Hoosac Valley Falls to Burr & Burton at Vermont Tourney
BENNINGTON, Vt. – A three-goal second half for the Burr & Burton girls soccer team could not diminish a strong start to the season for Hoosac Valley.
Four different Bulldogs found the back of the net on Saturday evening as Burr & Burton prevailed, 4-0, in the championship game of the Mount Anthony Invitational.
The Hurricanes reached the final of the tournament with a 4-2 win in Thursday’s opener. And although they came up short in the final, it was a better showing than a year ago, when the program was outscored 6-0 in two losses on Spinelli Field en route to scoring just once in its first 11 games.
“I thought we played well against Brattleboro,” first-year Hoosac Valley coach Mike Ziaja said. “We seemed to show some of the capability we have.
“I think they see the promise. I think they see that we can be very competitive with teams. I think they’re building off some of the success they had at the end of last year. I have some great senior leaders. My senior captains are amazing.”
Burr & Burton dominated the first half, keeping Hoosac Valley pinned in its defensive half for nearly 35 minutes.
But sophomore keeper Emma Meczywor made 10 of her 18 saves in that first half to keep it a one-goal game at intermission.
The only blemish on her sheet came in the sixth minute when Willa Bryant scored from high on the left wing for the eventual game-winner.
Hoosac Valley’s best offensive chance of the half came in the 37th minute when Samantha Loholdt got off a shot from the top of the 18 off a corner kick. The ball was deflected by a defender and scooped up by Abigail Kopeck for her only save of the night.
The second half started a little stronger for the Hurricanes, who were able to take a little of the pressure off Meczywor and keep the game in the middle third for the first nine minutes.
But in the 50th minute, the Bulldogs scored again. And in the middle of the half, they erased all doubt with two goals in a span of six minutes to put the game away.
Meczywor made the save of the night in the 59th minute when Burr & Burton’s Josephine Powers took a try unmarked deep on the left wing, and Meczwyor made a leaping stop to punch the ball out of danger.
In the end, there were just too many chances for her to hold the Bulldogs at bay.
“This is a nice Burr & Burton team,” Ziaja said. “Ten seniors, 10 juniors. They’re fit. They’re athletic. I pulled up two jayvees for this game. … We’re not quite as fit as we need to be. They know that.
“We were a little more reactive, but I really love the fire that we have. I thought we tried to run stride for stride with them, but sometimes you just meet a team that’s a little faster.”
Hoosac Valley (1-1) goes to Palmer on Monday.