Sophomore eyes Westport sports history

Westport Wildcats Striker Lily Veracka scored the 100th goal of her career during an 8-0 shellacking of Atlantis Charter School in Fall River last Tuesday, putting her within sight of the all-time school record with two-plus full seasons ahead of her.

Veracka, a sophomore, scored five goals against the Tritons to put her at 100 goals — “It felt pretty good,” she said after the game. “It’s so far my favorite moment on the field." 

Known by fellow players and her coaches as a a highly skilled player with a deep skillset, Veracka has earned the respect of her fellow Wildcats on and off the bench.

“Lily is a special player,” coach Gus Araujohe said. "She is a sweetheart off the field. On the field, something just clicks and she turns it on to a different level. She has this chip on her shoulder that drives her and makes her work hard every day. One of the most exciting parts of receiving the coaching job this season was knowing that I would get to coach Lily and help her develop. I am super proud of her." 

 Coach Araujo also said he sympathizes with opposing coaches who have to come up with game planse to keep her in check: “I would lose sleep over figuring out how to manage her during a game situation," he said. "We are lucky that she's playing on our on our side.” 

Lily currently holds all Westport High School's women's soccer scoring records. The phenom scored 23 goals as a seventh grader in her initial varsity soccer season in 2023 at age 12. She led the Wildcats that year to their first-ever MAC championship with a record of 13-5-1 in Division 5. As an eighth grader, she scored 24 goals and led the team to their second MAC championship with a record of 13-3-3. As a freshman, she scored 32 goals and led the team to their third MAC championship with a record of 10-7-1 in Division 4. The Wildcats made the state tournament all three years and went to the Sweet 16 in 2024. During those seasons, Lily played for Wildcats former head coach Gary Muelo, who spoke glowingly of the soccer star this week.

"I knew immediately Lily could be the type of player that can help her team win with her tenacious goal scoring abilities," he said. "She can be relentless going forward with the ball, she's brave, quick and very athletic. She can jump over players in full stride and can dribble around them. And she knows how to score goals. She's Tenacious, driven, crafty with great foot skills on the ball. Lily has fought through injuries and just wants to be on the field playing a game she loves dearly."

Eyeing all-time marks

Lily has scored 21 goals in six games this season, and is gaining on the school’s all-time scoring record of 140 set by Alex Ferreira as a senior in 2011. The Massachusetts state record for women's soccer is 229 goals set by Hannah Murphy of Monson High School in 2025. 

Her parents, Rebecca and Michael Veracka, were both high school and collegiate athletes who met 30years ago as students at UMASS Dartmouth — Rebecca was a forward for the field hockey team, while Michael played goalie for the soccer team and also played lacrosse. They settled in Westport and put Lily in a town youth soccer program at age four. 

“I wasn’t that interested in the playing,” Lily said. “I just stood around and picked flowers.”

But it became apparent that she was a special athlete while playing her first year of travel soccer at age six. 

“She just started scoring goals and blew everybody away,” her mom said. “She’d dribble down the field and score, goal, goal, goal, goal, goal. We were like ‘Wow, she’s got something.’”

“Lily is conscious of her teammates and always tries to make it fun for whoever she is playing with,” said her dad. “She’s exciting and fun to watch.” 

Wildcats looking to make a deep tournament run

Lily and the Wildcats are currently 5-1 in Division 4 and are looking to make a deep run in the state tournament this fall. 

“Our team is really good and our bond is really strong,” Veracka said. “We are hoping to win a few rounds at state’s and maybe win it.”