Welch's Hat Trick Lifts Mount Greylock Boys over Pittsfield
PITTSFIELD, Mass - It’s no secret that Finn Welch is a dangerous scorer that is capable of netting goals in bunches. On Friday night on the road at Berkshire Community College against a tough Pittsfield Generals squad, Welch showcased his knack for finding the net by recording three goals to lead the Mt. Greylock Mounties to a 4-1 victory.
Welch’s hat trick erased an early deficit and helped pave the way to the first victory of the season for Mt. Greylock (1-1).
“It’s a little surreal here under the lights,” Welch admitted of his performance after the game. “My teammates put in 110% effort, if that was even possible. We ran as hard as we could and fought with these guys, and Pittsfield is a great team. My teammates were feeding me in great positions and I was able to put them away. It’s just an amazing feeling right now. It is just great.”
The Generals (1-1) burst out of the gate with energy and intensity, and were quickly rewarded with a 1-0 lead just less than four minutes into the action. Matt Miller fired a laser from directly in front of the net off an assist from David Kankam for the Generals’ first and only score of the night.
From the opening whistle to the final seconds of play, the Mounties matched Pittsfield’s intensity with a ferocious and relentless effort of their own. Players sprinted every second they were on the field, fighting for every possession and keeping constant pressure on the Pittsfield defense. Mt. Greylock took 19 shots on the night to the Generals’ 12 shots, half of which came in desperation during the final five minutes of action when the outcome was essentially already determined.
“It was tiring, but I am really proud of these guys,” Welch said. “It is never easy to go down 1-0 so quickly, but we were able to bounce back, keep the team morale high and fight to the end there to get a good result.”
Welch certainly was the recipient of many great passes from his teammates. The first came from Emi Soza-Foias with 22:30 left in the opening half, and Welch sent the ball sailing into the corner of the net for the tying score. About five minutes later the senior forward set himself up with a quick strike on a free kick that sailed to the back of the net for the winning goal. Welch then closed out the scoring with a long cross shot that caught the left corner of the goal with 17:00 left to play.
Soza-Foias also added a goal, as he found himself set up perfectly in front of the net and he snuck a roller past the keeper with 35:10 left in the second half.
“This win is huge,” Welch said. “Our goal is always to be the top of the North [Division], and this is a big step towards that, because PHS is a great team. We were able to take it to them today. We’ll play them at home later in the season, but now we focus on Monument Mountain for Tuesday.”
The Mounties will be on the road again in that Tuesday afternoon showdown, while Pittsfield will also travel when it takes on Wahconah on Tuesday night.