Flynn Scores Twice to Lead Mounties Past Hoosac Valley
ADAMS, Mass. -- Caroline Flynn is a dangerous forward for the Mount Greylock girls soccer team.
But on Wednesday night, she was a stopper.
Flynn scored her second goal of the game to stop a Hoosac Valley surge and preserve a 3-1 Mounties win under the lights at Renfrew Field.
"She's been kind of struggling recently," Mount Greylock coach Tom Ostheimer said. "She's been playing well. She just hasn't been putting the ball in the back of the net.
"But that move, where she hit it with her left, getting beyond a really good goalie [Megan Richardson], says a lot. You've got to pretty much hit side panels to get balls by Meg."
Richardson, who is heading off to play college soccer at Southern Connecticut State next fall, made 14 saves to help keep Hoosac in the game until Flynn's second tally of the night and sixth of the season.
Flynn scored the game's first goal on Wednesday, converting out of a scramble in front of Richardson midway through the first half to give Mount Greylock a 1-0 lead.
Eight minutes later, Mae Burris-Wells made a nifty move to get around a Hoosac defender and fed a streaking Kelsey Orpin in the box to set up Mount Greylock's second goal.
But Hoosac did not fold up the tents at that point.
The Hurricanes (5-8) took control of the game midway through a second half marked by driving rain.
Hoosac put considerable pressure on Mount Greylock keeper Charlotte Rand (10 saves) and finally broke through on a corner kick about 61 minutes into the game.
After the Mounties' defense stopped the initial play, Hoosac senior Cali Romaniak alertly one-timed a ball from the top of the 18 to make it a 2-1 game with plenty of time for the hosts to get the equalizer on Senior Night.
"Things fell apart for a second [in the first half], and there's only so much you can do," Hoosac coach Kirstin Holmgren said. "But we came back in the second and worked really hard and had some really good opportunities.
"I'm really proud of them."
Hoosac needs to win out in its final three games -- starting on Saturday morning against West Springfield -- to reach the Western Massachusetts tournament.
The Mounties (10-5) are in the tournament. Both their immediate and long-term futures look bright if Wednesday's action is any indication.
Both Flynn and Burris-Wells are freshman.
And in the back, where sophomore Sarah Stripp is a dominant force along with junior Rand, the Mounties are as young as any team going to the post-season this fall.
"I thought our entire defense played great," Ostheimer said. "[Freshman midfielder] Leah Majumder, she's really a playmaker. She's stepped up, and she's really introducing herself on the offense. She's that first layer of our attack.
"And then [freshman back] Elena Cerveira with speed on the outside and [freshman back] Lauren Howard is tough. We've got three freshmen as our defenders.
"We're not sparing on the youth, that's for sure."
Mount Greylock finishes its regular season on Thursday night against Taconic.