'Canes Go Down Swinging in Loss to Mustangs
MONSON, Mass. -- It's hard to argue with the fight displayed by the Hoosac Valley girls' soccer team on Tuesday.The No. 7 Hurricanes gave it their all against No. 2 Monson, a team that entered the Division 2 Western Mass. tournament with an impressive 15-1 record. Blair Mahar's club kept Tuesday's quarterfinal round matchup close, tying the game three and half minutes into the second half on a goal by freshman Marissa Felter. The Mustangs would get the last laugh, however, when Brooke Murphy finished off a pass from Megan McGuill four and half minutes later to net what would turn out to be the game-winning goal.
After playing its heart out in a 3-2 win over rival Drury on Sunday, Hoosac (9-5-4) maintained the same high level of play against a talented Monson team on Tuesday. The Mustangs struck first, though, when Molly McGuill found the back of the net 26 minutes into the first half of play. The hosts maintained that lead up until halftime, but Felter quickly changed things after the break by scoring on a mishandled ball in the box. Monson goalie Mackenzie Walat (four saves) made the initial save to stop the 'Canes, but she then lost the ball, allowing Felter to swoop in and find the back of the net.
Hoosac had more than 30 minutes of play to try and net the equalizer after Murphy gave the Mustangs the lead in the 49th minute. Despite controlling a majority of the play in the second half, the Hurricanes just couldn't find enough quality looks against a tough Monson defense. Overall, Hoosac was outshot 15-6 in Tuesday's game.
"The girls played hard until the last whistle," Mahar said. "They never gave up, they never stopped making runs and they never stopped trying to split Monson's defense and tie the game. We were getting nice shots on goal. Time just ran out on the game, and, thus, on our season."
Freshman keeper Megan Richardson finished the season by making 10 saves in goal for the 'Canes. She and senior defender Jessica Gale paced a defensive effort that gave Hoosac a chance to pull off the upset. Richardson finishes the season with 105 saves on the year and an impressive 1.3 average in goals allowed per game.
Felter's goal was her sixth tally of the year, putting her second behind junior Danielle Beauchemin, who led the Hurricanes offense with 11 goals and three assists this season. Both will be back next year to lead a relatively young team that should have plenty of firepower in order to make another run at the South Division title.
"The girls should be tremendously proud of what they accomplished this year," Mahar said. "We had some big wins against Wahconah, Drury and Greylock. We played solidly in the North and finished with seven shutouts on the season. We did all of this with only 12 or 13 players, eight of whom were underclassmen. Not to mention, we didn't have a single yellow card all year long."