Drury Girls Shut Out Hoosac Valley
CHESHIRE, Mass. – Ella Bond scored three times, and the Drury girls soccer team posted a 4-0 win over rival Hoosac Valley on Saturday morning.
The Blue Devils picked up their first win of the season behind an 11-save performance from Addisyn Shepard and continued their hot offensive start with a combined seven goals in their first two games.
“We were scared at the beginning of the year losing Megan [McGrath], who was our top goal scorer,” Bond said. “But we all just came in ready to win.
“And we were able to score, which we’re happy about.”
Drury took control of the game midway through the first half.
First, Bond played a rebound off a scrambling Bella Superneau (seven saves), who made the initial stop on the play. Bond put the ball in the back of the net for her second of the season and a 1-0 lead.
Five minutes later, with 20 minutes, 4 seconds on the clock, Bond scored off a run up the middle to give Drury a two-goal advantage.
Then just a few minutes after that, Hannah Hooks played the ball from the right wing into the 18, where Kylie Tower was able to finish for her second goal of the year.
Drury took the 3-0 lead into half-time and never looked back.
“We’re definitely showing that we can put the ball in the net,” first-year Drury coach Jason Howland said. “It’s just a matter of kind of putting everything else together. We’re still a young team. I think we’re just going to continue to improve each week.
“That’s what we said from the beginning: Continue to improve and make progress.”
After Drury dominated the first 40 minutes, Hoosac Valley was able to regroup and generate consistent pressure on the Blue Devils and Shephard, who made eight of her saves after intermission.
“We asked them to step it up, just get back to basics, be more aggressive towards the ball,” said Hurricanes assistant coach Trish Carlo, who was filling in for head coach Lindsay McGinnis. “I think our captains spoke up a little bit.
“It was almost like we were just really tired in the first half. And some of the captains and upper classmen were able to speak to them about bringing some energy. I think that’s what was killing us in the first half. We were playing down. There was just no energy. We weren’t stepping to the ball like we’re supposed to. And lots of plays … Drury was just going to the ball.”
When the Hurricanes started getting to the ball and getting toward the goal more regularly, Shepard was there to make the stop.
“Hats off to Addie,” Howland said. “She played a great game.
“Ella had the three goals, Kylie chipped in with another goal. It was nice to see. It’s nice to get everybody in the game. That’s a big part of it because we have a large team, and it’s nice to get everybody in the game.”
Bond put the finishing touches on the win in the 61st minute, running on a through ball from Adamaris Sanchez and getting behind the Hoosac Valley defense for a 1-on-1 chance against Superneau.
Drury (1-1) hosts Chicopee on Tuesday.
Hoosac Valley (0-2-1) will look for its first win on Monday night when it goes to Ware.
Photos from this game to come.