By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Editor
The boys soccer team made an early-season statement with a 7-0 victory over Provincetown at home last Thursday, taking another step toward dominating the Lighthouse Conference again.
From the opening whistle, the Whalers mastered the visiting Fishermen, putting up two goals in the first two minutes of play and another before the half for the 3-0 advantage.
“The conference victories are always important. You can never take any conference game lightly. This game, it kind of gave us a chance to work on some stuff and get some players experience who needed experience,” head coach Rich Brannigan said.
The boys soccer team improved to 2-1-1 overall and 2-0 in the Lighthouse Conference. The Whalers were scheduled to play against non-league rival Martha’s Vineyard last night, too late for this edition of Sports.
On tap for the Whalers this week will be a trip to Division I Norwood on Friday afternoon followed by a visit to Coyle Cassidy on Saturday.
Provincetown arrived on Nantucket Thursday with only 11 players on the roster. With no subs and a number of underclassmen, they were up against a very deep Nantucket bench, which was able to see lots of playing time.
The Whalers were able to work on team shape, style of play and set plays during the game.
“Getting the freshmen experience is really important. I haven’t had too many chances to do that in the first three games. They have been close and against good competition. When that game opened up a bit, it was good to get them experience,” Brannigan said.
One minute and 30 seconds into the game, Martin Manov put the Whalers on the board. Off a missed kick by a Provincetown defender, Manov took the loose ball and sent the easy shot to the far left corner. Manov added another score from the right side only 30 seconds later.
“The early goals are important. I think everyone relaxes a little bit. We probably didn’t play our best soccer and it could have been because we got those two early goals. It takes the edge off and people can relax a bit,” Brannigan said.
With the early lead, freshmen Emil Bender, Luke Daniels, William Horyn, Will Lendway and Evan Theroux saw some playing time in the first half.
At the 29-minute mark, Josh VanHoesen fed Emerson Gouzman wide open in front of the net. Gouzman took his time to settle the ball and put it past the keeper to put the Whalers on top 3-0.
In the second half the Whalers still had a handful of starters on the field. Carl Stevens fed Bryan Tarcitano for his first goal of the season eight and a half minutes into the second half. Nine minutes later, Manov sent a cross in to Stevens, who headed the ball into the net at the near post to put the Whalers on top 5-0.
After not seeing a single shot on goal, Russell Bartlett gave way to Alex Perkins in net with the five-goal lead. Perkins was tested a few times and was solid between the pipes.
At the 21-minute mark, Daniels scored his first varsity goal, placing the ball between the goalie’s legs to give Nantucket the 6-0 advantage. Roneik Gordon added the final goal of the game for the Whalers late in the half.
Reach Allison Goldsmith at sports@inkym.com
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