Wahconah Boys Edge Lenox
DALTON, Mass. – Leo Stringer headed a Nate Beatty free kick into the back of the net in the 71st minute to break a 2-2 tie, and the Wahconah boys soccer team went on to a 3-2 win over Lenox on Saturday night.
The win lifted Wahconah to 7-4 on the season and gave it a third straight win – all in the Moriarty Division – with five games left in the regular season.
“I feel like we’re starting to hit a mark now, we’re doing good,” Wahconah junior Cooper Calvert said. “Three in a row is definitely good for our record. We just passed our last season’s record, so that’s good for us.
“I feel like we can do more. We’ve got a game Monday. Hopefully, we’ll win that.”
Calvert scored a pair of goals in Saturday’s comeback win.
Ninth-grader Beatty played a role in all three goals.
“He’s a freshman for us, so he’s a little young,” Wahconah coach Kyle Lyman said of Beatty. “He’s got some learning to do, but the future for him is very bright. He hustles his butt off. He plays some great balls in, and he kind of starts our offense. So it’s been good to get him in here as a freshman.”
Lenox (4-7) went toe-to-toe with Wahconah all night. The teams traded quality scoring opportunities over the first 17 minutes, but Wahconah keeper Zach Schneider (seven saves) and the Millionaires’ Vincent Dragonetti (six saves, 40 minutes), kept their sheets clean in the early stages.
In the 14th minute, Lenox’s Luis Andrade made a run on a long ball out of the back and took a try from the top of the 18 that was just off frame. Moments later, Calvert had a look from deep on the right wing that went wide of the near post.
In the 18th minute, Lenox finally broke through when Tristan Pritchard fought through some traffic in the final third and fired a shot from 20 yards that skipped past a diving Schneider to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
After going to the break down a goal, Wahconah came out firing to start the second half.
Calvert had two early chances that went by the boards. First, Lenox keeper Jason Sibley (four saves) came well off his line to try to deny Calvert a shot at the top of the 18, but the Wahconah striker managed to get off a try that went just wide of the near post. Then, in the 47th minute, Calvert got a head on a corner kick, but the ball sailed over the crossbar.
Finally, in the 49th minute, Beatty made a run down the right wing and crossed the ball into the 18 for Calvert, whose one-timer found the net to level the score at 1-1.
“I knew [Beatty] was going to play it in,” Calvert said. “I knew he could get by his defender. I was waiting for the defense to make a mistake. They did. I had a nice easy kick in. That was a good goal.”
In the 55th minute, Beatty’s pressure on the right wing led to a free kick that he lofted into the 18. Wahconah’s Alex Jerebtsov won possession and fired a centering pass to Stringer, who put a shot on net that Sibley was able to kick aside. The rebound from that save popped up inside the six, and Calvert headed it home to give Wahconah a 2-1 lead.
After a timeout by Lenox at about the 60-minute mark, the Millionaires got back on track.
Lenox’s pressure produced a corner kick two minutes later, and Sean Collins’ service was headed into the goal by a Wahconah defender to make it a 2-2 game.
Wahconah bounced back.
And with just more than 10 minutes left on the clock, the hosts earned a free kick from about 30 yards out on the right wing. Again, Beatty teed the ball up, and his kick dropped into the 6, where Stringer, facing away from the goal, leapt up and flicked the ball on target.
Lenox made a furious attempt at another comeback in the closing minutes, but Schenider and Wahconah’s defense made the lead hold up.
“[Schneider’s] been great,” Lyman said. “He’s been a great addition for us. We’ve had some goalies stay for a couple of years, and this was kind of our gap year, where we didn’t have one.
“He plays lacrosse goalie, but the goal’s obviously a little bit different size. So trying to teach him, ‘Hey, you don’t want to stick to one post like you do in lacrosse.’ That’s kind of been the only learning curve for him. But he’s been a great addition for us.”
Wahconah hosts Hopkins Academy on Monday in its final non-league game. Lenox hosts Easthampton on Tuesday.