Blue Devils Sweep 'Canes to Clinch South Title
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Facing a must-win situation, the Drury girls' soccer team received some must-have performances from several of its key players in Friday's 2-1 home win over rival Hoosac Valley.The Blue Devils closed out their South Division schedule in style, winning their third straight division game and earning a seaon sweep over the Hurricanes to share a piece of the South Division title. Hoosac would have won the South outright with a win, but a Drury victory meant that Molly Meczywor's team finished the year tied with Mount Greylock in the standings. Both the Devils and the Mounties finished with 7-1-2 records in the division, while the Hurricanes were just a half point behind at 7-2-1.
The winner-take-all scenario was even sweeter for Drury (7-5-3), which also clinched a spot in the Division 2 Western Mass. tournament due to Friday's victory.
Overall, it was a great team win," Meczywor said. "It was tense on the sideline, but I am so proud that the girls were able to accomplish their goals for the season. This is one of the best groups, in terms of team dynamics, that I've ever coached. They are team first, me second. I believe the seniors and captains did an excellent job of establishing that environment, and I applaud the team for buying into it."
It's a little unclear on who to credit for Friday's win. Was it the Drury offense, which found a way to score two goals on a Hoosac defense that pitched four consecutive shutouts coming into Friday's game. Or was it the Blue Devils' defense, which held a talented Hurricanes' attack, led by junior Danielle Beauchemin, scoreless for the first 79 minutes of the game.
"Because of the conditions of the field, we knew going into the game that it was not going to be won through precision," Meczywor said. "We told the kids that they needed to be scrappy and make sure they played their positions effectively. Our defense and midfield was key to accomplishing this goal. We moved people around to best suit Hoosac's speed on the outside."
Sophomore Morgan Lamarre and junior Amanda Ramsdell were moved outside to try and slow down the 'Canes attack, while junior Laryssa LaPointe and sophomore Sarah Bloom were both effective in spliting time between stopper and center halfback for a Drury team that outshot Hoosac 16-7 in the game.
"While our offense did a great job of finishing on much-needed goals, I believe our defense did a fantastic job of creating our offense," Meczywor said. "We were physical and stuck with our tackles, especially Laryssa and Sarah, throughout the entire game. Our fullback line played very smart as well, led by Danielle Racette. In the second half, Amanda did an excellent job marking Courtney Hayer, who is a very quick and skilled player. [Goalkeeper] Ali Tatro had some big saves as well throughout."
With the Devils' defense doing their thing, it was up to sophomore Cori Ghidotti and senior Mariah Ferrara to jumpstart the Drury offense. The same two players, who combined to score three times in the Blue Devils' 3-1 win over the Hurricanes (9-3-4) earlier in the month, came up big again in Friday's rematch. Ghidotti got the hosts on the board in the 14th minute by scoring off of a pass from Ferrara. That lead held up until midway through the second half, when Ferrara added a much-needed insurance goal with an unassisted tally in the 62nd minute.
Ghidotti and Ferrara have now combined to score 21 of the 28 goals Drury has scored this year.
"Mariah, once again, created space for herself and served many dangerous balls," Meczywor said. "Cori played her position very well and was able to finish on the first goal. Chelsea DeGroff also had a few chances to score and did a nice job of moving without the ball to allow for Cori and Mariah to find their spaces."
Tatro made six saves and nearly picked up another shutout, missing out on a clean slate when freshman Marissa Felter knocked in a goal from classmate Cali Romaniak with 54 seconds left in the game.
Freshman goalie Megan Richardson made 14 saves in net for the Hurricanes, who finished up the season with road game against Pittsfield at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. The Blue Devils end the year with a home game against undefeated Lenox on the same day.
Both teams are headed to the tournament, however, and there is always a chance they can meet up again.