DALTON, Mass. – Mount Greylock’s Erin Keating one-timed a shot from 20 yards into the back of the net to give the Mounties the lead for good in a 4-1 win over Wahconah on Saturday night.
Keating played a centering pass from Lily McDermontt on the left wing and delivered a goal in the 35th minute, just moments after Wahconah had leveled the score at 1-1.
“The most important time in the game after they score is the first five minutes after they make that comeback,” said McDermott, who went on to score two goals of her own in helping the Mounties improve to 8-0 this fall.
“That’s really what changes the game from there. So we came back hard. We didn’t let our heads get down. We picked each other up by talking. We worked really hard together.”
Keating’s second goal of the season came at just the right time.
“That was a beautiful shot,” Mount Greylock coach Tom Ostheimer said. “Erin Keating, she’s been playing hard. She’s very physical, fast, and she has a good left foot. That was one of the better shots I’ve ever seen.
“Lily hit her right on the feet, and she one-touched it into the far corner.”
Mount Greylock opened the scoring midway through the first half when Arianna Henderson put back a rebound off of Wahconah’s Edrianna Collins (nine saves) for her Henderson’s first goal of the season.
In the 28th minute, Wahconah found the answer.
Sammie Kaley started the play by making a run down the right wing and centering the ball for Anna Doyle. Doyle won the ball from a Mount Greylock defender and found Ava Massaro open at the top of the 18. Massaro’s one-timer curled under the crossbar and over a leaping Mount Greylock keeper Mai O’Connor (six saves) to make it 1-1 and score the first goal against the Mounties since a 3-2 win over Monument Mountain back on Sept. 18.
It was one of a number of strong chances generated by Wahconah in the first half, when it outshot the Mounties by a margin of 5-3.
Kaley had a shot on goal at the end of another run up the wing in the 19th minute. Dani Barry got a header off a corner kick that rang off the post three minutes later.
Wahconah coach Maggie Rivers ended the half feeling like her team had left some opportunities go by that could have changed the direction of the game.
“We could have carried some momentum, maybe, if we could have scored another one,” she said. “I think that we were just a little hesitant, and there’s no reason to be. We’re playing a really tough schedule, and we can hang with the best. And sometimes you just don’t have it. Sometimes you just have a bad day.”
Wahconah, which plays in the PVIAC’s Kurty/Fielding Division, slipped to 2-6 this fall after Saturday’s non-league loss.
Mount Greylock, which went to half-time with a lead but fewer shots on goal, was able to keep Wahconah pinned in its end of the field most of the second half.
The period started with a bang when McDermott converted an assist from Tanley Drake on a counter in the 42nd minute to make it 3-1. In the 56th minute, McDermott ran down a through ball against two Wahconah defenders and took it away from Collins at the top of the 18 before putting the ball into the net for her 10th goal of the season.
“That was just sheer determination and speed on Lily’s part,” Ostheimer said. “She is absolutely fearless.”
Mount Greylock, which needs one more win to secure a spot in the state tournament, returns to league play in the Grieve Division this week with games at Drury on Monday and at Monument Mountain on Friday.
“We knew this was going to be a tough, physical game,” Ostheimer said. “[Wahconah has] speed up front, and they tied it up, 1-1, and made it difficult for us.
“It’s always good to come down here. We’ve had some difficult times down here in the past, and it’s always good to come out with a ‘W’ against a good program.”
Wahconah has a league game on Monday when it travels to face South Hadley.
