Drake Scores Twice as Mounties Win at Wahconah
DALTON, Mass. -- Thirty-eight minutes into a scoreless match, Mount Greylock junior forward Tanley Drake was taken down on the right wing just inside the 18.
She got up and buried the ensuing penalty kick to give the Mounties a 1-0 lead in an eventual 2-0 win over Wahconah on opening day for high school soccer in the commonwealth.
Drake scored both goals, and Noemi Evans made five saves to get Mount Greylock started on a busy week with a rivalry win.
Given the way the game was going, it looked like the PK had a good chance to be the deciding factor. But Drake was able to overcome any Opening Day nerves in the moment.
"A lot of pressure," Drake said. "I definitely hurt my leg. So I didn't want to go with my left. But But I just found the back corner and shot it.
"The goalie did take a good diving save [attempt] for it, but luckily I found it. 'Just pass it in the back,' everyone always says to me. So just passed it to the back of the net.
Midway through the second half, Drake ran on a ball over the top from GG Nicastro in the back and buried an open shot from the top of the 15 past a diving Vivian Higuera (four saves) to give the Mounties some insurance.
But the way Evans and her defense was playing, they did not need much in the way of scoring.
"The defense was great," Mount Greylock coach Blair Dils said. "We have three of our starting four back from last year, and then Islay Campbell came in, who maybe doesn't look like your typical outside back, but she did a really nice job on [Wahconah's Brooke Harrington] in the first half and kept her off the board."
Wahconah had a couple of strong chances in that first half, including two that went off the crossbar. One chance by ninth-grader Leah Melle went off the bar with 2 minutes, 49 seconds left in the half, just moments before Drake netted the game-winner.
Early in the second half, Harrington broke loose for a run down the right wing and fired a low liner that Evans was able to corral to keep her sheet clean.
Wahconah (0-1), which surrendered nine goals in two games last year against Mount Greylock, allowed just the pair -- and just one in the run of play -- on Monday afternoon. But coach Maggie Rivers was less focused on that than what her team needs to do to clean up things in the tough Grieve Division battles ahead.
"I think we played tough at moments," Rivers said. "I think we just need to be more vocal all around, all together, and those little things won't happen -- the breakdowns in the midfield and the easy shots and stuff like that. But that'll come with time."
She was encouraged by the play of Melle, who stepped into goal for her first varsity action as a sophomore.
"Vivian's been great," Rivers said. "She's works hard every day, and she's really hit the ground running. It's really hard to step into that role specifically, just not knowing anybody And I think she really showed out.
"She had a couple that she came out on crosses for, and I think she did great. She held her own in there. And those were legit shots that they had."
Dils, meanwhile, was happy to see his team step up in a big game to start a week that sees the Mounties go to Bennington, Vt., on Wednesday to face Mount Anthony for the first game in four days in the Patriots' tournament.
"I was a little anxious before the game, I think just because of how many young players we have and some players never having played in a big game like this," he said. "I mean, it's tough playing Wahconah the first match of the season because of how important it is for the league standings and those kind of things, because we know they're one of the teams that we're gonna battle it out with to win the league.
"We had a decent preseason and a couple of good scrimmage opportunities. But, still, you don't know until you drop the ball for real. But I thought several of our young players did a really nice job out there today and gave us some depth that we needed to prevail in the second half."
Photos from this game to come.