McWeeny's Hat Trick Helps Lift Mount Greylock Girls in Opener
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- Playing the inaugural game on the artificial turf field at Berkshire Community College, the Mount Greylock girls soccer team was a little out of its element on Tuesday afternoon.
But after getting the hang of things, the Mounties did just fine.
Clara McWeeny had a hat trick, and Ella Dudley scored a goal and set up two more to lead Mount Greylock to a 7-1 win over Taconic in the season-opener for both squads.
“I would say most impressive was the short passing, especially in the middle of the field,” Mounties coach Tom Ostheimer said. “I thought Ella [Dudley] and Karen [Magnusdottir McComish] did a great job controlling the middle. … We handled the middle of the field.”
And the field itself?
“We only had one practice session on the turf at Williams [College],” Ostheimer said. “They played to feet, which was the key. There were very few balls that went over the side or end line. A lot of that is just being on the same page and accurate passing.”
It was an unassisted tally that got the scoring started for Mount Greylock in the 11th minute.
The Mounties got a couple of chances off a corner kick -- one off the crossbar and one stopped by Taconic’s Leeyia Hoose (11 saves) before Elizabeth Dupras was able to cash in to make it 1-0.
Less than a minute later, Talia Cappadona earned her first assist of the game by setting up Dudley. Dudley then fed McWeeny to make it 3-0, and McWeeny scored an unassisted goal from deep on the left wing to make it a four-goal margin before the first of two water breaks called by the game officials.
“Your first home game, your first big game, being out on the turf, I think there are a bunch of things that go into being nervous,” Taconic coach Jenna Giardina said. “I think that showed because we’re so young, a little bit.
“Even if they’re not young, they’re new to being on varsity. I think, as the season progresses, it will be a whole thing of getting better. And I saw a lot of things that I was proud of from the younger players.”
Cappadona set up freshman Livia Morales for her first varsity goal, and Jane Skavlem added a goal before half-time to send Mount Greylock to intermission with a 6-0 lead.
McWeeny scored her third with an assist from Dudley nine minutes into the second half, before Taconic was able to break through with a Kendra Buda corner kick that eluded Mount Greylock keeper Brianna Dowling.
Dowling and Delaney Babcock combined for six saves to earn the win in goal for the Mounties, who are back in Pittsfield Thursday to take on Pittsfield at Kirvin Park.
Taconic hosts Lee on Thursday as Giardina’s club looks to build on the momentum of a 1-1 second half in the opener.
“As much as you can be a good soccer player physically, we work a lot on mental toughness,” she said. “And so I am very happy with the way we played in that second half because we’ve been working on mental toughness.”
VIDEO: @athleticsmg Clara McWeeny scores the first of her three goals in Tuesday’s win over Taconic.