Lopez, Apotsos Lead Mounties to Tournament Title
BENNINGTON, Vt. – After eking out a win in the first round of a season-opening tournament, the Mount Greylock girls soccer team dominated the final on Saturday under the lights at Mount Anthony Union’s Lady Patriot Classic.
Nora Lopez and Grace Namkoong each scored a pair of goals, and Arianna Henderson had a goal and an assist as the Mounties downed the host Patriots, 8-0, to claim the tournament title.
Six different Mount Greylock players found the back of the net, and Rowan Apotsos set up a pair of goals as the defending Western Massachusetts champions opened the season 2-0.
Saturday night’s onslaught came two days after Mount Greylock took a 2-1 decision from Brattleboro and showed what the team is capable of when it stays connected.
“We really stepped up, I think, our intensity level, just our team play in general,” Mount Greylock coach Blair Dils said of the week north of the state line. “I think were a little disconnected in some of our scrimmages. And Brattleboro gave us a difficult time with their physicality, and we weren’t able to get into any kind of rhythm in that game. We did fine, but they were a tough team.
“Tonight, we had a little bit more space in the midfield to operate, and we really emphasized playing to feet.”
Lopez and Apotsos collected the tournament’s two individual awards. The senior striker, Lopez, received the Nicole Levesque Trophy for the tournament’s most outstanding offensive player. Apotsos, a sophomore, was recognized with the event’s Shelly Addison Smith Trophy as the most outstanding defensive player.
It took a few minutes for Mount Greylock to establish itself in the offensive half, but once it did, it scored four times in a span of 24 minutes in the first half.
Lopez got things going when she got on the end of a cross from Apotsos in the 13th minute.
Six minutes later, the pair hooked up again with another Apotsos cross from the right wing and Lopez finishing for her fourth goal in two games.
In the 31st minute, Apotsos stole the ball on the right wing and fired a shot on goal that Mount Anthony’s Fiona Palisano (16 saves) was able to deny, but Grace Namkoong put home the rebound to make it 3-0.
The final goal of the half started with a Lopez corner kick from the left wing. Adele Low headed the cross on goal, but a Mount Anthony defender on the post turned back the shot. Namkoong was there to cash in the rebound and give Mount Greylock a four-goal lead going into the break.
At half-time, Dils, the longtime Mount Greylock boys coach who came out of a brief retirement to coach the girls team this fall, challenged his squad to not let up and not give up a goal in the final 40 minutes.
Instead, the Mounties added to the lead with goals from Tanley Drake off a rebound in the 56th minute and Arianna Henderson off a Drake Cross to make it 6-0 midway through the half.
That allowed Dils to start pulling all his starters to get valuable minutes for his reserves in varsity competition.
“And then the second unit came in and did a really good job as well,” he said. “So just intensity all around, from top to bottom, which was wonderful to see.
“Those are things you talk about, but you can’t really coach, you know? They have to do that. They have to bring that internally. And they did tonight.”
GG Nicastro scored off a give-and-go up the middle with Arianna Henderson. Lauren Powell capped the scoring by converting a penalty kick with about six minutes left.
Noemi Evans and Addie Cooper split time in Mount Greylock’s goal, combining for six saves in the shutout.
The Mounties are at Drury on Tuesday.