical,” Rojas said. “We caught the intention of the other coach and the other team. We were so packed and they were not able to get in the goal as quickly as they did in the first game.”
While the Mustangs were still able to pass the ball around the field quicker than the Whalers are accustomed too, the Nantucket squad had more opportunities to put pressure on the Norwood net.
Kate MacLellan and Aileen Fredericks each had chances to put the ball in the net in the first half. Seven minutes in, the Norwood head coach was forced to call a time-out to deal with the stepped-up play of the Whalers.
Shantel Hanniford patrolled the Nantucket net in the first half, picking up seven saves against the Norwood attack. The freshman goalie moved onto the field in the second half, as Sarah Poor took over in goal for the Whalers and made five stops against the Mustangs. Mandy Cahill continued her solid midfield play for Nantucket.
The Mustangs led 3-0 at the half and added two more goals in the second half to earn the 5-0 win.
Reach Allison Goldsmith at sports@inkym.com
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