Short-handed Hurricanes Fall to Braves
ADAMS, Mass. -- Injuries are starting to take its toll on the Hoosac Valley boys' soccer team, and one place you can see its effects is on the scoreboard.With only two subs on the bench, the Hurricanes couldn't keep up with Taconic's speedy forwards on Thursday, losing 5-1 in a game played at Renfrew Field. Brian Addy led the Braves' attack, scoring two goals and chipping in with two assists. Eamon Conner, Tony Cruz and Mike Connors also found the back of the net for Taconic, which improved its record to 4-5-2 with the win.
"Taconic did an excellent job in their transition game and found their target's feet," Hoosac head coach Nate Girard said. "They had some incredible speed up top and it showed by having 10 plus breakaway opportunties. My defense was very tired and, without subs, they took advantage. The scoring chances piled up for us, but we just couldn't put one home unfortunately.
"Hats off to them on a good game."
Senior defender Dylan Hilchey broke up the Braves' shutout with a second-half penalty kick in the 60th minute of play. Forrest Luscier ended up making 10 saves in net for Taconic, while Tom Galisa and newcomer Chris Gajda split time in goal for the Hurricanes (1-8-1).
"Chris is a freshman, who made seven saves and brought some much needed energy off of the bench," Girard said. "He made some excellent saves and also brought a realization to this team that no position is a safety net. With the tons of injuries my team has suffered many players have been asked to step up and, fortunately for us, Chris did just that. Tom was having a hip issue and was injured at the beginning of the second half. After Chris found his groove when our keeper was ready, we used him at forward and he created a lot chances for us."
Gajda allowed just one goal in his debut at goalkeeper. Hoosac next hosts Monument Mountain in a game played at the MCLA Athletic Complex at 4 p.m. on Saturday.