Sime's Hat Trick Leads Pittsfield Girls in Opener
PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- With temperatures in the 30s and a thin layer of snow in the bleachers, it felt like the end of a regular fall season on Friday afternoon.
The Pittsfield girls soccer team also played like they had been together for months instead of a team seeing its first action of April’s “Fall 2” schedule.
Stringing together passes and showing patience in the final third, the Generals started their first campaign of 2021 with a 6-0 win over Drury on Berkshire Community College’s Gene Dellea Field.
Emery Sime scored three times and set up a goal to lead the way. She said the good ball movement was indicative of an unselfish attitude on the Pittsfield squad.
“Having a team is important, and it’s good to work with other people,” Sime said. “We don’t have any girls who are selfish, and it’s so important that we stay together like we are.”
Sime set up the game-winning goal in the sixth minute of the game.
Her cross from deep on the right wing into the 18 found Liz Swanson, who volleyed home a shot for the Generals’ first goal of the season.
Late in the first half, Sime doubled Pittsfield’s lead when she cashed in a feed from Randi Duquette on a play that started with a cross from the left wing by Allie Schnopp.
Although Pittsfield had the better of things in the first half, Drury (0-1) mounted a couple of dangerous counters. With Mackenzie Dobbert making five first-half saves, it looked like the Blue Devils might be able to get back into the game.
But Pittsfield pulled away after half-time, scoring four times in about 20 minutes to erase all doubt.
First, Schnopp finished on a cross from Duquette. Then Sime scored on a couple of through balls up the middle to make it 5-0. Finally, Duquette picked up a goal to go with her two assists to finish the scoring.
Drury’s best chance to avoid the shutout came in the 75th minute.
Pittsfield keeper Lexi Swanson came off her line to try to stop a run up the middle, but she could not clear the ball, and the Blue Devils pushed it behind Swanson and toward the goal, but senior back Sasha Grosz was able to clear it off the line for the Generals and keep it a six-goal margin.
Lexi Swanson made two saves to earn the win in goal. Dobbert finished with nine saves for Drury.
Sime said that Pittsfield’s experienced roster helped it hit the ground running this spring.
“We’ve been practicing for a little over a week,” Sime said. “We have a great team, and a lot of players can see the field really well, which helps with through balls and things like that. We did play in the fall, however, a lot of the girls who play in the regular season weren’t able to play due to work.
“But last season we had a really good team as well. We basically have the same team except for two players. We’re very familiar with each other, and we work well with each other.”
Pittsfield will look for win No. 2 on Tuesday when it plays Lenox. Drury goes to Monument Mountain on Tuesday.