Hoosac Valley Stymies Chicopee Comp for First Win
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Max Griffin stopped six of the eight shots he faced on Thursday to backstop the Hoosac Valley boys lacrosse team to a 7-2 win over Chicopee Comprehensive on MCLA’s Ron Shewcraft Field.
Kadan Tatro scored twice, and Adan Wicks had a goal and two assists as the Hurricanes evened their record at 1-1 after a road loss on Tuesday at Belchertown.
“I think we got the jitters out,” Hoosac Valley coach Jacob Anderson-Hall said. “The defense looked phenomenal. The offense, we’ve got to work on some things, but they played together, played as a team. It was a great team effort.”
Griffin needed to stop just two shots in the first half to pitch a shutout and did not give up a goal until midway through the third quarter, when the Colts scored to cut it to 6-1.
It was a season low offensive output for Comp (2-2), which scored 24 goals in its first two games.
“We definitely needed those saves,” Anderson-Hall said. “Those are huge for us. If our offense isn’t clicking 100 percent, our goalie needs to step up, and he did it today.
“[Our defense] was great. They’re a great unit. We’ve got three captains on that side. So they better perform. They were great.”
Hoosac Valley’s offense produced a goal in the first three minutes when Wicks set up Brayden Villnave. But that was all the Hurricanes could slip past Comp’s Aidan Coulombe, who had three saves in the first quarter and finished with 10 in the game.
Early in the second, Tatro scored unassisted to double Hoosac Valley’s lead, and that is where it stood for about 12 minutes of play.
In the third minute of the second half, the Canes started clicking at the offensive end.
Wicks scored to make it 3-0 and start a four-goal run that lasted just more than three minutes..jpg)
Liam Berryman, Wesley Emerson and Tatro scored in succession to put Hoosac Valley up, 6-0.
“They had good shot selection,” Anderson-Hall said of Hoosac Valley’s first half offensive production. “They’ve just got to get it on cage. I’ve got a lot of new guys. I think they were nervous. I think once we opened the floodgates, they started scoring more goals.”
Shane Upham scored for Chicopee Comp to end the run with 5:57 left in the third.
The teams then traded goals in the fourth quarter. Kamarion Kastner scored in transition for the Hurricanes to push the margin back to six goals, and Andrew Ferguson found the back of the net for a man-up goal for the Colts with 5:30 left.
Hoosac Valley is right back at it on Friday when it travels to Berkshire Community College to play Pittsfield in a game scheduled for 6:30.