Duquette Scores in Pittsfield Girls' Tie with Chicopee Comp

PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- The Pittsfield girls soccer team may not have gotten the result it was hoping for on Tuesday afternoon at Berkshire Community College.

 

But the Generals are getting the play that they need down the stretch to build momentum going into the 2022 campaign.

 

Chicopee Comp scored in the 68th minute to erase a Pittsfield lead and escape with a 1-1 tie on Gene Dellea Field.

 

It was the third meeting of the season between the two squads and the third close battle. The teams played to a 3-3 tie in Pittsfield's season opener, and the Colts came away with a 2-1 win in Chicopee in late September.

 

That loss came in the middle of an 11-game PHS losing streak, which led to the Generals placement in Tuesday's match for non-qualifiers in the eight-team Western Massachusetts tournament that got underway on Monday.

 

But since that streak, Pittsfield (1-13-3) is 1-2-2 with one game left, Thursday at Mahar.

 

Coach Juan Ramos said Tuesday that his players are answering a challenge he issued after a 4-0 loss at Agawam.

 

"Three games ago, I was very disappointed with the way we played, and I was too vocal during the game," Ramos said. "So I talked to the captains and I told the team that the goal is to play our best soccer the next few games."

 

That led to a one-goal loss to rival Wahconah and ties against Monument Mountain and Chicopee Comp.

 

With just three seniors on the Pittsfield roster, the younger players need to have something positive to build on for next fall, Ramos said.

 

"The last time, we played really well, and today we played, on and off, at a pretty good level," he said.

 

"I think the kids know about the injuries. They know we only have three seniors. They see this as a preview for things to come."

 

Pittsfield earned a slight advantage in shots on goal Tuesday, outshooting the Colts by a margin of 9-8 in a back-and-forth contest.

 

Neither side generated many chances in the first half, but the best opportunity came in 27th minute, when Tess Tierney made a run up the middle and fired a shot on the Comp keeper, who was able to corral the wet ball and keep the match scoreless.

 

Tierney opened the second half with another strong scoring chance in the 42nd minute, and Randi Duquette had tries on Comp's Madelyn Rice in the 52nd and 56th minutes.

 

Finally, at exactly midway through the second half, the Generals struck pay dirt.

 

The play started when a Pittsfield back stepped up and took possession at the midfield line. She sent it to the middle for Molly Pope, who found an open Tierney on the right wing.

 

Tierney sent Duquette ahead with a through ball, and Duquette finished from about 10 yards over a sliding keeper and into the far side of the goal to make it 1-0.

 

Chicopee Comp then took control of the match, getting a dangerous chance from low on the left wing that Jasmine Small (seven saves) was able to turn aside in the 67th minute.

 

The Colts kept up the pressure and about a minute later Alexis Boulanger was able to beat Small to tie the game.

 

The Generals threatened with just more than two minutes to play when Jackie Roccabrunna broke free on a ball that she played into the top of the 18, but Rice came well off her line to dive on the ball and stop the play.

 

Pittsfield, which already was dealing with nagging injuries as the season winds down, went into Tuesday's match without leading scorer Allie Schnopp, who missed school with an illness.

 

But Ramos said that younger players have stepped up to play big roles down the stretch.

 

"There was a freshman girl in the back, Caroline Sherman, who just joined us from the JV, who did a good job," he said. "A lot of girls have come up to join us.

 

"I think today was a great result for us because we had so many people missing and sick and all that stuff."