Alexandra DeVeaux clanged a low shot off of the left-corner of the goal. The ball nearly bounced off of Russo's back and went in, but the scrappy keeper was able to gather the ball before it crossed over the goal line. It was just one of several great plays made by Russo in the second half. Despite being just 5-foot-2, Russo was able to snuff out three Greylock corner kicks and several quality crosses by Majetich and sophomore
Kelsey Orpin.
"Gina played phenomenal," Panthers head coach Gina Pantuosco said. "That's the best she's played all season. She saved us. She played huge, and she played like a senior. She was All-Western Mass. Second Team last year, and she's kept us alive in many games."
As far as the two shots that hit off the post, Pantuosco had an obvious explanation.
"We're a Catholic school, and we've been saying our prayers."
Another reason Cathedral was able to earn its first point of the season on Saturday was the extra attention it paid to its defense in the second half. The Panthers packed it in, allowing the hosts to earn an 8-0 edge in shots after the break. Russo's solid play and a couple of near misses by the Greylock offense locked up the scoreless draw.
"They packed it in," Besnard said. "They took their best forward and put her back in the defensive midfield. They were just hoping to get away with a 0-0 tie, and they did."
The Mounties should focus on their second-half effort, which included good runs by Orpin and junior
Sophie Leamon. The latter almost scored off a chip shot early in the second half, but Russo was able to track it down at the last second. She also just missed on a few good headers, unable to get enough pace on the ball to beat Russo. Orpin really picked it up in the final 20 minutes, working the right wing and setting up several scoring opportunities. She first slotted a ball across the penalty stripe but couldn't find anyone crashing the net. Then, with 11 and half minutes to play, Orpin won a ball on the wing, made a direct run at the net, beating one defender before a second tackled her in the box and forced her into shooting wide left of the goal.
It was the best and final chance for Greylock to find the back of the net.
"It's hard to stay patient and play the way you know you have to play when a team drops five back in the box," Ostheimer said. "They really only had their two forwards up, but we were trying to go up the middle too often. In that situation, we have to try and play the flanks, get the ball outside and run the lanes. We didn't do that enough. We had some good opportunities with crosses, but we're just not capitalizing on them."