Mount Greylock Gets Past Wahconah in Western Mass
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – GG Nicastro scored a goal, Noemi Evans made eight saves, and the Mount Greylock girls soccer team earned a 1-0 win over league rival Wahconah in the quarter-finals of the Western Massachusetts Class B Tournament.
The only Western Mass game in the first round involving a pair of county teams was between two programs with a long history and a recent history that included a 1-1 stalemate in their last meeting.
And the battle of the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds in their class did not disappoint.
The only goal allowed by Evans and Wahconah’s Vivian Higuera was a beauty in the 28th minute.
Mount Greylock defender Rowan Apotsos came up to take a direct free kick about 35 yards from the goal on the left wing.
She placed the ball in the middle of the 18, where Nicastro one-timed a high, arcing shot over the head of a drawn-out Higuera and into the back of the net.
“I think Rowan has a great kick,” Nicastro said. “We always rely on her for a great kick. It’s just how much we can be there for rebounding.
“Putting Rowan up there, we know what we’ve got to do. We practice that a lot: movement in and out the goal. Especially having off the ball movement. Her kick can go right in there, and we’re right there.”
Mount Greylock had other strong chances in the first half both before and after Nicastro’s goal, but either the Mounties were just a little off frame or Higuera was right where she needed to be.
Perhaps the Mounties’ best chance to double their lead came a minute after Nicastro’s goal, when Tanley Drake brought the ball through the defense up the right side and fired a shot that got past Higuera. Wahconah defender Sadie Palmieri was there to block the shot, and Chloe Difazio blocked Mount Greylock’s try on the rebound.
Early in the second half, the Mounties were dealt a blow when senior Adele Low was injured and was carried off the field, not to return, in the 44th minute.
Wahconah went on to earn a 4-3 edge in second half shots on goal, not counting a moment in the 20th minute when Mount Greylock got a big defensive block from Apotsos.
Doubtless the absence of Low and her eight goals and three assists this fall was a factor. So was the reset for Wahconah at intermission.
“We made a couple of adjustments in the midfield and tried to string some more passes together and get more possession,” Wahconah coach Maggie Rivers said. “But, ultimately, we just didn’t possess enough in the midfield and lost a lot of the play there.”
Sunday’s game marked Mount Greylock’s second shutout of the season against Wahconah and the eighth shutout overall for Evans and her defense.
“How about that one-handed save?” Mount Greylock coach Blair Dils said of Evans. “That was the save of the season for her, quite honestly. Really great job by her.
“She’s been really good. Some games, she hasn’t had to do a ton. But today there were a lot of balls at her that she just handled very calmly. And that one-handed save was really special.”
Mount Greylock (13-2-1) moves on to face the winner of Tuesday’s game between top-seeded Belchertown and Frontier.
Wahconah (12-3-2) will have on Western Mass consolation game this week against an opponent to be announced to get ready for the Division 4 State Tournament. Going into Sunday’s game, Wahconah was ranked No. 12 in the latest MIAA in-season power rankings (Mount Greylock was ranked sixth).
“We’re ready for states,” Rivers said. “That was one of our goals. And this didn’t shake out the way we wanted, but we reset tomorrow, and we’ll be fine. The main goal is a state championship.”
Photos from this game to come.