LEE, Mass. -- The Lee Wildcats were not about to wait another day to get back on the soccer pitch.
And they were not about to waste any time once they got there.
Shannon Finnegan scored the first of her two goals in the 10th minute as the ‘Cats defeated Mount Everett, 3-1, in the quarterfinals of the Western Massachusetts Division 4 tournament on Thursday afternoon.
The game was the only girls soccer quarterfinal in the region not postponed due to anticipated heavy downpours. Lee coach Lauren Finnegan said she was clad the schools’ athletic directors decided to take a chance and send the Eagles on the relatively short bus ride from Sheffield.
“We haven’t played since last Monday (Oct. 27),” she said, referring to the Wildcats’ regular season finale. “Our girls were itching to get out there. They were like, ‘Get us a game.’ When we found out who were were going to play, we just said, ‘Let us play.’ “
The third-seeded Wildcats (12-6) received a bye into the tournament quarters. Mount Everett (12-8) advanced on Monday with a win over Mohawk.
Lee now will have to wait -- at least a day -- to find out who it will play in the regional semi-final. No. 2 Gateway saw its match against Smith Academy postponed for Friday evening.
Shannon Finnegan opened the scoring on Thursday with a wide-open opportunity set up by a cross from Madeline Graziano to the left wing. With Mount Everett keeper Madison Ullrich pulled way off her line to defend the advance from Lee’s right wing, Graziano lofted the ball to Finnegan on the weak side, and she one timed it into a wide open net.
“This way of scoring has been working for us a lot,” coach Finnegan said. “And we work on that. We know we have girls who can finish. We make runs to the outside, and we always have girls on the far post. We always have a foot who can go from the corner to the goal.”
In the second half, Graziano helped set up Finnegan’s second goal. This time, she ripped a shot from the right wing that Ullrich stopped for one of her 10 saves, but Finnegan was there to put back the rebound and make it 2-0 with 42 minutes, 27 seconds off the clock.
“I wouldn’t have scored it if Madeline didn’t have such a good cross to me,” she said. “Madeline and I worked together all season, and we’ve ended every single cross in.”
Graziano got one for herself in the 50th minute. She crashed the box from the right wing and beat a defender and Ullrich to put the hosts up, 3-0.
Mount Everett had a few chances in the first half, including one with about eight minutes left that Lee keeper Brianna Hawley shut down to keep it a 1-0 game.
But it finally broke through about midway through the second half.
The Wildcats were whistled for a handball in the box, and Gwen Carpenter got the call to take a penalty try. She hit the side panel to Hawley’s right to get Mount Everett back within two goals.
The Eagles nearly got even closer moments later, but Hawley saved a shot by Maura Robitaille.
The Wildcats carried the play for about the last 19 minutes, getting a couple of more shots on goal by Graziano and one by Khali Zabian that Ullrich turned aside.
Coach Finnegan said the Wildcats knew they could not afford to turn off the pressure against the Eagles.
“Against a team like Mount Everett, one’s never enough, we know that,” she said.
