Rohlfs' Five Goals Lift Hurricanes at Drury

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Dylan Rohlfs scored five goals, and the Hoosac Valley boys soccer team bounced back from a two-goal first-half deficit to earn a 6-5 win over Drury on Tuesday.

 

Rohlfs found the back of the net three times in the second half, when the Hurricanes rebounded from a slow start to take control and take a two-goal lead into the closing minutes.

 

Drury took a 3-1 lead in the 29th minute when Chase George set up Matt Howland for his second goal of the game.

 

But the Hurricanes scored twice before half-time and went on a 5-1 run to take control.

 

“The energy coming in, doing stretches, I could tell, nobody really wanted to be here,” Rohlfs said of the slow start. “We were down, 3-1, called time-out, we weren’t even talking, we were still down.

 

“But then, at half-time, we were talking as a team. We weren’t down on each other. We came together as a team and said, ‘We’re still in this. Let’s go get some. Let’s go back out there with high energy. And let’s get some in.’ “

 

Rohlfs scored in the 47th minute to give Hoosac Valley its first lead of the game at 4-3.

 

But Drury (0-2) responded when, for the second time in the game, a Rommel Alvarez corner kick found the head of a teammate in the box.

 

In the first half, it was Howland’s header that accounted for the game’s first goal. In the 52nd minute, Jorge Bond headed home Alvarez’ entry to make it 4-4.

 

“We might have scored one goal on a corner last year, but we didn’t score many,” Drury coach John Jacobbe said. “And we got a couple of good opportunities today. There were a couple of corners late when we didn’t run our lanes to the far post and we might have gotten a couple of loose balls. But getting those two goals gave us a chance.”

 

Hoosac Valley controlled play most of the half, outshooting Drury, 9-3, in the final 40 minutes.

 

With just more than 17 minutes left in the contest, Rohlfs scored off a crossing pass from the right wing by Evan Richardson to give the Hurricanes the lead for good at 5-4.

 

Six minutes later, Rohlfs scored his fifth of the game, and Hoosac Valley had its first two-goal lead.

 

“The first half, we came out pretty slow, and the boys knew it,” Hurricanes coach Blair Mahar said. “The half-time talk was, ‘Boys, it’s a 3-3 tie, but I feel like we’re not playing very good soccer.’ And they agreed. So we made a couple of adjustments and came out better in the second half. We had more possession, played better, and then we began having injuries.”

 

The good news for Hoosac Valley was that when it had to go to its bench, its reserves responded.

 

“We have a ton of eighth-graders on the bench … but they stepped up,” Mahar said. “I just told the boys that to secure this win, they all had to step up, be good leaders and have that warrior spirit, which I think they did.”

 

That spirit allowed Hoosac Valley to withstand a late push from Drury, which got a goal from Bond from about 25 yards out in the 77th minute of play.

 

The Blue Devils mounted a couple more challenges down the stretch, but David Decker (nine saves) and the Hoosac Valley defense did not allow another score.

 

“Hoosac is a formidable team,” Drury’s Jacobbe said. “We know that. But my team’s effort – we didn’t give up. A couple of times we got mad at each other … but it was a collective loss. And we’ve got to learn that.

 

“We haven’t been in too many games like this, and we’ve got to learn how to win these games.”

 

Myles Beauchamp converted a penalty kick and Parker Rivard had a pair of saves for Drury, which goes to Renaissance on Thursday.

 

Hoosac Valley (2-0) is at Commerce on Saturday.

 

Photos from this game to come.