McCann Tech Girls Fighting Through Disappointing Season
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- In a way, Friday’s game against Smith Vocational was a microcosm of the McCann Tech girls soccer team’s season: a frustrating result, but one in which the Hornets fought to the end.
McCann Tech lost, 4-0, to the visiting Vikings, to fall to 1-12 on the season.
Wins -- and even goals -- have been hard to come by this fall for the Hornets. But hope and hard work have been abundant.
“I think it’s hard, but we all love the game, and we love to play, so we’re sticking with it,” McCann senior Natalie Diesz said. “And we’re just looking for improvement.”
They showed it on Friday, despite the final score.
In fact, for the game’s first 35 minutes, the Hornets’ defense stood up to constant pressure from Smith Voc to keep a clean sheet.
But with 4 minutes, 5 seconds on the clock, McCann was whistled for a handball inside the 18. Marissa Meyhew went to the spot and fired a shot to the right of Hornets keeper Sarah Fortini (14 saves).
Then in the final minute of the half, Meyhew left-footed a shot from the right wing that gave her team a 2-0 advantage going into the break.
“Five minutes to go in the first half, and they got the handball,” McCann Tech coach Mike Dowling said. “That kind of gave them a little momentum. They squeaked that second one in and it was a killer. If it was 0-0 at half, it might have been a different game.”
After giving up an 11-1 advantage in shots on goal in the first half, McCann played a more even last 40 minutes, generating four shots on goal to Smith Voc’s seven.
McCann controlled the first 15 minutes of the second half, getting a chance from Aimee Dowling that went just wide off a Diesz through ball and a shot on goal from Diesz on the right wing.
But Smith Voc made it 3-0 in the 63rd minute, and Meyhew completed her hat trick with 17:20 left to play.
Dowling, as he has been all season, was happy with the effort he got from his team.
“Natalie and Aimee and Hannah (Fuller), all the seniors, they all stepped up and played well today,” he said. “They passed the ball well.
“They're playing right to the end [of the season]. I can appreciate that. It's hard, the season they've gone through. They bounce right back at practice, they want to learn, they want to keep going. We're just playing better caliber teams.”
McCann Tech goes to Mohawk on Tuesday.