Majumder Makes MG a Winner at Monument
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. -- The machine that is the Mount Greylock boys' soccer team continued to roll on Monday, earning its sixth straight victory with a 2-0 road win over Monument Mountain.Junior Nathan Majumder scored a pair of first-half goals for the Mounties, who improved to 11-0-2 overall and 5-0-2 in North Division play. Majumder started things off in the ninth minute of the game by heading in a long throw-in from senior defender Ryan Mahar. It was the third time this season that Mahar has set up a goal with his throw-ins into the goal box. Five minutes before halftime, Majumder made it 2-0 by scoring his 11th goal of the season on a penalty kick.
"It's always satisfying to get a win at Monument," Greylock head coach Blair Dils said. "It's a hard game for us to play right after school and early in the week. The field conditions were poor, which made for a very disjointed game. It was hard for both teams to sequence any passes together, so the on-the-field product was not very attractive.
"Getting the second goal was critical. Monument responded after our first goal and was able to sustain pressure by switching the fields quickly. We were more opportunistic than good to earn the penalty kick, but Nathan made good on his miss against them the last time we played by burying this one."
Led by senior captain Luke Costley and junior goalkeeper Sean Houston (three saves), the Greylock defense earned its second shutout over the Spartans (7-3-3) after earning a 1-0 win at home in the second game of the season. Houston recorded his seventh shutout of the year, lowering his goals allowed average to a mere 0.5 per game.
"In the second half we were very cautious in our attack because their counter-attack concerned us," Dils said. "We did well to get behind the ball, destroy any rhythm they might be getting and then see if we could counter attack. It wasn't pretty by any stretch, but today it was effective.
"Sean was tested a few times, once on a point-blank header in the first half. His decision making was excellent today, and he controlled his area with confidence. He earned the shutout."
The Mounties next play Hoosac Valley in a game played at Renfrew Field at 6 p.m. on Thursday.