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With McCullys in charge, Nauset closes perfect slate
By Griffin Connolly
Globe Staff

At Nauset High in Eastham, the boys’ soccer team likes to keep it in the family.

Junior James McCully had a hat trick in the Warriors’ 3-0 shutout over visiting Barnstable on Monday, boosting his season total to 32 goals, seven shy of the school record his father and current head coach, John McCully, set in 1979.

“If anyone’s going to beat your record,’’ the elder McCully said, “you wouldn’t mind having it be someone in your own family. And he’s worked hard to put himself in this situation.’’

“He’s a good attacking player, and he was on tonight.’’

With the win, Nauset (18-0) completed its second consecutive undefeated regular season. The Red Raiders ended their season at 2-16.

The Warriors have now outscored their opponents 95-0 — repeat: 95-0 — this season, and Barnstable appeared hellbent on preventing them from reaching the century mark.

Save for the brief moments immediately following each of the five center-circle kickoffs, Nauset rarely had any players below the 30-yard line on its half of the pitch; the Red Raiders, on the other hand, consistently herded their full 11 in the defensive third.

“They were essentially playing a 5-5’’ — five players on the back line, five in the midfield — “with no forward,’’ John McCully said.

“That was their game plan. Their game plan was not to let us ‘run the score up,’ if you want to say that.’’

Barnstable’s strategy worked according to the script early on, as

The Raiders kept a clean sheet for 25 minutes.

But with 14:45 to go until the break, McCully, a right-footer, collected a pass from junior midfielder Ethan Craven and placed a shot to the bottom-right corner with his left foot from 18 yards out.

From that point, the Warriors’ offense surged into overdrive, though the Barnstable defenders staved off an assembly line of Nauset forays into the 18-yard box with multiple saves along the goal line to keep the game within reach at 1-0 heading into halftime.

Five minutes into the second half, McCully netted another lefty shot from virtually the same spot as his first goal — except this time he beamed the ball to the top-right corner. Junior Vance Bates was credited with the assist.

McCully completed the hat trick with 18:19 to play with a blast from 30 yards out.

It didn’t surprise John McCully that his team struggled to find its offensive flow early on. It was senior night, and the coach decided to tweak his opening lineup so that seniors Osdeimer Perez and Michael Newton could start in their final regular season home game.

“Not to take anything away from our seniors, but our speedsters were sitting on the bench at the pine,’’ John McCully said. “So once we put everybody back in and got situated, talked about breaking them down a little bit, we got a goal.’’

“What was important was getting the two points, getting another clean sheet, and playing well.’’

Marshfield 4, Bridgewater-Raynham 3 — Senior Nick Petrillo scored a hat trick for the Rams, who trailed, 3-1, at the half.

BC High 2, Hingham 1 — Junior forward Ryan Cuozzo tallied twice for the Eagles, including the winner with three minutes remaining.

Seekonk 0, Bourne 0 — Bourne (14-2-2) clinched the South Coast Conference title with the tie.

Dartmouth 5, Sandwich 2 — Malaquias Garcia scored two goals for the Indians.

Saint Joseph Prep 3, Marian 0 — Jack O’Dea scored two goals and goalkeeper Lubens Benjamin recorded his 11th shutout of the season to lead Saint Joseph Prep (14-4).

Girls’ soccer

Notre Dame (Hingham) 4, Cardinal Spellman 0 — Sophomore Julia Greene scored two goals for the Cougars.

Hull 7, Middleborough 0 — In her last regular-season game, senior Caitlin Ryan picked up her 100th career point as the Pirates closed with a 14-2-2 record.

Brookline 6, Ursuline 0 — Senior Liz Dumas scored three goals to up her total to 22 this season in the win for Brookline (16-1-1).

Bishop Fenwick 2, Chelmsford 0 — Sophomore Grace Foley scored seven minutes into the second half with a 20-yard blast and senior Ally Charette added an insurance tally with 10 minutes remaining as Fenwick (8-7-3) clinched a spot in the Division 3 North tourney. Senior Abbey Rocker had two assists.

Marian 9, Cristo Rey 0 — Senior Antonia Fantasia scored 5 goals, and Emily Vitale registered her sixth shutout in net this season to lead the Mustangs to victory.

Peabody 8, Revere 0 — Jillian Arigo (two goals, two assists), Emily Nelson (two goals, one assist) and Marissa Orlando (two goals) led the offensive onslaught for the Tanners (14-1-3).

Milton 3, Dedham 0 — Senior Alyssa Lum scored and added an assist in her last regular season game for the Wildcats.

Girls’ volleyball

Arlington Catholic 3, Cardinal Spellman 1 — Led by senior captains Marie Donovan (33 assists) and Monica Royo (7 aces, 12 kills), the Cougars (16-4) clinched the CCL title.

Barnstable 3, Duxbury 1 — Sophomore Riley James had a game-high 24 kills for the Red Raiders (18-1).

Hopkinton 3, Ashland 1 — Juniors Amanda Gilbert and Rachel Zale led the Hillers (17-2), combining for 15 kills to along with 21 assists from Zale.

Marblehead 3, Swampscott 0 — Jenny Norcross had 12 kills and Reilly O’Grady notched 24 assists for the Magicians (14-4).

Andover 3, Winchester 1 — Julia McBride led the way with 15 kills for the Golden Warriors. Kendra Moore added seven blocks and Jillian Webber contributed 11 kills and nine digs.

Case 3, Dartmouth 2 — Junior Hailey Armburg led the Cardinals (19-2) with six aces, 10 kills and 32 digs. Senior Lauren Davidson added 15 kills.

Whitman-Hanson 3, Plymouth South 0 — Tori Perry and Jordyn Keith combined to produce 29 aces for the Panthers (11-10).

Central Catholic 3, Bishop Fenwick 2 — Ashlie Dykeman paced the Raiders (17-2) with 16 kills, 35 digs, 16 service points and five aces. Julia Zargaj (14 kills, five blocks) and Kat Antczak (42 assists) also had big performances.

For more scores and highlights, go to bostonglobe.com/sports.