Dils' Hat Trick Lifts Mount Greylock Boys Past Wahconah
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- When Sam Dils headed the ball behind himself and into the goal early in the first half on Wednesday, it looked like it was going to be his day.
And when the day was over, Dils had three goals and an assist, and Mount Greylock had a 5-1 win over Wahconah on John T. Allen Field.
“He had a good game today,” Mounties coach Blair Dils said of his son and striker. “There were a few games there where he was kept off the scoreboard, but he seems to have broken the ice recently. He’s playing with confidence.
“And we’re still scoring goals. I know we gave up a lot on Friday and Monday, but we are still putting the ball in the net, and that’s encouraging. Should we be given the opportunity in the playoffs, it’s a nice thing to have to know we have some dangerous weapons up top.”
Mount Greylock has scored 10 goals in its last three games. The Mounties (2-11-1) have two games left in the regular season and the hope that its appeal to the MIAA will allow it to participate in the Western Massachusetts tournament after the team was forced to forfeit away six of its wins because of a clerical error.
The Mounties on Wednesday looked like a team intent on making the most of the games it has left. Mount Greylock kept Wahconah (3-8) pinned in its end throughout the first half.
Anthony Dondiego helped keep Wahconah in the game by making six of his eight saves before half-time.
But Dils was able to get on the board in the eighth minute after Emmanuel Brennan sent a cross from the right wing into the 6-yard box, and the ball popped up off the foot of a Wahconah defender. Dils, with his back to the goal, headed the ball inside the far post to make it 1-0.
Three minutes into the second half, Dils set up Luke Swann, who made it a 2-0 game.
Wahconah found an answer in the 52nd minute when it was awarded a penalty kick. Isaac Votoline drilled a shot inside the left-wing post to cut Mount Greylock’s lead in half.
That was the only shot to get past Mounties junior Sam Edge, who needed to make just two saves but who demonstrated a command of the backfield that belied the fact that this was just his eighth game between the pipes at the varsity level.
“Since David [Falk] got hurt, [Edge] had to step it up a lot,” Mount Greylock senior back Zach Condon said. “Coming in as a new starting keep is difficult, but he’s adjusted well. He’s talking a lot, taking charge and letting guys know if they’re doing things wrong, but in a positive way -- just trying to help them get better.”
Coach Blair Dils agreed.
“He’s really grown up a lot,” Dils said of Edge. “When we started the season, he was third on the depth chart, and he’s been our guy this year. He’s grown immensely and does a lot of talking. ... It’s really nice to see him grow as a keeper.”
Fewer than two minutes after Wahconah got on the board, Naka O’Connor re-established the Mounties’ two-goal lead when he converted a direct kick from just outside the 18.
Midway through the second half, Dils ended a play that started when O’Connor sent the ball into the 18 for Quinn Johnstadt, who redirected it to Dils. Dils finished to make it 4-1.
Dils capped the win with a shot from the top corner of the 18 in the 66th minute.
Mount Greylock goes to Hoosac Valley on Saturday, when Wahconah heads south to take on Monument Mountain.