Raymond, Mount Greylock Hold Off Wahconah for Win

DALTON, Mass. – Reese Raymond scored six goals, and the Mount Greylock girls lacrosse team Monday held off a late Wahconah push to earn a 9-8 win in an early-season battle of unbeatens.

 

Teigen Brady stopped 13 shots, including one in the final seconds, and made a big interception in the final two minutes with the Mounties ahead, 8-7.

 

A game that started with the Mounties scoring four times in the first period turned into trench warfare in the second half with the teams combining for just seven goals after half-time.

 

“I think defense won the game for us,” Mount Greylock coach Jeff Stripp said. “I think our offense was sputtering. We didn’t look our best. And I think, at the end of the day, they did hunker down during that drought of no goals.

 

“I thought [Brady] had a great game. I haven’t seen the stats, but she made some really good saves, some free position shots she saved, which are always big. … She deserves that win. I thought she played really well.”

 

Raymond also was key to the Mounties’ success – not just for her finishing prowess but for her ability to dominate draw controls and earn her team extra possessions.

 

“For me, personally, what I technically do is I put it up,” Raymond said of her approach on draws. “A huge part of that is the people on the circle with me, boxing out. They’re always there to get the first step if it does go to one of them.

 

“And if it goes up, they’re there to box out, so it’s always just us and the ball.”

 

Stripp said he always expects a battle when the long-time rivals hook up, and that means a possession or two either way can make the difference.

 

Getting most of the possessions following goals or to start the quarter was a big advantage.

 

“We’re super confident in [Raymond],” Stripp said. “I don’t know the stats, but I imagine it was pretty good for the win-loss. But that’s a team effort there – the others on the circle, Meghan [Lagerwall] and Avery [Wied], who is a ninth-grader and has really stepped up that role, contribute in their own way.

 

“The circle girls – you know, it’s a team effort. And they got it done today.”

 

Raymond scored three goals, and Lagerwall (two goals, two assists) added a tally in Mount Greylock’s early blitz to jump out to a 4-1 lead after one quarter.

 

But Wahconah rallied, getting two goals from Danielle Hagmaier (three goals, one assist) and one from Mia Thomas to cut the margin down to two goals, 6-4, at half-time.

 

Brooke Harrington (three goals) started the second half with a goal for the home team in the 26th minute of play, and the teams went toe-to-toe from there.

 

Raymond answered with a goal for Mount Greylock just 21 seconds later, but Chloe DiFazio scored with an assist from Hagmaier to make it 7-6. The Mounties’ Olivia Perez converted one of Molly Cangelosi’s four assists to again make it a two-goal margin with 12 minutes left to play.

 

Harrington scored to start the fourth quarter, but the teams then went more than seven minutes without either finding a way to get the ball past Brady or Mya Lee (eight saves).

 

With just more than two minutes left, Wahconah was pressuring to get the equalizer, but a pass out from behind the goal was intercepted by Brady, setting up a possession that led to Raymond’s insurance goal with 1 minute, 20 seconds on the clock.

 

As it did all day, though, Wahconah came back.

 

Hagmaier completed her hat trick with 35 seconds on the clock to make it a one-score game, and Wahconah regained possession off the final draw of the night.

 

With 13 seconds left, Wahconah got a restart at the top of the fan. The initial play broke down, but Hagmaier grabbed a ground ball at the edge of the fan, turned and fired a shot that Brady scooped off her shoelaces to preserve the win.

 

After two two-goal games the teams split last year and Monday’s near-overtime finish, the eyes of the Berkshire County girls lacrosse community will be on the rematch in Williamstown on May 6.

 

Both teams have a lot of games between now and then, though. And while Stripp came away talking about his victorious Mounties have things to work on, Wahconah coach Kathy Budaj  was anything but down on her squad’s performance.

 

“That’s a great game,” Budaj said. “We played well. Their goalie came up big. … Reese hurt us on the draw, for sure. We had some success here or there, but she’s tough. That’s something we’ve got to work on.

 

“Overall, I’m really happy with how the kids played. They played great, they never gave up, they kept working. And we’re right with them. And they’re right with us.”

 

Wahconah (4-1) hosts Amherst on Thursday. Mount Greylock (4-0) hosts South Hadley on Thursday.

 

Photos from this game to come.