Rand Takes Control for Mount Greylock Girls in Win over Hoosac
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Down a goal on the road with 20 minutes left, the Hoosac Valley Hurricanes did everything they 
could to get the equalizer.
could to get the equalizer.
Mount Greylock's Charlotte Rand did everything she could to make sure they didn't.
Rand made two of her nine saves in the last six minutes, and Lucy Barrett scored her second goal on a counter with less than a minute to play as the Mounties earned a 2-0 win Wednesday on John T. Allen Field.
“I think she single-handedly took charge,” Mount Greylock coach Tom Ostheimer said. “We've been talking about it, and she owned the box, as a goalie should. Anything that was bouncing, and she had a little time to come out on it, she was there.
“And she made some big saves on top of it. But I think it was more her command of the box that really helped us out. It really took a lot of pressure off of Sarah Stripp, our sweeper. She enjoyed the fact that Charlotte was taking control of the box.”
Mount Greylock won its second straight and improved to 5-3 this season. Hoosac slipped to .500 at 3-3-1.
But the Hurricanes showed a lot of fight after falling behind midway through the first half.
“We came right back and we kept working and we kept pushing,” Hoosac Valley coach Kirstin Holmgren said. “They don't let up. They don't let anything get to them, and they keep moving on to the next thing. Because if you focus on one mistake, you miss opportunities.
“If you make a bad pass here, you keep working and you keep pushing. They're not going to give up, and that's the thing I love about them.”
Mount Greylock dominated the early stages of the game but had little to show for it in terms of quality chances.
The game's first dangerous opportunity was a header in the box off a Hoosac corner kick about nine minutes in.
“We were missing the net,” Ostheimer said. “That's been an issue this year, I think, leaving too many goals on the field when we should be burying a few more. But at least we're getting the opportunities. I think just the finishing we've got to work on.”
Barrett was able to finish at 15:42 of the first half when she took a through ball from Kelsey Orpin and beat a diving Megan Richardson (12 saves) to give Mount Greylock a 1-0 lead.
The Mounties nearly took a two-goal advantage into half-time, but Richardson came up big for the 'Canes in the 37th minute.
Following a Mount Greylock corner kick that was initially cleared by Hoosac stopper Madi Ryan, Mount Greylock's Elena Cerveira settled the ball on the right wing about 20 yards from the goal and sent a shot toward the far post that Richardson dove to grab and keep it a 1-0 game.
After some back and forth action to start the second half – including another diving stop by Richardson – the 'Canes took control at about the 67-minute mark.
With nine minutes left, Rand made a big play in a scramble in the 6-yard box. Moments later, she denied a shot by Lily Kronick and covered up the ball in front of a crashing Marissa Felter.
Rand stopped another shot with about two minutes left to play before the Mounties finally mounted a counter attack that ended with Melissa Swann setting up Barrett on the right wing for a goal that put the game away.
The Mounties' next game is Friday at Lee. Hoosac is off for a week, but figures to get another big test on Wednesday at Pittsfield.
“At the end of the first half and the second half, we really started putting things together,” Hoosac Valley coach Kirstin Holmgren said. “We were pressuring up, and I'm sure you saw how it got a little bit more intense as it went on.
“My girls fought hard. I'm really proud of them. We've got Senior Night coming up. It's our last night game against [Mount Greylock on Oct. 22], and it's going to be another good one.”