Mounties Win at Lenox to Secure League Title

LENOX, Mass. – Keaton Repetto was pretty sure he scored his second goal of the season on Wednesday night.

 

It definitely sent the Mount Greylock boys soccer team on to its second straight Moriarty Division Championship.

 

Repetto converted an assist from Liam Hnatonko in the 37th minute to break a 1-1 tie, and the Mounties went on to a 2-1 win over Lenox.

 

The victory extended a nine-game unbeaten streak to end the regular season for Mount Greylock (8-3-4), which went 7-1-2 in the conference.

 

“Nobody even thought it went in,” Repetto said of the moment he scored the game-winner. “There was confusion because of the metal rods in the goal [and the way the ball carromed out]. I saw it go in, but nobody else was celebrating. I was confused and had no clue what was going on.”

 

But the referee saw it, and Mount Greylock went back on top after Lenox (2-9-2) battled back to tie the match midway through the first half.

 

The Mounties, who earned a 5-1 win in the teams’ first meeting, started out Wednesday like a team ready to cruise to another big win.

 

Everett Bayliss banged home a shot with an assist from Zin Doucette in the fourth minute of play to make it 1-0 for the visitors.

 

But three minutes later, when Doucette teed up a free kick from about 22 yards, Lenox keeper Michael McLaughlin (nine saves) stopped a low line drive, setting the tone for a night when goals would be hard to come by.

 

Lenox’s Chase Stites found the back of the net in the 18th minute with an assist from Caleb Ketchen to level the score.

 

The Millionaires had a chance to take the lead four minutes later with a free kick of their own from 22 yards, but Addison Hall’s shot was just off frame.

 

Still, Lenox kept the pressure on throughout the first half, ending up nearly even in shots on goal with four to Mount Greylock’s five.

 

“Lenox has a long and proud soccer tradition,” Mount Greylock coach Chris Kapiloff said. “They remember when they would battle for league titles every year. So that tradition doesn’t go away just because you’re having a hard year.

 

“They’re the smallest school in our conference [and the only Division 5 school in the Moriarty], but they are proud of what they do and how hard they work, and they did a great job working hard tonight.”

 

The biggest shot of the night came after Asher Barrale lofted the ball from midfield deep into the right-wing corner for Hnatonko.

 

Hnatonko won the ball in the corner and dribbled through a couple of defenders before centering the ball to Repetto inside the 18.

 

“I really just finished it,” Repetto said. “That was all Liam’s move. He dribbled through all those players and put it to me on a platter.”

 

Mount Greylock had the better of things in the second half but was not able to extend its lead.

 

Its best scoring opportunity came in the 58th minute when Repetto got behind the defense in the 18, but McLaughlin made a point blank save to keep his team within a goal.

 

“I just gave Michael a round of applause because I think that stop – basically 6 feet in front of him, one-v.-one – was the save of the season, 100 percent,” Lenox coach Jedd Hall said.

 

“That was unbelievable. I was like, ‘How did that not go in?’ But he’s a sophomore, first year on varsity, and he’s been doing amazing. I couldn’t ask for anything better. Bright future for that kid.”

 

And the immediate future for Lenox is brighter than its 2-9-2 record would have you believe. Because it plays in such a tough division, Lenox started the day as the No. 8 team in Western Massachusetts Class C (in line for a rematch with current No. 1 Mount Greylock). And the Millionaires stood 28th in the latest MIAA in-season power rankings in Division 5; the top 32 teams in the division after the Western Mass tournament reach the state tournament.

 

“It’s clear that when we hit another gear – our game against Wahconah last week, it’s a 1-0 game, basically tied for 80 minutes of soccer,” Hall said. “Today kind of felt the same.

 

“Compared to how we played a few weeks ago, this is the team I expected to show up. If they want to play well, we obviously can hang with the big dogs. I mean, this Greylock team is legit. A lot of those guys are club players. They’re organized. They’ve got a really potent offense and a really strong midfield. And their keeper’s top notch.”

 

And now the Mounties can take a few days to rest and get ready for the post-season tournaments to come while celebrating the title they already have secured.

 

“That’s really exciting for the boys,” Kapiloff said of the Moriarty title. “It’s a battle. We tied some games. Hampshire beat us once. It’s fun to end up on the top at the end of the season.

 

“We needed to do some reorganizing of our team after the first couple of weeks of the season, and we’ve only given up more than one goal in two games since that Hampshire game. The defense has been playing well. Ward [Bianchi] has been playing really well. We had a couple of boys who were injured tonight in our center midfield, and Asher Barrale did an absolutely fabulous job stepping into a center midfield position. That’s not an easy position to come into. We started three sophomores and a freshman across our midfield line tonight, and they did really well.”

 

While Mount Greylock rests and waits for the Western Mass soccer seeds to come out on Oct. 23, Lenox has three regular season games left, starting with Friday when it hosts Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter.

 

Photos from this game to come.