Led By Cushing And Perry, Nauset Boys Soccer Primed For Postseason

BRIDGEWATER – The Nauset boys soccer team couldn’t have asked for a better finish to its regular season.

After a 0-0 tie with Barnstable on Oct. 19, the Warriors closed out their regular season with three impressive victories over Dennis-Yarmouth (3-0), Bridgewater-Raynham (5-2) and Pembroke (2-1) to finish their regular season with a 10-1-6 record.

Still, as the team awaits its seeding in the Division 3 state tournament, head coach John McCully said the squad is still striving for more.

“We need more consistency,” McCully said after Thursday’s win at B-R. “Don’t get me wrong, D-Y was good, 3-0, but we could’ve scored a couple more. We’re still striving for more consistency in all facets of the game – goalkeeping, defending, attacking, midfield play.”

More than a month has passed since Nauset suffered its only loss – a 4-2 defeat at Nantucket on Sept. 26 – as the team has continued to get stronger while being led by its dynamic duo, senior Charlie Cushing and sophomore Omari Perry.

After playing alongside each other on the Liverpool FC International Academy club team, the pair have developed a chemistry that makes them a nightmare for opposing teams. Their cohesion and talent was on full display at B-R, when Cushing netted two goals and Perry added a goal and an assist.

“They have chemistry together. You can tell, it’s unbelievable,” McCully said. “They just know each other and look for each other because they kind of played next to each other all spring, which is amazing, and now they have a chemistry.”

Cushing, who is “arguably the best player on the Cape,” according to McCully, said he’s been impressed with the leap Perry has made in his development from his freshman to his sophomore year.

“He was in the gym and got a little bigger,” said Cushing, an Eastham resident. “He still needs to get a little bigger, but he moves like a soccer player. There’s soccer players and there’s ballers, and he’s a baller – he just moves like one.”

Perry, who is also from Eastham, said he and Cushing spend a lot of time talking about what they and their teammates need to do to be successful.

“We manifest this a lot,” the sophomore said. “We talk about soccer and about everything we need to do. And we keep up the hard work and get along with the other guys and coach.”

The Warriors climbed to No. 9 in the Oct. 27 edition of the MIAA power rankings, though they are hoping the win over Pembroke will bump them even higher when the final tournament seedings come out.

“Our goal is to be in the top eight,” McCully said.

Regardless of the team’s seeding, Cushing said the team will be ready to elevate its game in the postseason.

“I’ve always said the regular season matters, but once you get to the playoffs anything can happen,” Cushing said. It’s my last [season] with all of the other seniors, so I just want to leave it all out there.

“There can be good bounces and bad bounces, but all you can really ask for from all of the guys is that they give everything they have. If you give everything you have and you come up short, you can live with that.”