The Dartmouth High boys soccer team advanced further into the postseason on November 7 with a 5-0 win over Bishop Feehan, while the girls team ended its playoff run earlier in the week.

For the boys team, the matchup against Bishop Feehan was the Indians’ first playoff game, as the team secured a preliminary bye and advanced to the first round of the Div. 2 South playoffs. Determined not to repeat last season’s semifinal loss to the same team, Head Coach Josh Silva spent an entire week in training to bump up his team’s skills.

“It helps playing against Bishop Feehan, who knocked us out of the playoffs,” Silva said. “That was our motivation.”

Senior Isaac Sequeira led scoring for the Indians, involved in every one of Dartmouth’s five goals. Sequeira scored his first goal of the night with 18 minutes remaining in the first half, and put another goal in moments later. He made it 3-0 heading into halftime. Two more goals put the Indians on top, as the Shamrocks struggled to make attempts at goals.

“I was truly pleased with every facet of the game tonight,” Silva said. “I’m proud of the guys tonight.”

With a different squad this season, Silva noted that helped turn things around against Bishop Feehan, in addition to his team’s willpower to advance further into the postseason.

“I think this year we wanted it more,” Silva added.

The Indians will face Duxbury in the quarter finals on November 9.

The girls soccer team was defeated by Silver Lake 4-0 on November 6. Prior to the game, Head Coach Mark Poirier knew it would be a tough matchup, as he noted Silver Lake plays a tough regular season schedule against strong schools. He said the speed at which they play was also a challenge as the Indians struggled to keep up.

“[Silver Lake] pretty much controlled the game,” Poirier said. “They’re a very fast and skilled team.”

He commended goalkeeper Rachael Pereira with keeping Silver Lake from securing an even stronger lead, his captains, Sarah Vieira, Pereira, and Gwen Taradash, as well as his entire team for playing strong throughout the match.

“I give the kids a lot of credit; they played hard right to the very end,” Poirier said.

The game was the last at Dartmouth High for his senior-dominated team, with 13 set to graduate. That leaves a half-dozen juniors, a sophomore, and a freshman with varsity experience who may return next season, along with several freshmen who were brought up to varsity for the tournament. Poirier added he'll be looking out for who improves over the offseason when looking ahead to next season.