Mount Greylock Girls Get By Pittsfield in Penalty Kicks

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Practice made a perfect 5-for-5 for the Mount Greylock girls soccer team on Thursday afternoon.

 

The Mounties converted all five of their penalty kicks in a 5-4 shootout win over Pittsfield to advance to Saturday's Berkshire County North Division Championship game.

 

Lucy Igoe put away the semifinal-clincher, going low and to the right of Pittsfield keeper Lexi Swanson, who was stellar throughout the gmae, stopping 10 of the 11 shots she faced.

 

Elizabeth Dupras scored midway through the second half to give Mount Greylock a 1-0 lead, and she kicked off the Mounties PK rotation with a conversion to tie the shootout.

 

"Very stressful, very very stressful, but we have been working on it in practice, saying if it comes to a PK, we're going to get it," Dupras said. "We've been practicing these after after every practice this week.

 

"I think we were really ready, and all the girls came together as a team really well."

 

Mount Greylock coach Tom Ostheimer was feeling more sheepish than prescient about the decision to put some time into the penalty kick scenario heading into the county semi-final.

 

"I was thinking, during the practice, 'Maybe a little too much,' " Ostheimer said. "But I guess you can never have too much.

 

"Another thing we worked on, which is funny, was corners, yesterday for probably a good half hour. And we came up empty on our corners. Nothing was really even that close."

 

There was plenty of offensive frustration to go around on both sides in regulation and the two 10-minute overtime periods.

 

Most of the first half was played in the middle third of the field, but Mount Greylock started to assert itself on offense at the end of the half.

 

In the final minute, Swanson came off her line to stop Clara McWeeny at the top of the 18. Seconds later, a Pittsfield back made a defensive save, clearing the ball off the line. The whistle to end the half sounded with Mount Greylock lining up another shot.

 

The Mounties kept the pressure up after the break, generating four good chances in the first 10 minutes.

 

But it took until 60th minute for the Mounties to break through. McWeeney won a 50-50 ball at midfield and sent Dupras up the middle with a through ball to start the play.

 

"I saw a girl coming in on the side, and I was a little worried about her coming in because sometimes I'll get cut off in the front," Dupras said. "But the goalie started coming out, and we had practiced this in practice. I just figured I would take one touch and try, because I've never really done that before."

 

Dupras got around a charging Swanson and calmly deposited the ball in the back of the net to put the Mounties up, 1-0, at the second half mask break.

 

Less than a minute after that break, that lead disappeared.

 

Pittsfield's Randi Duquette started the tying play with a cross into the 18 from deep on the right wing. The ball appeared to take a bad hop on the slick field and eluded Mount Greylock keeper Delaney Babcock (six saves) only to find Pittsfield's Allie Schnopp, who one-timed it into the goal to make it 1-1.

 

"Delaney was there, she called for it, which was the right thing," Ostheimer said. "It just somehow scooted through, and they banged it home. ... That's exactly what happens in the rain. And they filled the box, and they were in a position to bang it home."

 

Mount Greylock had a strong chance to end the contest at the end of overtime, but Swanson denied McWeeny in the final minute to force OT.

 

The Mounties outshot the Generals, 4-2, in the extra sessions, but neither keeper gave up another goal in the run of play.

 

Neither keeper got a glove on the ball in the shootout, either. The lone miss came on a hit shot in Pittsfield's fourth turn to keep it 3-3 going to McWeeny.

 

She buried her shot to give Mount Greylock a 4-3 lead. The Generals' Sadie Tierney then hit the back of the net to keep her team in alive, but Igoe then went to the spot and ended the match.

 

Mount Greylock moves on to Saturday's North Division final against the winner of Thursday's game between Lenox and Wahconah at Berkshire Community College.