Gateway Advances Past Hoosac Valley

CHESHIRE, Mass. – The scheduling gods did the third-seeded Hoosac Valley boys soccer team no favors when the Western Massachusetts Class D brackets were released.

 

The Hurricanes ended up hosting No. 6 Gateway, a team that split with Hoosac Valley during the regular season.

 

And on Wednesday afternoon, the Gators won the rubber match, 2-1.

 

Andrew Chepurenko fought through several defenders at the top of the 18 to create some space and fired a goal past Hoosac keeper Craig Field (10 saves) midway through the second half to break a 1-1 tie.

 

Gateway then held off a furious effort by the Canes to get the equalizer to advance to the regional semi-finals.

 

“[Assistant coach Ben] Raimer and I were talking and saying that in our 10-2-2 record, the only two teams that we could have faced – Gateway and [second-seeded Turners Falls] were the two teams that beat us,” Hoosac Valley coach Blair Mahar said. “So, yeah, we were definitely worried about facing Gateway.

 

“And they’re a good team. They work very hard. I think, overall, we outpossessed, we moved the ball nicely. Sometimes, it comes down to just: It wasn’t our night tonight.”

 

In the first half, Hoosac established its positional advantage, keeping Gateway in its end most of the way.

 

But when the Gators did break out, they were effective, earning a slight 12-9 advantage in shots on goal.

 

The Hurricanes were the first ones to cash in on one of their chances.

 

In the 10th minute of play, Ethan Dubis fired a shot from inside the 18 that was saved by Gator keeper Zachary Hess. But Hess gave up the rebound, and Dylan Rohlfs was there to cash in and give Hoosac Valley a 1-0 lead.

 

A few minutes later, the Hoosac fans held their breath when Rohlfs was tackled by two defenders inside the penalty area. No foul was called, but Rohlfs stayed on the ground for several minutes and eventually came off for about a five-minute break before returning for the rest of the contest.

 

Shortly after he came back, the Hurricanes earned a corner kick, but Gateway not only stymied that scoring chance but countered for the tying goal off the toe of Bow Briggs.

 

Moments later, Hess came off his line to deny Rohlfs on a dangerous run up the right wing, and, late in the half, Sage Chilson had a try that went just wide off a feed from Rohlfs.

 

In the 55th minute, Hess again got aggressive, going all the way to the edge of the 18 to stop Rohlfs. Less than a minute later, Dubis was fouled just outside the 18 on the right wing, and Blake Mazzeo’s direct free kick was on target around the wall, forcing Hess to make a save.

 

But just like on its first goal, Gateway turned the momentum in a hurry, getting the go-ahead score from Chepurenko in the 60th minute.

 

Hoosac Valley continued to keep the pressure on the Gator goal the rest of the way, and Field made a diving save in the closing minutes to keep his team within a goal. But just as it was when the teams met in Huntington on Sept. 30, two goals was enough for Gateway.