Mount Greylock Boys Lacrosse Downs Northampton
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- David Falk knew coming into the season that he had some big shoes to fill.
On Wednesday, he took a big step toward making his own name in the Mount Greylock boys lacrosse program.
Falk stopped 11 shots to backstop the Mounties to a 10-3 win over Northampton (9-5) on John T. Allen Field.
Patrick Storie scored three goals and set up three more, and Michael Wellspeak had a hat trick for the Mounties, who improved to 12-0 and saw their sophomore goalkeeper run his save percentage to 62.3 percent.
“You’ve definitely got to feel a lot of pressure coming in after Cal Filson,” Falk said, referring to the graduated keeper now tending the net for Oberlin College.
“I haven’t talked to Cal much [this year]. I’ve talked to his dad. He’s given me a lot of good tips, corrected me a lot after games and taught me how to throw at the stick.”
On Wednesday, Falk made seven saves in the first half as the Mounties built a 7-1 half-time lead with all the scoring coming in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, he set up the period’s only goal with an outlet pass across midfield that led to Storie feeding Reilly Parker (two goals, two assists).
“I thought both goalies did a really nice job,” Mount Greylock coach Jeff Stripp said of Falk and Northampton’s Ryan Heng (13 saves). “I’m super proud of David. He kind of stood on his head today and kept us in the game when he needed to.
“I’m really, really proud of him. He’s come up big in multiple games for us.”
Both keepers had a lot to be proud of in the first quarter, as the teams combined for eight shots on goal and had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard.
Heng frustrated the Mounties five times to hold up his end of the bargain as each team worked the ball patiently, feeling out the opponent’s defense.
Mount Greylock finally struck paydirt in the first minute of the second quarter when Storie intercepted a clearing pass out of the Northampton backfield and fed Parker for a quick score.
Thomas Astle and Wellspeak each scored in 16th minute to push Mount Greylock’s lead to 3-0 before the Blue Devils were able to get on the board.
But the Mounties scored the next four, their offense spurred by its success on faceoffs. The Mounties came up with the ball on nine of nine faceoff chances in the second quarter and 13 of 17 chances in the game.
“Owen [Politis] and Pat [Storie], I don’t know how many each of them took, I haven’t looked at the stats, but they did a nice job,” Stripp said. “In particular, our wing play, was very, very good, so even the draws we weren’t winning clean, our wing guys were taking care of the ground balls.”
Mount Greylock hosts South Hadley on Friday before playing Berkshire County foes Hoosac Valley and Taconic next week.