Mount Greylock Beats Young Wahconah Squad
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Lexi Politis scored four goals and set up two more Tuesday as the Mount Greylock girls lacrosse team picked up its second straight win, a 12-1 decision over Wahconah.
Meghan Lagerwall and Addison Abel each had a hat trick for the Mounties, who broke the game open after leading by just a goal, 2-1, early in the second quarter.
“No disrespect to Wahconah, but kind of a slow start for us,” Mount Greylock coach Jeff Stripp said. “As you know, we’re not yet at full force, so we’re trying to work kids in at different spots still.
“We’re learning. So it was just a slow start. I think we were sloppy. I think the catching and throwing was not up to our standards.”
The Mounties turned things around in the latter stages of the half and carried that momentum into the second half, the second straight game when they pulled away from a Berkshire County opponent after half-time.
A young Wahconah squad was able to keep the deficit in single digits as long as it was in large part thanks to junior keeper Phalyn Renderer, who made 20 saves in the loss.
“She did a great job, super impressed,” Stripp said. “From a coaching perspective, we got off the amount of shots that we wanted to get, but you’ve got to convert, right? So that’s what we’ll be doing in practice tomorrow.”
For Wahconah, Renderer’s experience in goal is a bright spot in the team’s 0-4 start to the season.
“She did good,” Wahconah coach Kathy Budaj said. “We’re young. She’s my only upperclassman on the field. … When you’re starting 11 seventh- and eighth-graders …
“We played two games yesterday against West Springfield. We played a varsity and a JV game. They’re getting experience. It’s going to come with time.”
Eighth-grader Mia Thomas scored Wahconah’s goal on Tuesday.
Budaj’s squad will get to play its first home game of the year on Thursday when it entertains Belchertown in the third of four vacation week games for Wahconah.
Mount Greylock (2-2) is at Northampton on Thursday, the last game Stripp hopes to play before some of his injured players return to the field.