'Quarterback' of Bourne's girls soccer team is this dynamic goalkeeper. Meet Olivia Meda.
When it comes to sports, athletes can make a difference in ways that don’t always show up in the boxscore.
For the Bourne High School girls soccer team, that player is sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Meda.
In a 4-0 win over Joseph Case High School on Wednesday, it wasn’t just her stopping shots on goals for her fourth clean sheet of the season.
From the start of the game to the end, Meda talked to her teammates. This went as far as Meda asking questions mid-game. She wanted to know what position they were playing on the field, and then told them the right spot to go to.
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Meda could be heard a mile away yelling to her teammates.
“Let’s talk, come on.”
“Defense.”
“We need to shift.”
“We need to start winning these balls.”
It wasn’t always just yelling out directions to tell players what to do. Every time a player scored, she told them "good job," and she also encouraged players when they made good plays.
Bourne head coach Sean Sullivan called Meda the “quarterback” of the Canalmen.
“She’s the most fearless person I’ve ever met in my life,” Sullivan said. “She’s unbelievable. She means so much to this team. Our team recognizes it too. They know she’s yelling and they know they don’t want to upset her because she keeps us in a lot of these games.”
For Meda, communication is a key part to how well they do this season.
“As a goalie, I can see the whole entire field better than anybody else,” Meda said. “I think they appreciate knowing what needs to be done and what needs to be different.”
One player that appreciates Meda is freshman striker Sienna Silvia, who scored two goals in the win over Case.
“It helps me be aware of my surroundings, and what I need to do better," Silvia said. "Even when she says 'come to the ball' or 'go to the ball,' or 'check for the ball,' it helps us turn on."
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Best start to a season since 2008 for Bourne soccer
Coach Sullivan is at the helm for the first time and has the Canalmen sitting at 6-4-1 after the win over Case. This is the best start to a season since 2008.
Sullivan said his goal from day one has been to make the state tournament.
The first MIAA power rankings of the season were released last week (updated Monday), and it looks like Bourne is well on its way to achieving that goal. Prior to the win over Case, Bourne was at number 34.
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The top 32 teams make the playoffs, while 33 and below, with a record at .500 or better, also punch a ticket into the postseason. If the season ended today, the Canalmen would be in the postseason for the first time since 2016.
Sullivan said he wants to get in both ways, have a record above .500 and be in the top 32. Although he is proud of what his team is doing, Sullivan also said it is stressful trying to make a playoff run.
“Seeing those power rankings, the excitement of being in there, but then the pressure of staying in there,” Sullivan said. “All the girls and myself have been checking Arbiter (website) and the power rankings. We have our work cut out to stay in, but I think we can definitely do it.”
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Although the rankings had Bourne in the playoffs, Meda thought they should have been ranked higher, but is using it as motivation.
“I think the number put us down a little bit. It was like a reality check,” Meda said.
Silvia said seeing the number beside their name in the rankings made them more focused on the goal at hand of playing in the state tournament.
Road to the playoffs
Bourne has seven games left in the regular season to make that preseason goal a reality. That is plenty of games for them to shift in the rankings, in a good or bad way.
“These girls are that good, but we just have to play more consistently at the level they are capable of playing,” Sullivan said.
The good news, their next matchup (Monday) is against a Case team they just shutout at home. The bad news, five of the last six games are against teams that are currently playoff teams. That includes a matchup against sixth ranked West Bridgewater (Division 4), and unbeaten Apponequet (Div. 3, #14).
“It’s going to take a lot of dedication and hard work, but I think with our new coach, we can definitely do it this year,” Meda said.
Contact Courtney Jacobs at cjacobs@capecodonline.com. Follow him on X/Twitter: @CJ_Journalist.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Bourne girls soccer defeat Case to move closer to playoff goal
