The 2025 Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School varsity girls soccer team has author a historic season, winning the program’s first ever league championship. The team sealed the title with a commanding shutout over Island rivals, the Nantucket Whalers, in the annual Battle in the Atlantic on Saturday, adding another feather in their cap with the Golden Anchor trophy.
Equally impressive, the Vineyarders were just one loss away from an undefeated season within their division, finishing with an 8-1-1 record along with six league shutouts. “It feels really good for the girls to do that,” said head coach Matt Malowski after the girls claimed the title. “The girls are so incredibly proud of themselves, but the community is as well.”
Overall, the Vineyarders finished the season 13-4-1 and were ranked No. 25 out of 74 teams in Division Three of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA). As they look ahead to the state tournament, the team will learn their playoff schedule in the coming days.
For Malowski, winning the league title isn’t just the result of having skilled, hardworking players—though they certainly have that—it also reflects years of investing in and strengthening the Island’s youth soccer programs and deliberately developing a culture that values cohesiveness and camaraderie.
He explained, “The program had been struggling, and not because of players or coaches. About 15 years ago, a lot of time, energy, and effort was put into changing MV United, our youth soccer program, and over the course of the years, we are starting to see more benefits from that. We have more girls playing, and it’s a really nice change to see this happening.”
Coach Malowski, alongside MVRHS alumni coaches Cana Courtney and Annie Ollen, prioritize building relationships above all else. “In sports, you’re forming three relationships: relationships with the ball, puck, or racket—the thing you’re playing with; relationships with your teammates; and relationships with the coaching staff,” said Malowski. “If you don’t have a relationship with each other, it’s really hard to do the other two.”
That development paid off in spades this year, with the group forming a tight bond. The Vineyarders’ single loss against teams in their league came against Sandwich High School at home on the McCarthy Stadium pitch earlier this month, the third-to-last game of the season.
Malowski noted that on the cusp of an undefeated season, the pressure got to them. “We let the hype get to us, and that was a good life lesson because it was all mental. We would’ve clinched the league title with that game, and we would’ve potentially been undefeated in the league. So I think the girls went into that game a little tight, and that was a good lesson—we just need to play our style,” he said.
While the girls’ soccer season is a chronicle of success, Coach Malowski said the games they lost, including non-league action, were some of their most important and defining lessons. Non-league games against strong teams like Milford, Archbishop Williams, North Quincy, and Sutton pushed the Vineyarders to improve.
“It’s hard to find schools that are bigger, stronger, and faster than us in league play, so we really wanted to get some of those teams because we wanted to test ourselves,” said Malowski. Against North Quincy High School—ranked No. 15 in a higher division—the girls were leading 1-0 but ultimately lost the game 2-1. “We were right there,” said Malowski.
With soccer teams around the state continuing league play until Friday this week, two playoff scenarios are looming for the Vineyard team. If their seed doesn’t improve before the end of the week, they will likely have a preliminary game against a lower seed on Sunday or Monday. If their seed improves based on other teams’ performance, the Vineyarders could advance directly into the first round of the MIAA state playoffs, where they would likely face a top five or top ten school in the state on Wednesday or Thursday.
As the playoffs approach, practices this week will focus on staying healthy, technical improvement such as passing and dribbling, and rehearsing two interchangeable formations. The goal for the team is to play their style of soccer no matter what.
“The goal is to make sure we play our style. We want to use the playoff hype for good, but we don’t want to get overstimulated like we did against Sandwich and have it become a distraction,” said Malowski. “If we can stay focused on our style of play and concentrate on quick passes and things like that, the girls will do great. I don’t want to focus on the results—I want them to focus on executing.”
On the horizon for the girls varsity soccer team are nominations for Cape and Islands and Eastern Massachusetts League all-stars. Malowski said they have five to six strong contenders for the recognition.
Malowski also thanked the community for their ongoing support and praised the Vineyard girls team for building a culture of camaraderie that can continue to grow for years to come.
“Our community has been really great, and local businesses who support our fundraisers, as well as our school faculty, have been wonderful about encouraging the girls at school—it’s really nice,” said Malowski. “Our team has 11 underclassmen and 11 upperclassmen, so it’s a nice balance with older players mentoring younger players. Hopefully, this culture just carries on for the next several years.”
https://www.mvtimes.com/2025/10/28/girls-soccer-claims-first-cape-islands-championship/
