Boys’ Soccer Starts Strong

Soccer

SoccerWith a current 6-1-0 record, the Varsity Boys’ Soccer Team is bouncing back from a disappointing loss last year and hoping to again make the Western Mass Finals.

When their season came to an end last year, Greylock’s Varsity Squad finally fell in a 5-6 penalty shootout loss to Belchertown on November 16th 2014.  On September 11th, Mt. Greylock Boys’ Soccer began their season with a resounding 7-1 win over Drury. Mt. Greylock dominated the 80 minute match with goals scored by five players: Thomas Astle (‘17), Brady Foehl (‘18), Sam Dils(‘18), Cole Dudley (‘17), and Crow Brennan (‘17). Beginning with a goal in the first minute from Brennan, Mt. Greylock spent the entire game with a growing lead over Drury. Except for a goal from Logan Rumboldt (‘16) seven minutes into the second half, no amount of effort could stop the Varsity squad’s breakout first game.

On September 17th, the Boys’ Soccer team went on to play Monument Mt, winning with a lead of two, with Sam Dils scoring twice and Zach Condon(‘17) scoring once. Two days later, they destroyed Wahconah with a 4-0 victory as Sam Dils scored two goals, Naka O’Connor (‘17) made his first of the season, and the final goal was an own.

On the 21st they played Taconic, soundly beating them 4-1 with Manas Jain (‘17), Benni McComish (‘16), Quinn Johnstadt (‘18) and Dils scoring. Blair Dils, the varsity coach felt that especially with a young team he expected early losses, but was pleasantly surprised with the team’s progress so far, “If we were going to lose I thought it might be early, and then we’d tighten up, be strong towards the end of the season.”

On the 25th, Mt. Greylock met with Lenox at home. Although an early goal was scored by Lenox after a penalty conceded by Matthew Kleiner (‘17), Mt. Greylock rallied. Sam Dils scored 12 minutes into the 2nd half, and Naka O’Connor followed up with a shot 24 seconds later.The Mounties barely held Lenox to one goal throughout the match despite several near misses. A especially nerve biting one occurred when a high shot hit the crossbar and almost bounded into the goal. A tough game, Coach Dils acknowledged the opinion of Lenox, “They definitely feel like they deserved to win last game.”  With a 5-0-0 start, they ran into Pittsfield High School, tied 1-1 at the half. Pittsfield’s superiority in the air led them to three set piece goals after the break as well as ball control throughout the match. Although O’Connor scored again before the end of the match, the Mounties lost 4-2.  Despite the disappointing loss, the Mounties quickly bounced back, upsetting Ludlow, a perennial division one powerhouse in a 3-2 win with two goals from Sam Dils and one from Crow Brennan. In Coach Dils’ opinion, “It was a great win. I think we found a new level of intensity that had been missing from the early part of the season and it was just one of those wins that you can put in your back pocket and say that you can play with any team at any level.” With an upcoming rematch against Lenox tonight, the Boys’ Soccer Team looks for another win as they continue to strive towards Western Mass.