Hurricanes Get Dramatic Upset Win in State Tournament

BOURNE, Mass. – Craig Decker made the third of his three saves in the penalty kick shootout Tuesday to clinch a victory for the Hoosac Valley boys soccer team in the first round of the Division 5 State Tournament.

 

The Hurricanes battled Upper Cape Cod Tech to a 1-1 stalemate through regulation and two periods of overtime to get to PKs.

 

“Two of our guys missed theirs, and Craig Field made two nice saves to stop theirs,” Hoosac Valley coach Blair Mahar tells the story. “It was 3-3 after the first five PKs.

 

“Senior captain John Lyons, after having a tremendous game as center back, buried his PK in the back of the net. That then put the pressure on keeper Craig Field, who also played a great game, to make the save to win it for us.

 

“He did.”

 

The match was scoreless after 40 minutes of play, but not for lack of effort by the 19th-seeded Hurricanes.

 

“We controlled the play for a solid 40 minutes in the first half,” Mahar said. “There was a very strong wind that we had to deal with in the first half so we kept the ball on the ground. We did a lot of one- and two-touch passing and played a very nice possession game.  Really proud of the boys.

 

“We were coming off a three-game losing streak and a three-plus hour bus ride. But the boys came out strong and out worked and outplayed CCT for a solid 40.”

 

With the wind at its back in the second half, Hoosac Valley struck first when Ethan Dubis scored with an assist from Dylan Rohlfs.

 

The 14th-seeded Rams tied the game, and it stayed 1-1 going to OT.

 

Despite injuries and cramps that sent many of the Hurricanes to the bench during the second 40 minutes, Hoosac Valley’s starters returned for two 10-minute sudden death overtimes and kept Upper Cape Tech off the scoreboard.

 

After the sudden-death penalty kick save by Field decided things, the Hurricanes got back on the bus to start resting up for their next game, which could mean another cross-commonwealth trip.

 

Hoosac Valley in the Round of 16 will face either Pathfinder Tech or St. John Paul II of Hyannis, who play on Wednesday afternoon.