Jamros, Rehil Score to Lift Hoosac Girls Past Lee
LEE, Mass. -- It took a couple of weeks, but the Hoosac Valley girls soccer team got its first goal of the season on Thursday afternoon.
And the Hurricanes liked it so much, they did it again in a 2-1 win over Lee.
"Playing our first three games against tough teams, you learn a lot," Hoosac Valley coach Kathy Budaj said. "We've taken some lumps, and I think today we moved the ball better than we have been. We were looking for those through balls.
"We had people in positions that normally they weren't in, so they are learning those positions, and it's taken some time. ... It was nice for us to be able to score. That was our goal today."
Senior Sydni Jamros did the honors with a shot from 25 yards out that took a tough hop past Lee keeper Bella Lovato (six saves) in the 31st minute.
Lee actually had the best chance in the early going when Ellie Miller got behind Hoosac keeper Emma Meczywor on a through ball and looked for a moment to have an open goal to work with. But Brianna Costine hustled in to make a defensive save for Hoosac Valley.
"The defense is really starting to come together," Budaj said. "We have a lot of newer people on the defense. They got tested the first three games. They're getting better."
Hoosac Valley opened the year with two games against Mount Greylock and one against Wahconah.
Lee had another good chance to take the early lead midway through the half, when Lena Simone made a run up the right wing for a shot that went just wide of the far post to keep the game scoreless.
After Jamros ended Hoosac Valley's scoring drought late in the first half, the tide turned toward the Hurricanes, who rode their momentum into the opening minutes of second.
In the 45th minute, Talia Rehill received a cross from Annie Canales near the top of the 18 and finished to give Hoosac Valley a 2-0 lead.
Lee was on its heels for the first 20 minutes of the second half, but Lovato and her defense were able to minimize the damage.
"After that mask break, I think everyone started to step up a little bit more," Lee coach Gina Guachione said. "They wanted it.
"We switched a few people around, defensively. We switched out outside defenders. Actually, we had made a switch at half-time and we went back to the way we had it."
The adjustment in the back worked, and the Wildcats started to generate some pressure at the other end. Caroline Maloney converted on a deflection off a defender in the 32nd minute to cut Hoosac Valley's lead in half.
Lee (0-2) got a couple of more late looks at the goal from Simone and Maloney in the last four minute, but one just missed the far post, and the other was saved by Emily Godfrey, who entered the goal during the second half.
Thursday's game marked the second on the bench for first-year Lee coach Guachione, who is encouraged by what she has seen.
"I'm so happy," Guachione said. "Things are clicking, the vibes are coming together. I'm just kind of sad it's almost over. We're just coming together and it's almost over."
Lee has at least six more games on the schedule plus the possibility of a South County tournament at the end of the month.
Hoosac Valley (1-3) has four games left on its schedule, starting with Tuesday's contest against Pittsfield at Berkshire Community College.