... those girls from Sandwich
by J.J. Cunis
There was a buzz circulating through the more than 1,000 attendees, participants, officials and vendors at the campus of UMass Amherst, wondering if 'that' team from 2003 was back again at the 2004 Massachusetts Tournament of Champions (MTOC) for youth soccer. That Sandwich team from the Cape. That team of girls who had achieved Amazonian status. They said they cracked lobster shells with their teeth and combed their hair with cod fish bones. They heard they toss sharks back in the ocean by the tail. Is that them?
There were four girls teams from Sandwich at the tournament that year, representing the South Coast Soccer League (SCSL) as champions in their groups ranging from Under 11 (U11) through Under 16 (U16). There are ten similar leagues covering the entire state. Each year, each sends a champion to the state tournament in June. When registering on the first day some parents of the Sandwich U15 and U14 teams were asked, "Are you that Sandwich team …" To which they'd answer, "No, that's the U16's", being aware of the story all too well by now.
When the fabled U16 team did show up to register, they were met with stares of confusion and puzzlement. Where were the 6'4" muscle-bound barbarians they were expecting? These girls were … normal sized … charming … and amiable … and there were only eleven, just enough to field a starting lineup. This couldn't be that legendary team from that distant land over the bridge.
Six years in the SCSL, six years as its champion. No other team in their age group from Fall River to Provincetown ever wore the crown. From U11 to U16, they amassed a regular season record of 62-2-2 and 11-0 in the playoffs. They outscored opponents 240-33. In non-league play, at the Cape Cod Challenge Cup they had a championship and 2nd place showing beating the state champs from Rhode Island and teams from as far away as New York. In five years going to the MTOC, their record was 17-9-1 and they outscored opponents 49-25. In 2003 they were crowned U16 Division 2 State Champs as a U15 team … well, co-state champs. But Sandwich made sure they would be the co-champ that people would remember. In 2003 playing in U16 Division 2, the Sandwich U15 girls were apt to competing with girls older than they were.
In 2000 and 2001, the Sandwich girls just missed the MTOC championship due to the Wild Card being determined based on point differential. That meant whichever team came in second in the group with the sparsely populated Berkshire League Champ was all but guaranteed to be wild card. Scores were run up mercilessly against Berkshire teams knowing the wild card was at stake. Sandwich needless to say, wasn't lucky enough to be in that group. In 2002, the team was in disarray as the girls would be moving on to high school. As a result team was split up among lodgings from Fitchburg to Springfield to Enfield, CT throwing off their rhythm. They lost 1-0 the first day on a penalty kick in the box awarded after the game was thought to be over. Demoralized, they lost to the ultimate champion the next day and finished 10th at the tournament out of 12 teams.
In 2003, the team was all business. They all stayed at the same hotel at the urging of the girls. They were not to be denied. On Friday, they 'sat on' and crushed Gardner (Chair City) 8-0 in the rain. On Saturday they dispatched Cohasset 1-0 in the searing heat, despite many of the Cohasset girls having about an eight inch height advantage. Later that day, the heavy rains returned and so did the tax collectors from North Andover whom they filed away 3-0 in a very physical contest. They rolled through the group 3-0 with a 12-0 goal differential, holding their opponents to a combined four shots on net.
This year was definitely different. It was off to bed early this year. Nothing would distract them. Not the Sandwich U16 boys' team or the boys hockey team from Pittsburgh that were staying in the same hotel. The next morning they were up at 5:30 AM, chomping at the bit to secure the title that had eluded them. It was 52 miles to the UMass fields from the hotel … and it was pouring. A stop at a local Dunkin set them back thirty minutes. The counter crew went into a state of apoplexy, never having experienced this many customers at once since … well, never.
Still they arrived at the fields precisely at 7:45 AM as instructed. Only their coach was there. He told them the finals had been cancelled due to rain and they would be co-champs with the other group winners. The photographer would be arriving shortly to take the team picture for the state-wide youth soccer rag, The Baystater. By 8:30AM the three other girls teams in U16 division 2 and the 8 boys teams in the U16 Division 1 and 2 had shown up for their games. Officials arrived and set up a tent for the photos. Each field had a series of mini-lakes on them but the boy’s coaches and the Sandwich girls argued vigorously with the officials to let them play to no avail. The real decision makers were back home dry in their beds. The girls were angry, they wanted to play. The girls … were in their white uniforms … which gave them an idea!
One of the boys teams took the field to warm up, kicking the ball around. The Sandwich girls also ran out. Not to be outdone, another girls team tried to round up their players to warm up. Sandwich however had something else in mind. You could almost sense the voice of the infamous Cheech Marin venting out of their brains, "We don't need no freaking warm ups!" They were up to something … conspiring. Nobody noticed they hadn't brought any balls. Two girls broke from the pack, ran down the field and launched like torpedoes face first into the puddled water, executing a masterful mud slide with fish tail wakes. Two more followed and soon thereafter all of them. After some coaxing from his muddy charges, even the coach joined. Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked on, open mouthed in awe. The other girl's team turned around and left the field not wanting anything to do with this spectacle. Barbarians!
The girls played around in the mud for another fifteen minutes or so and abruptly decided they were done. The temperature was in the mid fifties. The other teams had already lined up to get their pictures taken. The Sandwich girls went to the front of the line asking if anyone minded if they cut. No one did. As a matter of fact, many of the other teams' parents were jockeying to get their pictures. A boy's team that they cut immediately in front of, applauded the girls but were hesitant to sit on the muddied chairs they left behind. One of the girls asked “What’s a matter? Afraid of getting wet?” Jeering amongst the boys ensued ultimately resulting in a small fracas, which was quickly quelled. Meanwhile the girls had departed, posing every so often for more pictures.
The girls piled into the back of a parent's pickup truck while another parent led the caravan of vehicles on the most unobtrusive route to the campus field house. On the public roads they were greeted by beeping horns and cheers of approval. Unfortunately, a police officer was at the entrance to the field house parking lot and she stopped them asking if 'those' belonged to the driver in the lead. He nodded and told her they were going straight to the field house to get them cleaned up. She let them pass but, with an admiring smile, told the girls to pipe down.
The girls stormed into what turned out to be the men’s locker room with cacophony of laughter and chattering and took showers. This had been the “Women’s Restrooms” during the tournament, but evidently that ended the day before. A professorially looking older gentleman discreetly scampered out of one of the rows of lockers with his belongings hastily gathered in his arms upon hearing all the commotion from the team of young girls.
The other teams in the semi’s included a wild card from Nashoba Valley. Sandwich had beaten the first place team from Nashoba Valley 8-0 on Friday. Sandwich had played another co-champ and beaten them 3-1 a month earlier at the Cape Cod Challenge Cup over Memorial Day weekend. The third team evidently had a rough go against the second place Nashoba team since that it ended up the wild card. As mentioned, Sandwich had thoroughly crushed its champion. Sandwich was destined to be champions but lacked a venue due to flood. Fade in Albert King moaning “if it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have no luck at all”.
The year 2004 would be a fitting swan song for this legendary team. The girls had sixteen rostered players at the start of the season, but that number was reduced to thirteen due to season ending injuries. Another player would later drop off the team unexpectedly, leaving them with twelve. With a full complement of players, they had one sub. When you factor high school varsity commitments, work schedules, various medical procedures and whatnot, the headcount during warm ups many times was the most intense part of the game.
The road to the 2004 MTOC would prove to be quite the gauntlet. In the regular season, with the prom occurring the night before and conflicting work schedules the team traveled to Westport, MA with only eight players to face a team who fielded a full squad of eleven with four subs. To make matters worse, one Sandwich player went out limping for 10 minutes in the first half after jamming her leg. Another was out for the final five minutes of the second half stopping the bleeding from a fist to the mouth. Sandwich still put on a clinic of soccer skills acquired over the years and dominated play throughout, allowing only four shots and winning 6-1.
At little further in the season, the team sustained only its second league loss in six years. They began the game against Yarmouth-Dennis with only nine players versus eleven. By the end of the game it was eight players. They lost 1-0 on an end of game corner kick coming directly out of the sun and hooking into the net. Not a soul on either team moved for the ball. No one saw it. Their previous loss had been when they were eleven, in their first year of competition.
The loss to Yarmouth-Dennis proved unfortunate for the then undefeated, first place, Dartmouth, who was next up for Sandwich. Sandwich fielded a squad of eleven and showed just how good they can be at even strength. Dartmouth stepped onto a hornet's nest and was stung to the tune of 5-0. They swept through the rest of their games and again were in the playoffs finals facing Dartmouth for the fourth time in six years.
For this game, the team was able to field a full complement of players however, their one and only goal keeper for the season was unable to attend due to the game being rescheduled. Sandwich's longtime back up keeper had been sidelined for the season with a broken leg. One of their fleet footed wingers who had played a few games of indoor soccer in net volunteered to take the net in a championship game where everything was on the line, the last defender protecting a five-year dynasty. Talk about stepping from the frying pan into the fire. Nevertheless, Sandwich crushed Dartmouth 4-1. Their newly christened keeper turned away seven shots, two of which came in the last eight minutes while Sandwich shorthanded due to a red card. A Dartmouth player had blindsided a Sandwich girl with a forearm to the head. The Sandwich girl, who was also a varsity hockey player, instinctively turned and decked her.
So it was off to the MTOC for their final season. That year, they would resemble the defenders the Alamo rather than a legendary powerhouse dynasty of the sport. They started the first game with eleven players and shortly after the third game began, were only nine. The story here is not how far they went in the tournament, but how well they played despite being thrown setback after setback. So it ended. They won 1 and lost 2 games with only an overall minus 1 goal differential while playing five of six halves shorthanded. The three teams they played were champs of the leagues from the suburbs immediately to the north, south, and west of Boston. They outplayed all three teams in the midfield, but were unable to sustain any attacks due to their lack of numbers. And that’s how they left the world of town travel soccer.
Weeks after their last tournament talk turned to youth sports among a gathering on Sandy Neck Beach. A mother from Natick told a Sandwich mom that a friend was at that tournament and told her there was this team that was sliding through the mud, every one of the players covered from head to toe. The Sandwich mother smiled while beaming inside with pride and said that would be my daughter’s team.
(For anyone interested, game by game exploits of 'those girls from Sandwich' were chronicled in the weekly spring and early summer sports pages of The Sandwich Enterprise from 2001 through 2004 - Sandwich Archives The story itself appears in the beautiful hardcover edition of "Where's Sandwich" available at the Sandwich Arts Alliance and Amazon: Arts Alliance Online Store
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