Old Rochester girls soccer is perfect to begin the year
Senior Gabby Pinhancos dribbles the ball Monday, Sept. 16 as Old Rochester beat Dighton-Rehoboth 3-2 to continue its undefeated start to the season. Photo by Erez Ben-Akiva
Junior Kate Thomsen turns up the soccer field.
Senior Liz Feeney protects the ball.
Junior Delilah Post dribbles up the sideline.
Pinhancos passes to senior Delaney Chase.
Chase passes back to Pinhancos.
Thomsen runs toward the ball. 
Senior Audrey Thomas dribbles up the field.
Freshman Blair Thomas approaches the ball.
Junior Amanda Ignacio kicks the ball.
Senior Gabby Pinhancos dribbles the ball Monday, Sept. 16 as Old Rochester beat Dighton-Rehoboth 3-2 to continue its undefeated start to the season. Photo by Erez Ben-Akiva
Junior Kate Thomsen turns up the soccer field.
Senior Liz Feeney protects the ball.
Junior Delilah Post dribbles up the sideline.
Pinhancos passes to senior Delaney Chase.
Chase passes back to Pinhancos.
Thomsen runs toward the ball.
Senior Audrey Thomas dribbles up the field.
Freshman Blair Thomas approaches the ball.
Junior Amanda Ignacio kicks the ball.
MATTAPOISETT — The Old Rochester Regional High School girls soccer team talks a lot.
They talk about positioning, like where defenders or midfielders should stand. They tell each other if there’s an opposing defender guarding nearby. They talk to each other about who to pass to, who’s open and whether they have time and space on the soccer field.
They were talking Monday, Sept. 16 as they beat Dighton-Rehoboth High School 3-2 to continue an undefeated win streak to begin the year.
The players on the now 6-0 Bulldogs have been playing together for a while, according to senior captain Delaney Chase. With that comes chemistry and communication during games — of which Old Rochester have yet to lose.
“I think being the louder team means a lot, when you’re speaking more and you’re talking to each other more, it intimidates other teams and it gets you more energy,” Chase said.
Another factor in the undefeated equation is consistency.
“I think that we’ve just been able to play how we want to play every game,” Chase said.
Old Rochester entered halftime Monday tied with Dighton-Rehoboth 1-1. Dighton-Rehoboth scored first and controlled the ball more than the Bulldogs in the first 40 minutes.
Head coach Jeff Lombard said the team has “talked a lot” about possession, applying pressure on defense — “pressing,” and identifying open space on offense — “looking for the right runs.”
The Bulldogs, congregated in a circle on the field during the midway break of the game, agreed that hadn’t happened in the first half, according to Lombard.
Old Rochester then broke a 2-2 tie with just a few minutes remaining in the game.
“A lot of it is them just kind of understanding what needs to get done,” Lombard said.
Senior Liz Feeney said the Bulldogs possessed the ball more in the second half.
“We started controlling it a lot better, and then once we broke through, we had a lot of opportunities up there and we finally were able to capitalize on them,” Feeney said.
The way Old Rochester reacted in the second half was “a very positive thing,” according to Lombard.
“There’s a lot of smart players,” he said. “There’s a lot of players with good touch, and as long as they’re working together, they can turn it on when they need to.”
In six wins to begin the early season, Old Rochester has allowed six goals. The first three games were shutout victories.
While less than a third of the regular season has been completed, the record is perfect so far — and the Bulldogs have a chance against every team they face, according to Chase.
“I’m confident that we all are good players, and we can get out with the win as long as we just play how we know we can play,” she said.
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