Quick Goal Dooms Hornets in WMass. Defeat
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- A quick goal led to a quick exit for the McCann Tech boys' soccer team, which fell behind early in its 4-0 loss to Sabis in the first round of the Division 3 Western Mass. tournament on Friday.Josh Evans scored off of a set piece three minutes into the game, giving the sixth-seeded Bulldogs (9-7-2) all the cushion it would need to advance to a quarterfinal date with Westfield Voc. Andrew Berthiaume scored the first of his two goals in the game in the 29th minute, giving the hosts a 2-0 lead at halftime.
The Hornets (9-10) couldn't find a way past Sabis keeper Colby Manning (six saves) on the offensive end and eventually fell behind 3-0 when Berthiaume scored his second goal of the game four minutes into the second half. Alon Chappell eventually added an insurance goal in the 56th minute to put McCann away for good.
Although they lost both of their postseason games, the Hornets had a successful season, finishing with a winning regular season and a 5-3 mark in Tri-County League play. Head coach Adam Kozik will have to replace 25 goals (team lead) from senior striker Chad Raimer, but he has several talented underclassmen he can turn to. One of those young starters, sophomore forward Shane Fuller, scored nine goals and led the team with 13 assists this year.
Sophomore goalie Chris Gajda also returns. He made six saves in his final start of the season on Friday.