State Tournaments: Nauset Boys, Girls Soccer Pick Up Playoff Wins

NORTH EASTHAM – A soccer postseason-opening doubleheader at Nauset ended successfully for the home teams, with both the boys and girls programs advancing to the next round via wins of different manners.

Each team was coming off a one-year hiatus in the state tournament, and each team vanquished any memory of those absences with playoff wins in 2026.

The misty day of win-or-go-home action began with No. 26 Nauset (10-5-3) hosting No. 39 Gloucester (9-8-1) in a Division 3 boys soccer state tournament preliminary round contest.

After trailing 1-0 at the half, the Warriors fired back for a 2-1, the game-decider coming from a last-second header by senior Gabriel Walsh.

Though Nauset played in control possession-wise, it was the Fishermen who scored right near the end of the first half, when freshman Jackson Andrews found the perfect angle from the left side to slot a shot at the far post.

Early in the second half, sophomore Jacob Parkington found the equalizing answer for Nauset when he tapped a ball in following a corner.

The 1-1 draw continued for more than 30 minutes, until regulation’s waning moments, as Nauset mounted one last offensive attack.

The Warriors earned a corner, sophomore Tyler Flanders hurried to the spot and sent a clear delivery right into the box, where Walsh rose and hammered a header for the game-winning goal.

Just about four seconds remained on the referee’s wristwatch. 

Walsh called the win a “huge step forward for the program.”

“Going down at any point is really hard for us because it's just not something that we're really comfortable in, but every time that we have, we come right back with more energy,” Walsh said.

It was just the second goal of the year for Walsh, a center back. The Warriors needed a play and made it.

“We've always come back,” head coach John McCully said. “We've been down three or four times and responded and came back.”

The Warriors faced No. 7 Weston (7-5-5) in the following round of the tournament Tuesday (after The Chronicle’s deadline).

Later that evening, the No. 25 Nauset girls soccer team (12-3-3) combined a clean sheet with an explosive offensive performance enroute to a 5-0 win over No. 40 Pittsfield (9-7-2) in the preliminary round of the Division 3 state tournament.

Senior Caroline Bothfeld opened the account early with a showstopping strike from nearly 20 yards out. She and senior Madeline Coccoro played a corner short between themselves, the two-player sequence creating an open look from the left side where Bothfeld could unleash a shot.

“That's a corner that we do a lot in the season, and we try to take advantage of it when the opposing team doesn't send anyone else over to defend us,” Coccoro said. “And then we just work together and decide if we want to take it down the end line or just pass it to the other up, and then it creates a lot of good chances for us.”

Later in the first half, Coccoro added to the tally when she turned the corner by the left touchline and weaved through multiple defenders to hit a shot past the near post. Freshman Vivienne Ryder had the assist.

Not even four minutes after, Coccoro again pressed the issue by curving a ball hard toward the box, a ricochet by a Pittsfield player sending it into the underside of the crossbar and in.

“In terms of composure, when we were going forward, we looked really dangerous,” head coach Evan Botting said. “Girls were excited taking people on. Some of these girls I've never seen move that fast. There was just a different energy for us, so it was awesome.”

In the second half, freshman Talia Nadeau scored on an assist by sophomore Stella Hurvitz, who then scored herself near the end via an assist by Bothfeld.

The Warriors fell 3-0 to No. 8 Cardinal Spellman (14-2-2) in the following round Monday.

Long postseason runs into late autumn have been a consistent theme of the past several Monomoy field hockey seasons. 

The No. 4 Sharks (9-6-3) took the first step of perhaps another such journey with a 7-2 win over No. 29 Smith Academy (6-6-3) in the first round of the Division 4 state tournament last Thursday.

Monomoy racked up penalty corners all afternoon, quickly taking a lead they wouldn’t relinquish with goals by seniors Emery Cappallo and Gracen Burrill.

In the second quarter, senior Sage Harrison tipped in a score, assisted by senior Kate Huse.

Early in the second half, Burrill facilitated to sophomore Rebecca Brown, who concluded the play with a goal. Smith Academy did get on the board soon after via a shot by Sophia Jagodzinski, which Cappallo quickly negated with her second score of the game.

Senior Lily Majka scored twice in the game’s final minutes. Bella Gavron added another in between for Smith Academy with a penalty shot.

Burrill finished with two assists and Cappallo added one, while junior Maddy Swett made three saves.

The Sharks hosted No. 13 South Hadley (14-2-1) in the second round of the tournament Tuesday (after The Chronicle’s deadline).

In the Division 3 field hockey state tournament, No. 17 Nauset (9-8-1) fell 1-0 at No. 16 Scituate (10-7-3) on Saturday. Scituate scored with 24 seconds left.

In the Division 4 boys soccer state tournament, No. 9 Monomoy (9-5-4) defeated No. 25 Sturgis West (12-3-2) 5-0 on Monday. Senior Tate Laramee scored twice and had an assist, and junior Chris Shea, senior Jean Celine and senior Alex Connell each scored once. Senior Isaac Vieira had two assists, and junior Juan Pablo Baquero and Derek Laramee each had one.

The Sharks went on to face No. 8 Rockland (9-5-4) in the second round Wednesday (after The Chronicle’s deadline).

In the Division 5 boys soccer state tournament, No. 11 Cape Cod Tech (11-4-3) defeated No. 22 Lenox Memorial (4-11-3) 2-1 in the first round Monday. The Crusaders moved on to face No. 6 Pioneer Charter School of Science I (10-5-3) in the following round (at a date and time not yet announced by The Chronicle’s deadline).

In the Division 5 volleyball state tournament, No. 32 Cape Tech (4-15) beat No. 33 Abby Kelley Foster (12-6) 3-2 in a preliminary round contest Friday. The Crusaders subsequently were defeated by No. 1 Pioneer Valley Christian (21-0) 3-0 in the following round Monday.