Mount Greylock Earns Convincing Win Over 2022 Regional Finalists
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Even in a game that saw the Mount Greylock girls lacrosse team take a 12-0 lead and start running time with 10 minutes, 26 seconds left in the first half, there was drama on John T. Allen Field on Thursday afternoon.
It came in the second half, when visiting Granby rallied to get within nine goals with two minutes left to play.
But two big plays by Mounties Tiegan Brady and Addison Abel secured an 18-8 win and the 10-goal margin of victory maximum for MIAA tournament power ranking purposes.
In the game’s 49th minute, Brady made a save on a Granby free position to keep the score 17-8.
Then, on a restart with eight seconds left, Abel took a pass behind the Granby goal from Phoebe Hughes, circled to the other side of the goal and bounced a shot between the legs of the keeper to provide the final margin of victory.
“It was a great goal,” Mount Greylock coach Jeff Stripp said. “We were excited, of course, on the sideline. And we’ve been working on, actually, that move, and that’s the first time I’ve seen her finish it off that way.
“As a coach, it’s good to see stuff that you work on come true in the game.”
The goal gave Abel four for the game, tying Sarah Polumbo for most among the Mounties on Thursday.
Polumbo also set up three goals to give her a team-high seven points. Lexi Politis and Phoebe Hughes each scored a pair, and Tanley Drake, Meghan Lagerwall and Gianna Pesce scored a goal apiece.
Polumbo scored an unassisted goal in the 15th minute to give her team a 10-0 lead and start running time.
Moments later, Lagerwall scored on a free position. Abel’s transition goal in the 20th minute gave Mount Greylock its biggest lead of the half at 12-0.
After Ella Laliberte scored to get the Rams (2-1) on board, Hughes scored with an assist from Pesce to give Mount Greylock a 13-1 lead at half-time.
After the Mounties scored three goals in the first two minutes of the second half to go ahead by 15 goals, Stripp turned the game over to the reserves. Laliberte took advantage, scoring five more goals and assisting on another to get her team within single digits in the closing minutes.
“We have a lot of respect for Granby,” Stripp said of Mount Greylock’s opponent in last year’s Western Massachusetts Class C final. “We prepare to play our game, and we prepare for Ella [Lalibertie]. She’s a great athlete. I really enjoy playing against her. She gives us some challenges, and I thought she played well today.”
The Mounties also have some athletes who present opponents with challenges, starting with the one-two combination of Polumbo and Abel, who accounted for 200 goals between them last spring.
Mount Greylock also is strong in the back, with a goal anchored by Brady and Christy Rech, who allowed one goal while stopping two free position shots in the first half.
“We’ve got some firepower,” Stripp said. “But we just have three seniors, so we’re filling holes with the rest of the grades. We had some really good performances out here today.
“I thought that Stella Waynick played well. Megan Lagerwall played well. Tenley Drake on defense. These are kids that we’re looking at who are younger players and really stepped up today.”
Mount Greylock (2-0) goes on the road Monday to face Pope Francis.