Paredes, Daugherty Score to Lift Drury Boys Past Hoosac in Opener
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Drury boys soccer team started the season off with a 2-1 win over Hoosac Valley Thursday afternoon.
Drury was looking to build off of its Western Mass finals run last year and carry that momentum into 2018.
The Blue Devils came out strong, controlling possession and keeping the ball in the final third for much of the first half. It wasn’t until the 14th minute when possession started to turn into shot attempts. Seniors Danny Alvarez and Reece Racette linked up on a corner kick forcing a tough save from Hoosac Valley Jaydin Cooper (nine saves).
Drury continued to keep things going, but after a quick break from Hoosac, the Blue Devils found themselves defending a corner at their end. After a short clearance Hoosac Valley had one of the best chances of the game saved by a goal line clearance from Natal Paredes.
Hoosac Valley built off of that, tipping the possession arrow in their favor. The Drury defense started to get a bit open at the back leaving through ball chances that keeper Corbin Rumbolt (five saves) was left to clean up.
It wasn’t until stoppage time that the game had its first breakthrough coming off a series of set pieces from Drury. The play initially began from a free kick turned away for a corner kick and then followed up with a couple more corner kicks leading to the eventual cross for a goal. Defender Natal Paredes tapped it in at the end, adding to his impressive game thus far.
“Natal had a phenomenal game at right defense,” Drury coach John Jacobbe said. “He stepped up on many plays, he played 80 minutes today, and i didn’t have to worry about him at all.”
Drury came out of the half-time break with the 1-0 advantage and looked to add another. It dominated the play once again but just couldn’t seem to find the back of the net. Both Max Daugherty and Scott McGuire hit the post in quick succession leaving the hometown fans wondering if they would find another goal. With time running down, it was Max Daugherty who found himself on the end of a nice pass splitting the defense and this tim putting it between the posts to give Drury the 2-0 lead.
Hoosac answered back in stoppage time with an Evan Norcross goal, but it was little too late to do any more damage.
It was a team effort for the Blue Devils, and with only four seniors it was nice to start the season off with a win. Jacobbe was pleased with the way his team came out and said.
“We knew our seniors and veterans were going to play good and compete, but to have our younger players combine a great effort, it was key,” he said.
Hoosac Valley will look to regroup Saturday at home against Monument Mountain. Drury will take on Wahconah Monday afternoon at home.