With just one week left in the regular season for Vineyard sports teams, records are falling, players are earning statewide recognition and one team is already making its mark in the state tournament.
But much of the attention is trained on the accomplishments of the boys’ soccer team. Junior Jason Lages is currently the leading boys’ soccer scorer in Massachusetts, a title he locked up earlier this month. That was well before he broke the high school single-season scoring record on the field at home early this week.
With 41 points (29 goals and 12 assists), Lages is several points ahead of the number two scorer in the state. His teammate Brandon Dwane is ranked number 11 with 14 goals and four assists.
The top rankings came as little surprise to the Vineyard coaching staff. Lages and Dwane were also the top scorers for their spring club team, which won a state title this year.
“We were expecting a lot of goals from them,” head coach Esteban Aranzabe said on Thursday.
The boys’ soccer team is number 17 in the state and has a record of 13-1-2. Just eight goals have been scored against the Vineyard, a reflection of the strong defense and the depth of the goalie unit. Freshman goalie Joao Goncalves and senior goalie Matt Stone are both in the statewide top 10.
Coach Aranzabe said the team will gear up for the postseason with a weekend trip to Boston next week, where they will play a friendly game against Boston College High, the number five team in the state. They also will watch a college match between Emerson College and Boston College. Coach Aranzabe’s son plays for Emerson.
“It’s a good opportunity for the kids to watch the soccer,” he said.
The boys will play their final home game next Wednesday against Dennis-Yarmouth. Game time is 3 p.m.
By that time, the golf team will have concluded its season. For the second year in a row, the team is on its way to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletics Association state tournament at the Black Swan Country Club in Georgetown. And for the second year in a row, it was a late-season win streak that sent the players into the postseason. The Vineyard won their last four games to qualify for sectionals. On Monday, the team traveled to Dennis for the division three section tournament, where they missed a repeat championship title by just three strokes. Old Rochester closed the day with a score of 321. The Vineyard combined for a score of 324.
But both the champion and the runner up earn berths at the statewide contest, which features the top 12 teams in Massachusetts.
The feat was all the more impressive considering the Vineyard’s young roster — no seniors competed and the top scores were carded by sophomores.
“I thought maybe we were a year away from being able to qualify,” head coach Doug DeBettencourt said. “But the kids played really well.” He noted that junior co-captain Kaitlyn Marchand had the fourth highest score on the team despite playing from the boys’ markers.
Sophomore Finn Simpkins led the way for the Vineyard, shooting a 78. Sophomore Chris Mayhew shot a 79, and junior Zak Danz had an 80. The three finished in the top 10 overall, and in doing so also qualified for next week’s individual tournament. Juniors Max Santos and Mason Jeffers shot 89 and 95, respectively.
On Saturday, Mayhew, Simpkins, and senior Grant Santos competed in the Cape and Islands High School Individual Golf Championship, which featured 45 players from around the region.
The field hockey team secured its spot in the state tournament early last week with a 4-0 defeat of Ursuline Academy. The win came on Senior Day, the squad’s final home contest of the season. The team is now 9-4-4 on the season.
Sophomore goalie Julia Bettencourt currently leads the Eastern Athletic Conference in goals against average. Junior Belle Dinning earned a top-five berth in EAC scoring this week as well.
Tournament seedings for field hockey and soccer will be announced at the end of the week.
Comments
Comment policy »