Besnard Shines in Greylock's Draw with Drury
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Drury High band director Chris Caproni instructed his band members to play the school's fight song when the Drury girls' soccer team scored a goal on Saturday. What he didn't know was that Mount Greylock goalie Margot Besnard wasn't in the mood for music that day.The Mounties' junior keeper carried her team at times on Saturday, helping Greylock withstand a sluggish start by making five key saves in the first half. Tom Ostheimer's team picked it up after halftime, but Besnard still was called upon to make three more big stops to preserve a 0-0 tie at John J. DelNegro Field.
Besnard and Blue Devils senior Mariah Ferrara really got to know each other well during the second half on Saturday. Ferrara, a speedy left-footed forward, was blowing past the Mounties' defense on a consistent basis, but she couldn't seem to find away around Besnard, who aggressively came off her line to challenge every attempt Ferrara got on goal.
Right after the second half began, Besnard came off her line to make a big stop on a Ferrara shot. In the 54th minute, Ferrara got free again on the left wing and looked to have a clear shot at the net. Besnard came out far off the the goal line, however, and cut off Ferrara's angle to force her into shooting wide of the right post.
Three minutes later, Ferrara was at it again, racing in alone on the left wing with just Besnard to beat. This time, Ferrara tried a different approach, shooting right at Besnard's feet. The ball hit off the inside of her leg and trickled behind her. Ferrara kept hustling, ran around Besnard and knocked the ball into the net. Besnard kept working too, though, and got her hand on the ball as Ferrara kicked it in. The referee ruled she had possession and declared the goal was no good.
"I've been playing her since travel in sixth grade," Besnard said of Ferrara. "I know her game, and I play on the spring team with her. That made it easier for me because I know she takes a long touch and shoots. I was thinking about it last night about what I would do, so I think I was more prepared than [when we played them] last year. I didn't know the players as well, but this year I'm kind of used to playing Drury."
Even Besnard said the no-goal call was a difficult one to make.
"She shot it and it kind of hit the inside of my calf," Besnard said. "I jumped on it, and I had at least one hand on it. I know I did. Those calls are questionable because it's always hard to see and there's a lot going on, but I think the ref made the right call."
Drury head coach Molly Meczywor wasn't as upset with the no-goal call as she was with the opportunities her team missed out on in the first half. The hosts basically dominated possession of the ball early on, outshooting Greylock (2-0-2) 5-0 in the first 20 minutes of the game. Both forwards Cori Ghidotti and Chelsea Degroff had good looks in that span but were slightly off target of the net. With 16:40 left in the first half, Ghidotti got behind the Greylock defense and smoked a shot that Besnard had to make a diving save to her right to stop.
"Obiviously it's a shame that that goal got called back, but we had other opportunities that we should have finished," Meczywor said. "I was really impressed with our defense, however. Our defense has played well, especially with losing Allie [Bona] and Olivia [Koperek]. We were a little nervous about the strength of our defense, but I think Morgan Lamarre and Mackenzie Bona have really stepped up and played tough. Amanda Ramsdell does a nice job of creating offense, and Danielle [Racette] is just like a freight train out there."
The efforts of the Devils' defense pretty much gave Ali Tatro (three saves) a quiet day between the pipes. The Mounties basically had two great scoring chances, one in each half. In the 22nd minute, sophomore Sophie Leamon got free on the left wing and slotted a ball across the goal mouth that senior forward Annie Flynn was just a step behind of putting into the net. In the second half, junior Alexander De Veaux got her foot on a cross inside the 6-yard box that hit off of the right post.
Overall, Greylock's effort on offense was much better in the second half, as the Mounties outshot Drury (1-0-1) 4-3 in the frame.
"They controlled the midfield play, and their stopper [Ramsdell] really denied Alex [Majetich] a lot of balls," Ostheimer said. "I thought we were much better organized in the second half. I think some it was we got out our midfield back helping out a little more. I thought Alexa [Adams] in the middle stepped it up and was denying them any sort of forward possesion."
"And Margot was big. You know we got that good call there. She definitely didn't have control, but if you have a hand on it and they play it? It's good to have a goalie who's experienced that came out of the net and contested the shot just to make sure it wasn't a goal."
The Mounties next host Taconic at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, while the Blue Devils next play at Monument Mountain at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.