Wahconah Girls Lacrosse Jumps Ahead Early, Holds Off Mount Greylock
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DALTON, Mass. -- Wahconah senior Bri Kasala scored four goals Monday to lead her team to victory over rival Mount Greylock in what could be the last time the teams will face one another in her high school career.
But she was quick to put the credit elsewhere.
“I think our defense is really what held us in the game a lot today,” she said. “Obviously, our offense scored, but it has to start in the defensive end. It has to go from defense to midfield and up.
“We all worked well together as a team. I think it’s definitely the team that makes it happen. It’s not all one player. And I think that’s a strong suit for us.”
Wahconah (6-4) won its second straight and avenged a 15-8 loss to the Mounties in Williamstown two weeks ago.
“Last time, to be honest with you, we hadn’t been outside, we hadn’t been able to play,” Wahconah coach Kathy Budaj said. “They had played quality teams prior to playing us. They had played Hoosac, they had played Mount Anthony. They had played East Longmeadow.
“We had played Central, a first-year program, Agawam, but that doesn’t count because they were so good we couldn’t do anything.”
Although there was plenty riding on Monday’s rematch -- including Wahconah’s chance to stay alive for a share of the county title -- Budaj wanted her team loose.
“We’ve been struggling with catching the ball, and my pregame to the girls tonight was: Have fun,” she said. “Reax. And they did. And they believed in themselves.
“That’s something we’ve been talking about: Believe in yourselves. You guys can do this.”
Wahconah responded by jumping out to a five-goal lead in the first half.
After the teams traded goals in the opening minutes, Jillian Cote put a bounce shot into the net to make it 2-1 and ignite a 6-1 run for Wahconah.
Kasala scored two in a row to make it 4-1, and after Carolyn Jones scored on a free position for the Mounties, Wahconah scored three straight.
First Kasala scored on a rebound off a free position shot. Then Olivia Hines scored in transition. Finally Cote scored to make it 7-2.
Emma Polumbo notched the first of her three goals just before half-time to get Mount Greylock’s deficit down to four goals.
And the Mounties got within two goals three times in the second half, the last time on a Clare Sheedy goal to make it 9-7.
But Cote scored with 5 minutes, 38 seconds left on the clock, and Hines added a goal with 11 ticks on the clock to provide the final margin.
“I think [Wahconah] came into this game more ready to play than we did,” Mount Greylock coach Lindsey von Holtz said. “That’s something the girls were saying at the end. They didn’t come into it as hard as usual, and it put us in a hole.
“We made some poor decisions in the first half. And Wahconah’s too good of a team to come back from those decisions, even though we played much better in the second half.”
Mount Greylock (6-4) will look to bounce back on Wednesday when it hosts Hoosac Valley, a team it edged, 14-10, back on April 4.
Wahconah hosts Pittsfield on Wednesday.