CHESHIRE, Mass. – The Hoosac Valley girls lacrosse team Friday was on a mission to reach the program’s first Western Massachusetts title game.
And the second-seeded Hurricanes were not going to be denied after Hampshire Regional went on a 6-1 second-half run to take a 16-15 lead with 2 minutes, 44 seconds left in the game.
Ashlyn Lesure scored two goals in the last two minutes to give Hoosac Valley a 17-16 win and a berth in next Wednesday’s final.
The Hurricanes will face either top-seeded South Hadley or No. 4 Lee, who play on Sunday evening, at a site to be determined to decide the regional crown.
Lesure said that Hoosac Valley, which jumped out to a 5-0 lead and led most of the game, did need to refocus after the Red Raiders pulled ahead on a goal by Rylie Simmons.
“Our heads were definitely down,” Lesure said. “But we came together, and we fought.”
With one minute, 49 seconds on the clock, Lesure scored on a free position to tie the game, 16-16.
Just a half minute later, Hampshire’s Anna Pittuck, who scored four goals in the loss, appeared to give her team the lead. But the Raiders were whistled for a penalty on the play.
Moments later, Hoosac Valley’s Emma Meczywor brought the ball up the left wing and into the offensive zone. She passed to Lesure inside the arc, and Lesure found her initial route to the goal blocked.
She regrouped, curled around a pair of Hampshire defenders and fired the ball into the net for her fifth goal of the game with 48 seconds left.
Lesure then won the ensuing draw to get possession for the Hurricanes, and they were able to maintain possession the rest of the way – helped by a couple of cards issued to the Raiders.
Meczywor led Hoosac Valley with seven goals. Lesure had seven assists to go with her five goals, and Jacinta Felix scored five goals while setting up three more.
Lesure scored with an assist from Meczywor early in the second quarter to give Hoosac Valley a 5-0 lead.
On the draw that followed, Pittuck took possession and went down the field to score her team’s first goal against Cami Lavato (10 saves).
“We knew before the game that a lot of their offense centered around the draw and [Pittuck] going,” Hoosac Valley coach Molly West said. “That’s why we shifted our defensive set a little bit, pushed Abby [Percey] back and had an extra defender back there.
“[Pittuck] was quick. Give her credit. She has good stick skills. She finds the back of the net really well.”
The teams traded goals the rest of the first half, which ended with Hoosac ahead, 8-4.
Then, the Hurricanes started the second half with goals from Felix and Meczywor to open the game’s biggest lead at 10-4.
It was a five-goal cushion in the second minute of the fourth quarter when Felix made a run up the middle from midfield and scored unassisted to make it 14-9.
But then the tide turned. Hampshire scored three straight before Lesure snapped the run with a goal midway through the fourth. And the visitors went on a four-goal run to take the lead.
Lesure, who averages 3.8 goals and 4.3 assists per game this spring, was able to find the back of the net to tie the game.
And when Hoosac Valley needed one more tally to go ahead, it got a team effort to get there.
“It definitely wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for our defense getting that stop down at the other end,” Lesure said. “I really have to shout out to our defense for that goal.”
