Wright Scores Two, Generals Command Second Half Against Mounties
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- Pittsfield High School girls soccer coach Andy Waluszko thought his team was a little flat in the first half on Tuesday afternoon.
In the second half, the Generals played well enough to flatten just about anyone.
Pittsfield dominated the last 40 minutes at Kirvin Park, cashing in on two of their numerous scoring opportunities to break a half-time tie and earn a 3-1 win from Mount Greylock.
Amanda Wright scored two goals, including the game-winner in the 64th minute as the Generals won their fifth straight and improved to 8-2-1.
"You've got to give Greylock credit at the beginning of the game," Waluszko said. "They were first to the ball, and we came out really flat today. But that's Greylock coming out strong and really stepping up to us.
"Second half, we just said to be patient, stay with the regular game we usually have, start being first to the ball, and things worked well in the second half."
Part of Pittsfield's early doldrums may have been the fact that they scored the game's first goal in the fourth minute when Ilana Albert set up Wright for the first of Albert's three assists on the day.
Waluszko agreed that the early goal gave his team a false sense of security.
"I think it did," he said. "I think once we scored first, we thought, 'Oh, OK. We're going to score four or five goals today.' But it wasn't the case. [Greylock is] a talented team. Their goalkeeper came up with a couple of nice saves today. And they took it to us for the first 40.
"We finally got our legs in the second half, started moving the ball better and we were pressing them pretty good in the second half."
After giving up a chance in the 42nd minute, Pittsfield took control. At one point, the Generals generated five corner kick chances in a span of six minutes. Mount Greylock keeper Charlotte Rand, who was credited with 16 saves, had at least four of them during that stretch.
Finally, Pittsfield broke through with 16:36 left to play.
Albert sent a through ball for Wright, who broke through the middle of the 18 and fired a shot past Rand to make it a 2-1 game.
About a minute later, Albert took a shot from high on the right wing that Rand stopped, but she gave up a rebound, and Rachel Godwin was there to knock the ball home and provide the final margin of victory.
For Mount Greylock (8-4), it was the first loss in six games and denied the Mounties a chance to qualify for the Western Mass tournament. They will try again on Thursday against Wahconah, which earned a 4-0 victory in the teams' first meeting.
Mount Greylock coach Tom Ostheimer said games like Tuesday's will serve the Mounties well in the post-season -- assuming they get there.
He was encouraged by the way the Mounties responded to the game's first goal with a tally by Kelsey Orpin in the seventh minute, and he was happy with the way his defense played until Pittsfield was able to wear it down in the last 20 minutes.
"I thought our best chance was that cross [from the right wing] from Kelsey to Lucy [Barrett] when it was still 1-1," Ostheimer said. "We didn't have many chances, but in a game against a quality opponent like Pittsfield, you've got to bury those. ... They killed us on the corner kicks and they could have had a bunch more [goals].
"I think going from losing [5-1 to Pittsfield] early in the season -- and we hung in in that game, too, you can only hang in so long against a quality opponent. They've got so many quality weapons. We can't just key on Amanda Wright. They've got a lot of other girls who can play up front."
Pittsfield goes out of league to play at East Longmeadow on Thursday.