FALMOUTH — In the preseason, Falmouth High boys’ soccer coach Dave Halligan mentioned his team didn’t have a star and instead would rely on working together and balanced scoring.

Sounds like a good idea, and one the Yachtsmen showed can work. Four players scored Thursday night in a 4-0 win against injury-depleted rival Cape Elizabeth.

“That’s the way it’s been all season and that’s the way it has to be for us to be successful,” Halligan said. “They don’t care who scores.”

The strategy has Falmouth (5-0) first in the Southern A Heal point standings. Cape Elizabeth is 3-2.

Nate Arrants and Michael Sanzari scored in the first half, each putting in a close-range rebound.

In the second half it was Matt Polewaczyk doing the same after a corner kick by Nigel Dunn reached the back post. Jonah Spiegel finished the scoring with a shot off a defender after letting a rolling pass from Polewaczyk run a few extra yards to create a shooting angle.

Advertisement

Polewaczyk also assisted on Sanzari’s goal.

“I think we get a lot of chances and although they’re not very clean chances, I feel like we’ve definitely been picking up. Last year I didn’t feel like we were scrappy,” Polewaczyk said. “This year we’ve definitely improved. Whenever a goalie makes a mistake our teammates are there to pick the ball up and put it in.”

The Yachtsmen attacked from distance on their first goal when Dunn uncorked a hard left-footed shot from 35 yards. Keeper Sean Agrondia was able to stop but not control the hooking shot. Two Falmouth forwards were running hungrily to the loose ball with Arrants getting his foot on it first in the 24th minute.

Similarly, it was Sanzari beating a teammate for the rebound less than two minutes later and poking the ball in for a 2-0 lead.

That goal was created by Polewaczyk, who worked down the left side and past a pair of youthful defenders to get in tight on Agrondia. The keeper deflected a short-range bid but toward the open net for Sanzari to finish.

In addition to finishing, Falmouth showed good ball distribution, especially from its defense. That group now includes Dunn, a converted forward, who roamed the left sideline.

Advertisement

Dunn said Falmouth’s scrappiness comes “from our hard work in practice and knowing that we’ve got backups who want to play, and that keeps us determined out on the field.”

Cape was without injured starters Owen Thoreck, RJ Sarka and Elliott McGinn. All are expected back but Sarka and McGinn are likely out at least two weeks. Three other players were unavailable due to injury.

“What everybody’s got to understand is we’re trying to prepare to be our best at the end of the year,” Cape Coach Ben Raymond said. “It was great competition and that’s how you get better. We had a bunch of kids in there and they got to step in and play a huge role in a big game and that’s just going to make them better in the long run.”

Early in the game, Cape showed it has the talent to stick with top teams. Nicholas Sabatini flashed clever moves in traffic. Matt Concannon demonstrated speed on the left wing and rang a shot off the crossbar in the third minute. Wes Parker distributed well from the midfield, and the Capers did a good job stringing passes.

 


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.