MVRHS golfers go 4-1 down the stretch

The Vineyarders wrapped up the regular season with a 240-263 win over Barnstable, Tuesday afternoon at Vineyard Golf Club, their second win over the Red Hawks in five days. Jake Glasgow made the most of the perfect conditions, shooting a sparkling two-under-par 34 to lead MV. Nick Ben David chipped in with a 39.

The Purple came through a hectic closing stretch of five matches in seven days with a 4-1 record to finish 11-3 overall and 7-3 in the Cape and Islands League Atlantic Division, heading into postseason play.

MV started off with a 6-0 win over Sturgis East on Oct. 6, using the match-play format. Richie Combra carded the low score of 37, and Nick Ben David shot a 38.

The following afternoon at Sandwich Hollows, the Vineyarders lost to division champ Sandwich, 255-269. Combra again shot the low score for MV (41).

Last Friday, the Vineyarders got back on the winning track by beating Barnstable at Hyannis Golf Course, 246-261. Ben David led the way with a 38.

At Vineyard Golf Club on Monday, MV beat Falmouth, 249-287. Jacob Silvia, the Vineyarders’ lone senior, shot 39 to top the leaderboard.

On Friday, the Vineyarders head to Willow Bend in Mashpee for the Cape Cod School Boys tournament. Co-captains Jacob Silvia and Nick Ben David, along with Richie Combra, will play for the Purple. The playoffs begin in earnest on Monday, with the Vineyarders traveling to Foxboro Country Club to compete in the MIAA State Division 3 South Sectional tournament.

“We’ve had a wonderful year,” Vineyard Coach Doug DeBettencourt said. “We have great depth. The kids have really improved, and I couldn’t be happier with the way the year went.”

Vineyard cross-country tops Falmouth on Senior Day

The Vineyard harriers hosted Falmouth on Tuesday afternoon in the final home dual meet of the season, and ran to a Senior Day win over the Clippers.

Vineyard Coach Joe Schroeder called the win “a great tune-up for the Twilight Meet,” which will be held Friday night under the lights at the Barnstable Fairgrounds, starting at 6 pm.

Falmouth junior Henry Gartner joined Vineyard seniors Borja Tolay, Zach Utz, and Jonathan Norton to keep tempo at the front of the pack, and crossed the finish line a tiny fraction in front at 17:36.

The Vineyarders claimed spots 5-11 as well. Daniel DaSilva was fifth (17:38), followed by Sam Fetters (17:42), Duncan Brown (19:25), Linus Munn (19:28), girls winner Wren Christy (19:37), Calvin Brooks (19:42), and Otis Forrester (19:47). Alexa Schroeder was second for the girls (21:57), with Sara Creato placing fourth (26:15).

After the race, the Vineyarders honored seniors Calvin Brooks, Duncan Brown, Sara Creato, Henry D’Andrea, Sam Fetters, Katie Freeman, Jonathan Norton, Borja Tolay, and Zach Utz (co-captain, along with junior Wren Christy). “The seniors are really dedicated to training and setting an example for the younger kids,” Coach Schroeder said.

Girls soccer dazzles against D-Y, falls to Milton

Last Thursday at Dennis-Yarmouth, the offensive potential that Vineyard Coach Rocco Bellebuono spoke of following a 1-1 draw with Falmouth on Oct. 6 finally manifested itself.

Wadeline Florime-Hall scored a hat trick, Elena Giordano netted a pair of goals, C.J. Walsh drilled in a 30-yard free kick, and Paige Malowski scored in a 7-3 win over the Dolphins. Malowski added two assists, with Giordano and Ali Dyke setting up a goal apiece.

“They played great. Fantastic. That was definitely the high point of the season so far,” Bellebuono said.

Particularly satisfying for the coach was seeing Florime-Hall find the finishing touch to go with her dynamic speed. “One of the things that was kind of fun was that last weekend at training, I pulled Waddy aside. I said, ‘Listen, you’re going to find yourself in those situations when you’re one-on-one with the goalkeeper. That’s a given. So what we need to do now is when you recognize that you’re in that situation, just stay calm and don’t panic, and just pass the ball into the net. Don’t shoot it, just pass it.’ And she did it.”

The Vineyarders put it all together for a complete effort against the Dolphins. “Everybody played really well. It was fabulous,” Bellebuono said. “I told the coaches, That may be the best game I’ve ever coached as a high school coach here. I don’t think Dennis-Yarmouth was a pushover this year; they’ve always had a strong side. They scored three goals. We just had a really good game.”

Unfortunately for the Vineyarders, Friday’s match at Milton was another matter. “What we’re looking for, segueing into Friday, is consistency, and we didn’t have that,” Coach Bellebuono said of the 3-1 defeat. “We had, I think, our best game of the season, followed by our worst.”

With another fine goal from Wadeline Florime-Hall the highlight, the cohesive team play so apparent against D-Y was missing in Milton. “It kind of came apart at the seams,” Bellebuono said. “It was the classic, a bunch of individuals out on the field, not a team. To be fair, Milton was good, they weren’t the Bad News Bears. They knew what they were doing. They definitely applied the pressure.”

With three days off after the Milton match and three days to practice for a home match against Chicopee Comprehensive on Saturday (1 pm start), the Vineyarders will look to recapture their top form.

Field hockey ties SJPII on late goal

Alana Nevin scored with three minutes remaining in the game, lifting the Vineyarders to a 1-1 tie with St. John Paul II, Tuesday afternoon in Hyannis. Next up is a Cape and Islands League Lighthouse Division match at Sturgis East, Friday afternoon at 4 pm. MV is 2-0-1 in the division, and 3-5-2 overall.