Monomoy Boys Soccer Picks Up Senior Night Win

HARWICH – Perhaps all along it was a given that it would take some time for the Monomoy boys soccer team to jell this year.

After graduating a host of players from last season, the Sharks did get off to a somewhat slow start in 2025, losing four of their first six games. But that trend has flipped within the last few weeks, as Monomoy went nearly a month between losses. 

Between Sept. 23 to Oct. 16, Monomoy went 3-0-5 and, during the stretch, faced three teams they had already lost to earlier in the season but either beat or tied in the second meeting. 

“We're really coming around,” head coach Keith Clark said. “The group has come together, which is to be expected when you graduate your frontline, your backline. Takes a while for things to mesh, and I think we've done a nice job with that.”

The Sharks’ most recent win (as of Tuesday) came against Sandwich, a 4-1 victory on senior night Wednesday, Oct. 15 that acted as a strong follow to the 3-2 loss taken when the group visited the Blue Knights in September.

“It was a really nice feeling to just come out here and kind of smack ‘em in the mouth a little bit, and it was just a great team win, like great passing, great finishing, just great effort overall,” junior Alex Connell said. 

Connell put through the match’s first score 20 minutes into the first half off a cross by sophomore Chris Shea. Near the end of the half, sophomore Juan Pablo Banquero chipped a kick to the far post, where Shea chested it in to give Monomoy a 2-0 lead. 

Sandwich threatened with a score early in the second half, but the Sharks pulled away later on with two goals from a pair of brothers, junior captain Tate Laramee and eighth grader Derek Laramee. Each goal was entertainingly compelling in its own way.

First, the eldest Laramee on the pitch stole a ball in the midfield and beat a handful of Sandwich players to their penalty box, where he banged the ball across from the left side to the right part of the net.

About 10 minutes later, the younger Laramee similarly picked a ball up in the midfield, advanced it and drilled a strike top left from at least 30 yards out to secure the 4-1 win.

“Just kind of thought, why not have a shot there and it ended up going in, but I’m really, really happy about that,” Derek Laramee said. 

Laramees scoring impressively on the field together is nothing new for the Monomoy boys soccer program. One of those 10 graduated players from last year was Tate and Derek’s older brother Ryan, a senior captain.

Derek Laramee said playing with a brother is “an amazing experience” and that his older brother’s goal against Sandwich was “phenomenal.”

“After I see him just running down like that, almost like everybody almost knows he’s going to score — phenomenal,” Laramee said. 

He and Connell both pointed to a 1-0 shutout against Martha’s Vineyard at the end of September as the match where the tides shifted for the Sharks. Monomoy had lost 3-1 to Martha’s Vineyard in their season opener. That second meeting signaled that they could beat teams, according to Connell. 

With some new players, the team has come together as a group. There’s also been positional adjustments that have made a difference, like Banchero at right back and junior Jean Celine at left back, according to Clark.

“It just took a lot of games for us to kind of get in our vibe as a team and start getting that chemistry together,” Connell said.

Before the match against Sandwich, the seniors on both sides of the field, as well as those in the Monomoy Select Choir, were honored. For the Sharks soccer team, those seniors were Dylan Metters, Sunder Elisme, Patrick Jordan and Patrick McMahon. 

“The four seniors on the team really taught me a lot,” Laramee said. “They told me what to expect during summer league and how to play through all the hits. They've really been mentors for me.”

Monomoy (5-5-5) slotted into 22nd place among the Division 4 power rankings released by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association on Tuesday. Laramee said Clark had found the group’s starting 11 plus their strengths and weaknesses. The team has been put to work at practices, but there’s been a balance too; the Sharks went bowling and had barbeque in Orleans the previous weekend, according to Clark.

“He’s telling us what to do, what not to do,” Laramee said. “He's helped our backline. He’s helped our midfielders. He’s helped every player on this team, and I really thank him for that.”