Morales Game-Winner Sends Mounties Past Lenox
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — John Manuel Morales scored in the 76th minute Friday to complete a 2-1, come-from-behind victory for the Mount Greylock boys soccer team against Lenox on John T. Allen Field.
If you left the game at half-time, you would have thought the Millionaires were going to find their first win of the season. The game was mainly played in the midfield for the beginning of the first half with Lenox looking like the more dangerous side. Neither team controlled possession too much but all half chances went the way of the Millionaires.
As the first half moved on, Lenox grew more and more into it, starting to pin Mount Greylock inside its own half. In the 35th minute they had a good chance from a free kick that forced a deflection from the keeper. Lenox was unable to follow it up and get the game’s first goal. Shortly after that Michael Ward intercepted a ball deep in Mount Greylock territory and drove right through the heart of the defense but couldn’t get enough power behind his shot. Both teams went into the break scoreless.
Second half action saw Mount Greylock wake up a little bit, starting to put the pressure on Lenox. In the 51st minute, the Mounties’ Christian Sullivan found himself on the other end of a free kick that he headed just high, hitting the bar.
Minutes after Lenox took back control and scored off a ball crossed into the box and finished by Ward.
Mount Greylock responded well and brought the pressure right back at Lenox pinning them back. It was as if the conceded goal woke the Mounties up and they started to play good possession soccer.
Finally, they were rewarded in the 64th minute with some nice link up play that saw them get byline for a nice cross back to the six for Henrik Bingemann to bury into the net.
Mount Greylock fed off the momentum and continued to hunt for the winner. In the 70th minute it was Sullivan again with a blast from outside the box that went just high again hitting the crossbar.
“Christian was unlucky tonight, he had a couple great hits that hit the crossbar, but we had midfielders scoring goals tonight which was great and we’ve been working on finishing with our front six so it was good to see,” Mount Greylock coach Blair Dils said.
Six minutes after that near-miss, Mount Greylock found the winner
After a handball on the left wing, the Mounties had a free kick from about 25 yards. The ball was played into the 18, and Shaler Larmon made the initial save. But the rebound went to Quinn McDermott, who found Morales. The sophomore drilled a shot inside the post to give the Mounties a 2-1 lead.
Lenox made one more push, getting a corner kick in the final minutes, but Mount Greylock keeper Eamon Hetherington made a big play to punch the ball out of danger.
It was a big win all the way around for Mount Greylock as it kept hopes alive for postseason play.
“It was a huge win, It’s our only D5 game on the schedule so we knew we had to win it if we were going to be considered at all for postseason play, so we kind of approached it as a playoff game all week and it kind of felt like it,” Dils said.
Mount Greylock (2-4-2) will look to build on this win as it takes on Westfield Tuesday.
It was a tough loss for Lenox (0-6-1) as the Millionaires continue to search for their first win of the season. They will get that chance Monday on the road at Mahar.