Late PK Dooms Greylock in Western Mass. Final
WESTFIELD, Mass. -- In the highest of stakes, in the closest of matches, all it sometimes takes is the smallest mistake to determine whether a team experiences triumph or tragedy.The Mount Greylock boys' soccer team, the top seed in the Division 2 Western Mass. tournament, made one mistake in Saturday's final. One mistake, one misstep in an undefeated season filled with flawless performances. That one mistake cost the Mounties, who surrendered a penalty kick in the 67th minute of play to lose 1-0 to No. 3 Belchertown in Saturday's WMass. final held at Westfield State College.
It was the third year in a row in which the Orioles ended Greylock's season in the playoffs. It was the first time all year long that the Mounties (16-1-3) came out on the losing end.
"The game felt more like a Division 3 college game, as both teams were conservative and committed to defending," Greylock head coach Blair Dils said. "There's wasn't a lot of open space for either team to create quality scoring opportunities. They do a nice job of packing it in and looking to counter attack. Their goalie also played well, getting up and snaring many of Ryan [Mahar's] long throws."
Belchertown (15-1-2) was outshot 9-5 in the game but needed only one big break in the second half to net the game-winning goal. A deep run by Mark Greco in the box forced Mounties senior defender Nick Carson into making a play on the ball. Carson ended up slipping on the play but recovered in time to strip the ball away from Greco. He knocked Greco to the ground, however, and the referee awarded the Orioles a penalty kick, which Chris Riel calmly placed past Greylock goalie Sean Houston for a 1-0 lead.
It was a tough break for Carson, who played so tough on the Mounties' backline all season long. The Greylock senior was a hard-nosed defender for Dils, making sure tackles and counter-attacking runs up the wing to spark his team's offense. He also was a big weapon in set pieces this year, serving in many dangerous balls that led to several goals for the Mounties this season.
"On their goal, Nick uncharacteristically left his feet to make a tackle and was half a second too late," Dils said. "The call was correct, but it was out toward the edge of the box. It was bitterly disappointing to see the game decided on that one play."
Despite a 5-1 edge in shots in the second half, Greylock was unable to find a way past Belchertown keeper Zachary Parsons. The Mounties' best chance to score came early in the second half when senior midfielder Tom Dils made a through run to the endline on the left side and cut the ball back to a streaking Jesse Foehl. The senior forward, who was playing in his first game back since being sidelined with an ankle injury over three weeks ago, one-timed the ball and had the goalie beat. His shot, unfortunately, snuck just outside the post, ruining the Mounties' best scoring opportunity of the game.
Foehl ended up leading the Mounties with 14 goals this season, while junior Nathan Majumder led the squad in points, collecting 13 goals to go along with 11 assists. Dils also was a major force playing from his holding midfield spot, finishing with 11 goals and eight assists.
Houston made three saves in the final game of his junior year. Greylock looks set in net for at least another season, with Houston earning 10 shutouts this year to go along with 65 saves. Houston allowed just 11 goals in 20 games this season, good enough for a remarkable average of 0.6 goals per game.
While the Mounties' came up a bit short in a season filled with expectations, Dils believes his six seniors have nothing to be ashamed of in terms of the success they've seen on the field together.
"Over the past two years, this group of seniors has won 34 games, lost two, and tied four," Dils said. "There aren't too many graduating players in Western Mass. who can put those statistics next to their names. There's no question they are devastated by tonight's loss, but in a few days they'll be able to look back and recognize that they play the game at the highest level and with class. That's as important as the number of trophies that are in the trophy case at the end of their careers."