Mounties Revved Up about Win over Mustangs
MONSON, Mass. -- The Mount Greylock boys' soccer team travelled all the way to Monson on Monday and came home with a very satisfying result, earning a 2-0 win over the Mustangs which also qualified the Mounties for the Division 2 Western Mass. tournament."We picked up a quality win on the road today against a solid Monson squad, who will be a playoff team," Greylock head coach Blair Dils said. "They're younger than normal after graduating ten seniors last year, but Coach [Mike] Lund always does a great job of getting his boys ready for the postseason."
After a scoreless first half in which the Mounties (8-0-2) outshot the Mustangs 7-2, the visitors finally got on the board with a goal by junior Nathan Majumder in the 51st minute of play. Senior Ryan Mahar set the goal up with a long throw-in, allowing Majumder the chance to score off of a header for his sixth goal of the season.
"We controlled play for much of the first half, but their goalie was active and the back three made it difficult for us to get too many quality shots," Dils said. "Ryan's throw-ins continue to be a dangerous weapon for us. Nathan did a good job of getting behind the intended target and his header eluded the grasp of the outstretched keeper."
Greylock wasn't content with a one-goal lead, however, and continued to pressure the Monson defense, earning an 8-0 edge in shots in the second half. Junior Alex White eventually cashed in with six minutes left to play, scoring one of the easiest goals of his career on a cross sent in by Majumder.
"We did a good job of not relaxing after the goal and worked hard to get that important second goal," Dils said. "Nathan lofted a cross toward the front, which ended up being a trouble ball for the goalie. The goalie almost fell into the net with the ball but instead decided to drop it as he fell backward into the net. The ball was just sitting there a few yards out, and Alex swooped in to knock it in.
"The boys did well to possess in the midfield today. We created numerous turnovers and should have done better on several counter attacks. The backline was sturdy except for one hairy moment in the first half, when Sean [Houston] had to stop a point-blank chance. Other than that one moment, Sean had a relatively relaxing day in the net."
Houston needed to make only two saves for his sixth shutout of the season, while Ben Murphy stopped four shots in net for Monson (5-2-4). It was the first meeting between the two schools since Chris Condron netted a hat trick in a 3-0 win for Greylock back in 2007.
After five straight road games, the Mounties return home to play Drury at 6 p.m. on Thursday.