Drury Boys Win on Senior Day

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- There were several reasons for the Drury boys soccer team to roll over in the first half of Friday afternoon's game against Sabis.

 

It was cold. It was the next-to-last game of a very long season that has seen the Blue Devils win just once. It was Sabis that scored the game's first goal in the fourth minute.

 

But instead of folding, the Blue Devils fought.

 

And after getting three goals from three different players, Drury got a 3-1 win on Senior Day.

 

The win willl not send the Blue Devils into the Western Massachusetts tournament, but it did send off the program's six seniors  with smiles on their faces, knowing they were victorious in their final appearance on their home field.

 

"It has been a very disappointing season, for me as a senior for sure, just having different expectations coming into it," Sully Boland said. "We had a lot of fun today, and I guess that's all that matters in the end.

 

"It's awesome to walk off this field as winners. It's not like we're an 8-8 team contending for the tournament. So a win means a lot, and a win means we earned it. Everybody played like they cared, and everybody played as a team. We were happy to be on the field.

 

"And we were definitely happy to win."

 

Boland has been one of Drury's top scoring threats for a couple of years, but he did not factor into the box score on Friday -- although one of his free kicks did lead to a second-half insurance goal.

 

Boland's classmate Thane Preite tied the game for the Blue Devils (2-12-3) midway through the first half.

 

Preite took advantage of a defensive breakdown for the Bulldogs at the top of the 18 on the right wing. He alertly took possession of the ball and launched a shot into the top corner of the goal to make it a 1-1 game.

 

Eight minutes later, Jonah Miles sent Jake Daugherty up the left wing, and the junior forward finished for his second goal of the season to give Drury the lead.

 

In 67th minute, Boland had a free kick try from the left wing just outside the 18, and his shot wrapped around the wall and on goal. Sabis' keeper made the save, but Chris Andrews was there to cash in the rebound and provide the final margin of victory.

 

At the other end, Connor Meehan made nine saves for Drury, which has won two of its last three going into Monday's season finale at Mount Everett, a makeup of a game scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

 

Drury coach John Jaccobe said he was not surprised by how much effort he continues to get from his team, even after the disappointing start to its season.

 

"My thing is you get 18 tests per year, that's the way I look at it," Jaccobe said. "Why would you stop competing just because some of the tests didn't work out?

 

"Record-wise, we aren't where we want to be, but at this point, you have to play every game like a one-game tournament. We have 15 returning players who are coming back out of our 21, and we want to send our seniors off the best way we can.

 

"I'd be very disappointed if we don't compete. Today was a good compete level. We didn't play a perfect game, by any means. But it was a good compete level, and we got the job done. So we've got to feel good about that."