Boys' Soccer Improves to 5-1

by Kevin Agostinelli, staff reporter

The Sturgis Boys soccer team suffered their first loss of the season to Nantucket on Wednesday, September 19, but they bounced back with a 5-0 triumph against Southbridge on Saturday, September 22.  

The Storm were riding high after four consecutive victories to start the season, but their humbling defeat at Nantucket reminded them that winning the Cape & Islands Division Championship will not be an easy task. The first half was dominated by Nantucket, who scored two goals in the first ten minutes and incessantly found holes in the Storm’s backline. With midfielder Dylan Steven out with a concussion, Sturgis’s attack struggled to create chances, but forward Chris Dedecko nearly got on the end of several breakaways. Despite a much-improved offense in the second half, Sturgis still gave up two goals to lose 4-0.

The Storm’s Saturday morning match against Southbridge was virtually the opposite of Wednesday’s game as the midfield owned possession and goalkeeper Kyle Garvey earned his second shutout of the year. Even with the absences of starters Dylan Steven, junior Greg Watts, and senior Chris Dennison, the new-look starting lineup performed admirably. In the first 38 seconds of the game, senior forward Aidan Fitzsimons stole the ball from a Southbridge defender and coolly slotted the ball into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season. Just a few minutes later, senior goalkeeper Kyle Garvey scored his first Sturgis career goal off a penalty kick. Juniors Jonny Gomes and Alex Smith followed with their second and first goals of the season, respectively, and defensive general Ben Duncan made up for a missed penalty kick earlier in the game by scoring from the spot in the second half.

The boys look forward to their rivalry game against Sturgis West on Monday as they are now 3 games away from clinching a spot in the state tournament with a 5-1 record.