Item sports: Tahanto boys soccer squad work together for a winning season
BOYLSTON – The Tahanto Regional High School boys soccer team’s season came to an end last week when it dropped a 5-0 decision to Bromfield in the Round of 16, in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Division 5 statewide championship.
The Stags, the 17th seed, battled the top seed Trojans for the full 80 minutes, but were unable to upset the perennial District and state champions.
In the Round of 32, Tahanto blanked Georgetown 1-0, to advance to the Bromfield game.
“I just want to say the seniors did a great job,” Tahanto coach Joel Goulet said. “(Senior goalkeeper) Patrick Disho played a great game tonight and against Georgetown and made some unbelievable saves for us, and has been a good leader the last couple of years.
“(Senior) Cody (Jones) has been playing well, and he had a couple of opportunities (to score) today,” he said. “(Seniors) Anthony (Zapelli) and Jon (Sawyer) were stellar in the back and held it all together.
“I know the score doesn’t reflect what they did, but they were great,” Goulet added. “It has been a pleasure to coach the seniors and this whole group”
In the victory over Georgetown, sophomore Nate MacConnell scored the winning goal for the Stags midway through the first half.
Tahanto finishes the season with a 9-5-4 overall record, and it shared the Midland-Wachusett League D Division title with Lunenburg. Both teams claimed 8-1-3 league marks.
In the Central Mass. Athletic Directors Association (CMADA) tournament, the Stags advanced to the quarterfinals before losing 4-0 to number one seed Bromfield.
The team captains were Sawyer, Zapelli and Jones, who provided leadership throughout the season.
“The seasons gone pretty well and we are all friends, so that helped us on the field,” Sawyer said. “Everyone knows how everyone plays.”
“This is one of the best group of players I’ve ever worked with,” Zapelli said. “The growth of the team has been great from day one.”
“We worked hard since the summer, and it is great to see us working together on the field to get some wins,” Jones said.
According to Goulet, without Disho and his nine shutouts, the season might not have been as successful. Despite an injury, Disho was solid in net in both the Georgetown and Bromfield games, making some spectacular saves.
“Being in goal can be tough,” Disho said. “Even though you have 10 players in front of you, an opposing player might dribble out and take a shot from either 30 or 40 yards away.
“You have to be prepared for any shot and be on your toes no matter what,” he said. “I love being a goalie and have been one since my club team when I was 8 years old.”
The other seniors on the squad were Matt Muldoon, Patrick Clisham and Jake Gross.
“It has just been an enjoyable experience with this team,” Goulet said. “They came out ready every day for practice, and don’t even wait for me to get here. They get started and know exactly what to do.
“We improved with every game,” he said. “We have a good group coming back, but they have to work on conditioning and foot skills in the nine months I’m not with them.
“We have several juniors and sophomores, who will be key to next year, returning,” Goulet added. “Although we’re losing a lot with the seniors, I’m looking for something good from the returning players.”
Peter Doherty was the assistant coach, while Sean Goulet coached the junior varsity team. The middle school coach was Alex Hughson.