Bromfield Tops Mount Greylock in Sectional Final
CHICOPEE, Mass. -- Playing its third road game in five days against the top team in Central and Western Massachusetts, the Mount Greylock girls lacrosse team Thursday saw a magical run come to an end at Chicopee Comprehensive High.
Isabelle Kehoe scored five goals to lead defending champion Bromfield to a 19-1 win over the Mounties in the Central/Western Mass Division 2 title game.
It was not the way Mount Greylock’s players envisioned their season ending.
But then again, few but the Mounties themselves envisioned a second straight sectional final appearance for the tournament’s No. 10 seed.
“I think it means that we can prove everybody wrong,” Mount Greylock senior Brook Masse said. “Because we’re the 10th seed, nobody really believed in us. … It made us feel like the odds were against us, but we continued to push through.
“And then, by getting this far two years in a row, we believe we can nearly anything.”
Top-seeded Bromfield (19-2) did not let Mount Greylock do much offensively on this day.
The Trojans controlled 16 of 21 draws in the game, including all nine in the second half.
Bromfield scored seven goals before Mount Greylock took its second trip into the Trojan’s defensive zone. The game clock went to running time with more than five minutes left in the first half, and it was 17-0 before Masse set up Carolyn Jones for the Mounties’ lone goal midway through the second half.
Mount Greylock’s Jayden Johnson stopped five shots as her team was outshot by a margin of 24-3.
But those won’t be the numbers that the Mounties will remember when they look back on the 2019 season. Instead, they will focus on the way they rebounded from an 8-10 regular season to win three straight road playoff games just to have a chance at the Trojans.
Masse said it was the Mounties’ unity that helped them pull together and exceed outsiders’ expectations.
“We knew that we were different because of our personal connection this year,” she said. “Last year, we were really good with our speed and athleticism. This year, we have an emotional connection where our bonding is great. And we have great team connection, and we’re able to know where each other is.
“I think people thought this was going to be a rebuilding year from last year. But it was not. We all knew each other so well, and we’ve all been like a family, I would say.”
Masse is one of a handful of seniors who graduate from the Mount Greylock program.
Mounties coach Lindsey von Holtz, who is not returning to the sidelines next fall herself, said that Class of 2019 left a strong legacy for the team.
“Our sophomores [in the postgame huddle] were talking about what they appreciated about the seniors,” von Holtz said. “And it was that they’ve been looking up to them since they were younger. It was that they had great leadership this year. They brought great dedication and spirit to the team regardless of what position they were in or how often they were on the field.
“They were a supportive group that was a great group of leaders to have for such a young team. It will give them a good starting point for next year and the year after that.”