Scarlet Hawks stifling opponents with strong defense

By Chris Villani

Milford High boys’ soccer head coach Antonio Pinto had a relatively young team coming into the 2024 season and was hoping to be above .500. After earning nine wins and four ties through the first 17 games of the season, it’s safe to say the Scarlet Hawks had exceeded even their head coach’s expectations.

“It’s a really good group,” Pinto said. “They matured throughout the season. Usually, we would get in a tough game and we would roll over in the last minutes, but we got a lot better in those crunch time moments.”

Andre Moura has been stellar on defense as part of a unit that permitted only 12 goals through the first eight Hockomock League games of the season. Sophomore goalkeeper Robbie Cappelli has a goals-against average south of one per game. On the attack, strikers Danny and Marcos Da Silva are both double-digit point scorers.

“They work well with each other,” Pinto said.

Milford’s defense has been a particular strength, according to the head coach.

“We have been sticking together defensively,” he said. “We are in a lot of tight games, so being able to compete and stay tight and not allow goals has been important.”

All but four of Milford’s games this fall have been decided by two goals or less, and Pinto said the experience will serve his team well in the tournament.

“The playoffs will be tough, there is a lot of good competition,” he said. “But we can compete with anybody I think, we can keep it right.”

Pinto said each game in the playoffs will be a “little final” and he said he feels the Hawks have the chance to win a few games and make a run in the tournament.

Milford has some skilled seniors, including Moura, Tiki Lourenco, and Gabe Santos, but the bulk of the Hawks’ core will be returning for at least one more season after this one. The experience gained this fall playing in the Hock and in the state playoffs bodes well for the next couple of years, a prospect that has Pinto excited.

“[The experience] is going to be massive,” he said. “I know the kids are living in the moment, but I do think, every now and then, about the next three years and the sophomores that we have. It’s nice to have a future and a plan for the program.”