Mount Greylock Boys Edge Lenox

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Sam Dils scored in the 17th minute for the only goal either team allowed Thursday night as the Mount Greylock boys soccer team defeated Lenox, 1-0.

 

“I thought our backs were tremendous tonight,” Mount Greylock coach Blair Dils said. “Alex Backiel, in particular, had a lot to do on Ian Laurin, and he did a really nice job. Wingers on his side came back and helped out because Ian is such a good player for them. A lot of their offense goes through him, so we knew we had to limit him.

 

“I think we did a pretty job. It wasn’t perfect, but we certainly did well. To shut that team out? I’m really happy with the effort from all 11 players to keep it at zero.”

 

Lenox coach Matt Cote was no less pleased with the effort of his side, which is in the middle of a brutal run against Berkshire North opponents that has seen the Millionaires drop three straight and fall to 4-3-1.

 

Despite the scoreboard, Cote saw plenty to like in his team’s play Thursday night.

 

“I thought the guys really, really looked good tonight,” Cote said. “We’ve been struggling a little bit with our energy on the field and our positivity on the field. And I told the guys tonight, I thought we found our mojo. We found the certain something that it’s going to take for us to beat these really good teams.

 

“Mount Greylock is a fantastic team. They’re so organized, so disciplined, especially up the middle. We knew that coming in. And in the first 10 minutes, I was worried. They were strong.”

 

At the 16 minute, 7 second-mark, Mount Greylock’s pressure paid off.

 

The Mounties won a 50-50 battle in the midfield, and Brady Foehl played the ball up the middle for Dils, who curled the ball toward the far post and past Matt Tibbetts, who had come off his line to try to thwart the attack.

 

The second half featured end-to-end action with plenty of pressure from both teams and a handful of quality chances turned aside by Tibbetts and Mount Greylock keeper Sam Edge.

 

“We made one small adjustment [at half-time], and that was to put Ian [Laurin] out on the wing,” Cote said. “We were trying to look for a little bit of offense around the flank, and I think it worked. It obviously didn’t win us the game, but you constantly have to look for ways to either break them down or augment what you’re doing.

 

“That was the one change I thought we would make, and it seemed to work a little bit.”

 

Lenox has a week off before hosting Wahconah on Friday.

 

Mount Greylock (4-2-1) takes a two-game winning streak into Tuesday’s showdown at home against Monument Mountain.

 

The Mounties and Millionaires are scheduled to collide again under the lights on Oct. 30 in Lenox.