Burr and Burton Tops Mounties in Tournament Final
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BENNINGTON, Mass. – The Burr and Burton boys soccer team Saturday scored just five minutes into the game and went on to take a 3-1 win over Mount Greylock in the championship game of Mount Anthony’s John James Tournament.
Reed Miles-Harris scored on a direct free kick from about 35 yards out, and Ward Bianchi made 10 saves for the Mounties, who took their first loss of the season after a 3-0 start.
Mount Greylock started Saturday night’s contest without some key contributors.
“This was a hard game for us,” Mount Greylock coach Chris Kapiloff said. “We came in with four starters unable to play, one from [Thursday night’s win], three others for a couple of weeks.
“So we knew that this was going to be a tall mountain to climb. It was unfortunate to go down in the first five minutes, but, you know, we ended the half at 1-0 and felt like we had some OK opportunities. But a thin bench just wasn’t able to keep up the energy on the field tonight.”
Owen Grey scored with a shot from the left side with 35 minutes, 10 seconds on the clock in the first half.
The Bulldogs (5-0-1) went on to outshoot the Mounties, 5-1, in the first half and came away with a decided edge in possession time.
But Bianchi and his defense held up to the pressure.
“Ward is an outstanding keeper, and our defense did a great job as well,” Kapiloff said. “We had a couple of breakdowns, but I think they’re fixable.”
It took until midway through the second half for the team from Manchester, Vt., to again find the back of the net.
A Mount Greylock foul inside the 18 led to a Bodie Smith penalty kick that gave his team a 2-0 lead. Smith went on to be named the most outstanding offensive player of the tournament.
Four minutes later, Liam Herschberg scored to give Burr and Burton a 3-0 lead with 17:42 left to play.
From then on, Mount Greylock was able to generate a few more opportunities in the final third, and its pressure resulted in the free kick chance that Miles-Harris buried with a low line drive in the 71st minute.
“Reed Miles-Harris had his fourth goal in four games,” Kapiloff said. “I think I’ve seen lasers that have more bend than that shot did. It was absolutely amazing.”
Kapiloff said the Mounties are looking forward to a challenging week that includes a trip to Monument Mountain and a home date against Hampshire Regional.
“We really are hoping to have two of [the missing starters] back to play against Monument Mountain on Tuesday,” Kapiloff said. “But that will remain to be seen. And Zin [Doucette] will be out until the end of this month with a broken foot.
“You can’t rush hamstrings. You can’t rush broken bones.”