McCann Tech Blanks Mount Everett
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The McCann Tech girls soccer team continued its 14-game winning streak Monday with a 2-0, Senior Day win over Mount Everett.
The Hornets outshot the Eagles by a margin of 17-0 in improving to 14-1 with one regular season game left, Thursday at Hampden Charter.
For first-year coach Lindsay Lincoln said that while she was confident in the team, she did not know back when it lost its opener at Smith Voc that the Hornets would then go a month and a half without losing – a run that included a 3-2 victory over the Vikings to avenge the defeat.
“It’s been crazy,” she said. “I didn’t expect it at first, but our team is a really great group of girls, and we’re having fun along the way, too, which I think is really important.
“I think that’s a big reason why we’re doing so well. Everyone gets along great, and every day at practice, we’re not just running the whole time. We’re really just having a fun time together.”
But on game day, the Hornets also know when to take things seriously.
“We’re not taking any team lightly,” Lincoln said. “We haven’t all year. We go into every game kind of like it’s our biggest game of the year. I don’t really know a lot about any of the teams we’re going to play in the playoffs, either. So we’re just gonna keep playing our game right now and take it from there.”
McCann Tech got all the offense it needed on Monday in the 14th minute.
Faith Brazeau sent a ball from midfield over the top for Shaylee Lawson just outside the 18 on the right wing. Lawson headed it forward for herself and fired a shot that beat a drawn out Kamari Pridgen (15 saves) to make it 15-0.
The Hornets kept Mount Everett pinned in its end most of the afternoon.
But the hosts could not get any breathing room on the scoreboard until the 73rd minute.
That is when Ryleigh Rathbun teed up a shot from about 22 yards out on the left wing and fired into the net for her fifth goal of the season.
While the Hornets continued their long winning streak, Mount Everett (5-8-2) saw a three-game winless streak extended.
The Eagles, too, have one regular season game left, Wednesday at St. Mary’s of Westfield. Then it is, hopefully, on to the Western Mass Class D Tournament (Mount Everett had the No. 8 seed going into Monday’s play) or two games in the PVIAC’s consolation bracket for non-qualifiers.
“If we have any hope of making states, we’ve got to win out our three games,” Mount Everett coach Joshua King said. “I think the last time, before we played these guys, I think we were 4-4, and we talked about how we’ve got to finish .500. So now, we’ve got to win our next three to give ourselves a chance at states.”
Any type of post-season experience will be helpful for a young Mount Everett squad dominated by underclassmen.
“I think the effort’s there,” King said. “We talked about it at half-time and during time-outs: It’s taking that one extra touch, passing to space. A lot of times, we’re just kicking the ball and it’s going right to the wrong team.
“It’s just mastering those little things – the touches, the skill work.”
The Hornets, too, of course, can always get better. But they have to like where they are as the regular season winds down.
“We’re really playing good soccer right now,” Lincoln said. “Our team’s really come together. We’re working well as a team. I expect us to do well in the playoffs.
“Our defense is extremely strong right now. Our goalie is playing good. So we’re really coming together right now. No injuries, everyone’s feeling healthy, which I think is a key factor. And our team chemistry has really come together.”