Week two of sports at Old Rochester Regional High School brought forth some incredible performances from most teams, most notably football and girls’ soccer. The girls’ soccer team won all three of their games this week with victories over GNB Voc-Tech, Wareham and Fairhaven. Against Voc-Tech, senior Michaela Bouvette scored the lone goal in the first half with an assist from Cate Cunningham to lead the girls to a 1-0 victory. Junior goalie Mikayla Demanche is credited with five saves in the game. Later in the week, the girls crushed Wareham with a score of 8-0, with goals from Sarah Beaulieu (three), Bouvette (two), and Morgan DaSilva, Amy Bichajian, Cunningham, and Camille Filloramo each pitching in with one goal apiece. Finally, the girls beat Fairhaven High School 2-0, completing an extremely successful week.
While most teams struggle early on in the season, the girls’ soccer team has flourished, which junior defender Nicole Gifford accredits to the team’s strong chemistry.
“Most of us have us have played together before so we already know each other’s styles, making it easier for us to play together as one,” Gifford said. “We all share the same goal and are willing to work together to achieve that goal. It also helps that we have a coach that understands us as players and as people.”
The boys’ football team also had a great week. The Bulldogs, playing in their first SCC matchup and their first night game of the season, defeated the Case Cardinals 35-6 thanks to strong offensive performances from juniors Alex Aruri and Raekwon Phillips. Phillips scored two touchdowns, and Aruri scored once. Aruri also provided a pivotal play where he caught a 33-yard pass from quarterback Nolan Bergeron on an early drive in the first quarter. Bergeron would go on to score with a 4-yard rushing touchdown to put the Bulldogs on the board. Along with Bergeron, Aruri and Phillips, sophomore talent Darien Dumond also scored, and had a combined 130 yards on the night.
The boys’ and girls’ cross country teams got their seasons under way at the Big Wave Invitational on Saturday. Although Head Coach Cindy Tilden withheld her top eight boys’ and girls’ runners in preparation for an upcoming meet against Fairhaven, several of the Bulldogs had excellent showings on the 2.5-mile course. Freshman James Goulart was the top Bulldog finisher, running a 16:33 and placing 24th in the freshman/sophomore boys division. Right on his tail was freshman Eric Souza, who ran a 16:41, placing 26th. The girls were also well represented in the meet, with freshman Riley Shaughnessy placing 4th in the girls’ freshman/sophomore race with a time of 19:37. Although the meet did not count as part of the team’s record, Captain Paige Santos explained that there was still value in it, especially for the freshmen.
“Most of the freshmen haven’t run in a high school level cross country race yet, so this invitational was a great way to get them used to how they work,” she said. “They learn to get out from the line fast and run with a pack. It was good experience without any pressure to win.”
Below are the overall team records, followed by the conference records in wins, ties and losses as of September 15.
Football: (2-0-0) (1-0-0); Field Hockey: (3-2-0) (3-1-0); Girls’ Soccer: (4-0-1) (4-0-1); Boys Soccer: (1-2-2) (1-2-2); Golf: (3-1-0) (3-1-0); Volleyball: (0-4-0) (0-4-0); Cross Country: (0-0-0).
By Michael Kassabian