Hoosac Blanks Everett for Third Straight Win
CHESHIRE, Mass. — The long and winding road back to the Western Mass. tournament got a little shorter for the Hoosac Valley boys' soccer team on Thursday. The Hurricanes defeated Mount Everett 3-0 at home, leaving Camilo Bermudez's club just one point shy of clinching a playoff berth.Hoosac improved to 7-5-1 in Bermudez's first year with the team, a vast improvement over the 'Canes 1-13-2 showing a season ago. On Thursday, Hoosac took another step toward winning the South Division title, improving its league record to 5-1 and moving two points ahead of second-place St. Joe's.
Senior Nick Ryan continued his recent scoring spree, scoring two of the Hurricanes' three goals on the day. Ryan has scored five goals in the past three games, all of which turned out to be wins for Hoosac. Ryan started the scoring off in the 23rd minute by finishing off a pass from Sean Ryan-Kut. The junior striker then scored a goal of his own 10 minutes after halftime, cashing in on Lucas Bourdon's third assist of the year.
Ryan then put the game away in the 62nd minute, scoring his eighth goal of the season on a pass from junior Shaun Knapp. Ryan and Ryan-Kut are currently tied for the team lead in scoring with three games to go.
The hosts held a decisive 15-5 advantage in shots and a 6-1 edge in corner kicks in the game. Senior sweeper Mitch Graves had a solid day on the defensive end, helping Hurricanes' goalie Tom Galisa (six saves) earn his fifth shutout of the season.
Blake Ferrara stopped six shots in net for the Eagles, who dropped to 3-8-1 with the loss.
Hoosac will try to clinch its playoff spot on Monday when rival Drury travels to Renfrew Field for a 7 p.m. game.