Wahconah's Seniors Earn Long-Sought Sweep
DALTON, Mass. -- Senior Day for the Wahconah girls lacrosse team will not come for a couple of weeks.
But Tuesday was the day the seniors may most remember from the 2017 season.
Emmy Cote scored seven goals, and Katie Bachli made 11 saves as Wahconah earned a 12-10 win over Mount Greylock to complete a season sweep of the Mounties and clinch a berth in the Western Massachusetts tournament.
“This is the first year we’ve beaten them twice out of two or three times,” Cote said. “For the seniors, it feels amazing to have this set up for next year for the younger kids and to finally get it out of our system -- to beat Greylock for once. Every year, it’s ‘Beat Greylock,’ and we finally did it.
“And it feels really good.”
Cote scored five times in the first half as Wahconah (9-2) built an 8-2 half-time lead.
Wahconah went ahead by seven goals in the second half when Jordan Budaj scored to make it 12-5 midway through the period.
But Mount Greylock (8-4) scored the last five goals of the game to get within a pair when Emma Polumbo scored her team-high fifth goal with just less than a minute left on the clock.
Bachli -- like Cote a senior -- came up huge in the closing moments to stave off the comeback.
She stopped shots on free positions on back-to-back Mount Greylock possessions in the 10th and eighth minutes with the lead 12-6.
Then, after Polumbo’s goal got the lead down to just two, Bachli made a save with 38 seconds on the clock and controlled the ball, getting it up the field to start a possession that allowed Wahconah to run out the clock.
Earlier in the second half, with Wahconah ahead, 9-5, Bachli made a pinpoint clearing pass from just outside her crease to Cote at midfield to help Wahconah kill limit the damage of a two-minute man down situation.
Budaj said Bachli was a big difference in the win as Wahconah’s program took a major step forward against the perennial Berkshire County power.
“It’s big,” Budaj said. “Since I’ve been here, we haven’t done it. I told the girls at the beginning of the season: This is your year.
“And the difference this year is the girls were -- not cocky but they were confident. They knew it was their time, and they didn’t get all nervous for the game. Usually, they’re a basket case. Last year when it was the Berkshire County Championship, we had players who couldn’t play for whatever reason.
“This year, it was a mature win both times.”
Budaj and Hannah Ronayne scored two goals apiece, and Brianna Kasala scored a goal for Wahconah.
Mount Greylock’s Caroline Flynn had a hat trick, and Autumn Delorey made five saves.
The Mounties go to Hoosac Valley on Thursday.
Wahconah goes to Pittsfield on Thursday.