WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Down by two goals in the 10th minute of its Division 5 State Quarter-Final on Saturday, the Mount Greylock girls soccer team struggled to mount an offensive threat.

 

And, in the end, the fourth-seeded Mounties took just their third loss of the season, falling 2-0 to the Tigers.

 

No. 5 Douglas (12-7-2) advances to the Final Four to face top-seeded Whitinsville-Christian.

 

The Mounties, who earned a spot in the Elite Eight for the second year in a row, finish the season with a record of 18-3 and the knowledge that they battled mightily after Douglas’ Meghan Brazeau scored a pair of goals in the opening moments.

 

“Our defense has been rock solid,” Mount Greylock coach Tom Ostheimer said. “Obviously, we miss our center back, Rowan Apotsos, with the speed that she brings.

 

“But credit to our back four and Mai O’Connor, solid in the net. We just met our match today.”

 

Mount Greylock eighth-grader Apotsos was a staple all year for the Mounties, appearing in 17 matches before suffering an injury in the finals of the Western Massachusetts Class C tournament.

 

“It was really unfortunate to lose her in the final two minutes of the Monson game, when the game was pretty much over,” Ostheimer said. “But you can never predict those things, and you can’t replace speed. … We’re fast all over the field, but not as fast as Rowan, and we kind of relied on her all year to track down the best players and get that ball wide and break up offensive opportunities by opposing teams.

 

“But hats off to our defense. They had a great game today and an incredible year. I don’t think we gave up more than half a goal per game all season.”

 

While the Mounties’ defense and midfielders were contending with Douglas’ skilled attackers most of the afternoon, Mount Greylock had limited opportunities to show off the skill of its forwards.

 

The hosts did get a couple of chances against the run of play in the second half. But both times, Douglas keeper Ashley Arnold was able to avoid any real danger.

 

In the 51st minute, Lucy McWeeny took an indirect free kick from about 25 yards out on the right wing. She chipped it into the 18, but Arnold was able to catch the ball in front of a charging Mount Greylock forward.

 

In the 75th minute, as the Mounties were pressing to find a way to avoid the shutout, Lily McDermott and Gabriella Nicastro came charging up the middle on a ball that Arnold was able to reach just ahead of the forwards at the top of the 18.

 

Other than those rare forays, most of the action took place in Mount Greylock’s end of the field, where O’Connor made 12 saves to help keep Douglas off the board after Brazeau’s early finishes.

 

“It’s hard when it comes to an end, especially for the six seniors,” Ostheimer said. “They were a great group – our senior leadership, Lucy [McWeeny], Lily [McDermott] and Belen [Galvez]. And the other three seniors, Lex [Politis], Erin [Keating] and Karlie Dowling. It was a classy senior group.

 

“I always feel for them the most. But we’ll try to keep it going.”