Mounties Advance Past Lenox, Set Rematch with Monson

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Much of the remaining drama of Friday’s all-Berkshire Western Mass Class C semi-final double-header went out the window early on in the nightcap.

 

And Mount Greylock junior Mila Marcisz was the reason why.

 

Marcisz scored twice in the first four minutes of play to send the Mounties on to a 5-0 win over Lenox that sets up a rematch with Mount Greylock nemesis Monson in the regional championship game.

 

The shutout win for the girls capped a night on John T. Allen Field that also saw Mount Greylock’s boys advance to the Class C final by shutting out McCann Tech, 6-0.

 

In the second minute of play, the Mounties sent a cross from the right wing that deflected off Lenox keeper Ella Hall (18 saves) and to a waiting Marcisz, who one-timed a shot into the goal to make it 1-0.

 

Two minutes later, Marcisz fought through traffic about 20 yards from the goal, dribbled into the 18 and lifted a shot over Hall and under the crossbar to make it 2-0.

 

The goals came as a relief to her coach.

 

“I was worried,” Tom Ostheimer said. “You know, the third time against a good team is always hard. So I was worried. I think I was a little bit more worried than a few of the players.

 

“Those were two of the earliest goals we’ve gotten all season. We’ve typically been slow starting, and today we were moving the ball and converted on the first two shots.”

 

The Mounties, who beat Lenox, 7-0, the last time the teams met, had to wait a while before another shot got past Hall.

 

After coach Brian Seminara called timeout in the seventh minute, the Millionaires’ defense stiffened. And Lenox was able to generate a couple of opportunities in Mount Greylock’s end through the middle of the first half – one producing the only save Olivia Eakin needed to make to earn the shutout.

 

“We had a game plan going in,” Seminara said. “We didn’t implement the game plan going in.

 

“I think we were definitely were feeling the fact that we played a game just 24 hours ago. So we gave up the two goals, and then settled down. We actually played some good soccer. They got one toward the end [of the half], but I think, overall we had some nice segments of time and just couldn’t finish.”

 

Mount Greylock (16-1) got a goal in the 36th minute to go to the break ahead, 3-0.

 

Lucy McWeeny sent a free kick from 35 yards out down the right side for Nora Lopez, who took possession at the just outside the 18, carried it in and delivered a goal over a drawn out Hall.

 

Hall went on to make 10 of her 18 saves in the second half, including some diving stops on shots inside the 6.

 

“You would never know she has a sinus infection and is pushing through,” Seminara said. “She’s shown to be the all-star keeper she was voted in last year.”

 

Midway through the second half, Arianna Henderson finished off a cross from Lily McDermott to extend the lead to 4-0. In the 74th minute, Karlie Dowling found Gabriella Nicastro in traffic inside the 18, and Nicastro found the net for the eighth time in her ninth-grade campaign.

 

That campaign now will include a date with the top-seeded Mustangs, who advanced Friday with a 7-1 win over Drury.

 

Last year, Monson handed Mount Greylock a 3-1 loss in the Mounties’ second straight trip to the regional final. Then the Mustangs beat Mount Greylock 4-0 in the Division 5 State Tournament quarter-finals 11 days later.

 

“It’s a tough opponent,” Osthemier said. “But right now it’s 0-0. We’ve got to look back on last year, and we scored the first goal against them in the Western Mass Final. I think we played them pretty tight.

 

“I think we can definitely compete with them. We’ll hope for our best on Tuesday or Wednesday or whenever the game is played.”