Pittsfield Girls Lax Shows Improvement Against Mt. Greylock
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Mount Greylock's girls lacrosse coach does not know what the future holds for her team, but she really likes the long-term prospects of the team it just beat.
"Pittsfield is a good team," Lindsey Von Holtz said after the Mounties defeated the Generals, 16-8, on Tuesday afternoon. "They have some really good players and a strong future.
"I hope they stick with it, just to help the county overall."
In fact, while the final margin was sizable, it was also a sizable improvement over the teams' first meeting this spring.
"We're proud because last time, it was 16-2, and today we were 16-8," first-year Pittsfield coach Kendra Isbell said. "They're an undefeated team, so for us to even have half their score, we're really proud of that."
And about eight minutes into Tuesday's game, the Generals put Mount Greylock on notice that they were not going to roll over and play dead.
Pittsfield's Shea Hasset and Makenzi Astore scored goals three minutes apart to make it 3-3 after the Mounties jumped out to an early lead.
"It was the same thing last time," Von Holtz said, finding one parallel to the first meeting. "They scored two goals in the first two minutes before we even woke up.
"That is one thing we do need to work on. We struggle to be ready at the first whistle."
The Mounties have a little bit of time to address that concern before the Central/Western Mass tournament gets under way, but Mount Greylock now knows for sure it is going to the post-season after improving to 10-0-1 with Tuesday's victory.
Sarah Stripp led Mount Greylock with five goals and an assist, and Lucy Barrett, Haley Reinhardt and Kelsey Orpin each contributed a pair of goals.
The Mounties got a goal apiece from Rachel Clement, Emma Polumbo, Julia Whitney, Hope Willis, and Emily Sabin.
Astore scored three to lead Pittsfield, who got two goals each from Hasset and Lauren Curry. Jackie Salvie score the other Pittsfield goal.
"What I'm proud of on our team is we have six different girls who can shoot all of our goals," Isbell said. "Most every other team has two girls who consistently shoot all their goals. So we have a lot of versatility."
After Astore curled out from behind the goal to score an equalizing goal with 17 minutes, 39 seconds left in the first half, Mount Greylock scored the next seven to close out the period.
Orpin scored the go-ahead goal after picking up a ground ball in the attacking end. Less than a minute later, it was Clement coming in from the right wing to score and make it 5-3.
Pittsfield got the first goal of the second half, but Mount Greylock went on a 5-0 run to take an 11-goal lead and get the game to running time with about 18 minutes left.
But rather than play out the string, Pittsfield scored three straight -- the last two by Astore -- to get within eight at 15-7.
Von Holtz said she was encouraged by her team's passing and transition game, an area that has progressed this spring for Mount Greylock.
How much progress the Mounties can make in the tournament is anyone's guess, she said. On Friday, Mount Greylock will travel to Bennington, Vt., for a test that could give it a better idea where it stands.
"I'm really looking forward to this Friday when we play [Mount Anthony]," Von Holtz said. "They're traditionally a very strong team. ... We'll see how we do against a really strong team, which will help us figure out where we are in Western Mass or Central/Western Mass or whatever it is now."
Mount Greylock is part of a 28-team Central/West Division 2 that sprawls from Williamstown to Worcester.
"I'm happy with where we are as a team, but I have no idea where we are long-term because I know nothing about Central Mass," Von Holtz said. "I don't see any Central Mass teams. But I know the teams in Western Mass are good in the Pioneer Valley. Unfortunately, we didn't get to play any of them this year to see where we are with them."