WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Mount Greylock junior Will Apotsos scored his first goal of the season in the first half of Monday’s match against Lenox.
And he did not stop scoring until the Mounties had a 3-2 win.
Apotsos’ hat trick gave the top-ranked Division 5 boys team in the commonwealth their first win in three games and valuable power ranking points against a non-league opponent.
It also gave him a big reason to smile when the game was over.
“First high school hat trick in general,” Apotsos said. “I didn’t even score a hat trick on JV.
“Honestly, it feels great. First hat trick, first goal of the season, too. Feeling great.”
And the Mounties were feeling pretty good after knocking off an old Berkshire County North rival under the lights on John Allen Field.
But the Millionaires gave Mount Greylock (4-5) all it could handle in the teams’ only meeting this fall.
Lenox fell behind by scores of 2-0 and 3-1 and kept coming back.
And in the closing seconds, Sean Collins, who already had a set piece goal earlier in the game, teed up a direct free kick from 35 yards out. He lofted a shot over the wall that was on frame, but Ward Bianchi (three saves) was there to make the stop and Liam Noyes was able to clear the rebound to secure the victory.
The Millionaires (4-5) took their second straight loss, but first-year coach David Hilfinger was not disappointed in the effort from his side.
“It was an exciting game,” Hilfinger said. “We stayed with them. Greylock’s a bigger team. We’re a young team. We’re still learning. But we’re playing really well.
“We put some pressure on them, and it pays off. We got some close opportunities that we need to execute on, and we’ll come out here with a ‘W.’ “
The Mounties came out strong in the beginning of the match, putting a couple of shots on frame by Will Igoe in the opening moments. The second came on a free kick from just outside the 18 that forced Lenox keeper Jason Sibley to leap and punch the ball over the goal for a corner kick.
In the 16th minute, the Mounties had a free kick from deep on the right wing that was crossed into the 18 for Igoe, whose header was just high of the crossbar.
“The leadership in the front – Will Igoe and some of those guys – some of those games aren’t on the scoresheet,” Mount Greylock coach Erin Sullivan said. “Will Apotsos’ name is. He had an amazing game. But, I’ll tell you what, he’d be the first guy to say it was the buzzsaw of numbers tonight.”
After those early near misses for the Mounties, Apotsos cashed in a scoring opportunity with an assist from Noyes to give the Mounties a 1-0 lead in the 26th minute.
Lenox nearly had the equalizer late in the half, but Bianchi made a diving save on a try from Collins from the top of the 18 to keep it a one-goal Mount Greylock lead at half-time.
Mount Greylock started the second half just the way it started the game, getting a corner kick in the 41st minute that saw Reed Miles-Harris’ header just miss off the cross from Simon Shin.
Four minutes later, Apotsos scored an unassisted goal to give his team a 2-0 lead.
But it did not last long. Collins converted a free kick for the Millionaires to make it 2-1 in the 51st minute as the teams’ combined on a flurry of goals.
Apotsos completed his hat trick three minutes later, and Lenox’s Fyodr Chairez-Volakh scored with an assist from Luis Andrade for the game’s fourth goal in an 11-minute span and a 3-2 score.
Mount Greylock had some chances to expand its lead, but Millionaires keeper Vincent Dragonetti and the Lenox defense held up. His leaping save in the 76th minute kept it a one-goal margin, setting the stage for the Millionaires’ final chance a few minutes later.
Lenox goes right back at it on Tuesday when it travels to Frontier in a Moriarty Division matchup.
Both the Millionaires and Mounties finish the regular season with league games; Mount Greylock is at Agawam on Wednesday.
Apotsos said there is a little pressure carrying the top ranking in the MIAA’s first in-season power rankings – a distinction Mount Greylock earned with its strong play in the rugged Churchill Division, which features the top-ranked team in D4 (Pittsfield), the second-ranked team in D4 (Hampshire) and the top-ranked team in D3 (Pope Francis).
“It’s good to be No. 1,” Apotsos said. “You want to keep that spot.
“But [Mount Greylock track and field coach Brian] Gill says something I always like to quote: People are like oranges. When you put pressure on, it’s what’s on the inside that comes out. I feel like that really happened here. I feel like we’re all good kids, and when you put pressure on, we played well.”
