CHESHIRE, Mass. -- The Drury boys soccer team started the season with the wind at its back.
By the second half of the opener, the Blue Devils were a little winded.
And Hoosac Valley took full advantage, getting three goals from senior Isaac Herrmann in a 7-1 opening day win.
The Hurricanes led, 2-1, at half-time, but Tyler Norcross scored twice in the opening minutes of the second half to kickstart the Hoosac Valley offense and send the home team on to a win over its rival.
“At half-time we talked about doing some of the fundamental things well,” Hoosac Valley coach Patrick Mahoney said. “We weren’t really offering great positions of support off ball in the first half, so that was an emphasis at half-time. And maybe we put a few guys in different spots. We’re actually a little light right now. We have two or three guys who are not currently playing but are really key parts of the team.
“Part of it was that I think all the eighth-graders played an hour or more today, and I think part of that was them growing into it a little bit -- part of that second half improvement, as well as the adjustments we made at half-time.”
The Hurricanes opened the scoring in the 30th minute off a corner kick. Brodie Lanoue got the first touch, a header high on the left-wing side of the 18, and he sent the ball to Herrmann just inside the six. Hermann knocked the ball into the goal to give their team a 1-0 lead.
It lasted about 2-½ minutes.
At the other end, Drury took advantage of a corner with a perfect strike from Zach Davignon that curled into the net to level the score, 1-1.
But three minutes later, the Hurricanes capped a busy six-minute stretch when Hermann fired a shot from 20 yards out that found the back of the net to give Hoosac Valley a half-time edge and the lead for good.
It was the first of several goals from distance for Hoosac Valley.
“It’s, what, my fourth year here, and I think we’ve been a little shot shy at times in my previous years,” Mahoney said. “So that’s been a real theme: If you get within 25, have a go if you have space. You all have a shot that can score from within 25, so go for it. Now, it’s not always going to work from 30 with two defenders on you all the time. But they absolutely have the green light to have a go when they think they have a chance.
“You’re not going to score if you don’t shoot.”
Norcross scored his first goal in the 42nd minute from 35 yards out and his second from 30 yards to make it 4-1. Hoosac Then got goals from Herrmann from 20 yards again and Lanoue from 35 to push the lead to five goals midway through the second half.
In the 67th minute, eighth-grader Dylan Rholfs one-timed a cross from senior Nick Walsh to cap the scoring.
Lucas Waterman made three saves to earn the win in the Hoosac Valley goal.
Drury split time between three keepers, Parker Rivard, Steven Cornell and Dom Duteau, who combined to stop 15 shots; the Hurricanes outshot the Blue Devils by a margin of 16-1 after half-time.
“I thought Parker did a good job in the first half, controlling the box, he made some good saves,” Drury coach John Jacobbe said. “Steven made some great saves, even though he gave up several goals; they were hitting some rockets. And Dom I’ve never seen play goal, and he wanted to give it a try. And he made -- even though it was at the buzzer -- one of the best saves of the game.”
Despite the lop-sided result, Jacobbe was happy with the way his team competed in the first half.
“We had 10 guys in the program a week ago, and we’ve got to build up soccer stamina,” he said. “I thought we competed hard. We had the wind in the first half, and we plugged the middle well, so they didn’t have a lot of great opportunities.”
Mahoney also was impressed with what he saw out of the Blue Devils.
“I didn’t feel the same way at the end of the first half that I do now,” he said with a laugh. “They competed really well. So it’s good to kind of push through that and get a really positive result.”
Hoosac Valley goes to McCann Tech on Friday, when Drury hosts Pioneer Valley Christian School.
Photos from this game here.
