Middle School girls, boys keep Black River to single goals

GM MS Girls 9, Black River 1

Wednesday, Sept. 19
Green Mountain gave up  a goal in the first minute of play to the Lady Presidents from Black River,  but came roaring back to score nine goals of their own in a blowout 9-1 win on Wednesday.  “We held our ground and quickly rallied” said coach Emily Lehet.  And while she mentioned first time goal scorer Sadie Woods, she also noted the quality defense of  Skylar White, Rachel Parent, Julia Howard, Melanie Harwood, Shiloh Yake, Marin Pennell and Michelle Miller.
The win improved the Lady Chiefs record to 3-0 on the season.

GM MS Boys 8, Black River 1

Wednesday, Sept. 19
Green Mountain got on the board early and often, cruising to an 8-1 win over the visiting Presidents from Black River.  The offense was varied and potent for the Chieftains, with goals coming from Mack Walton (2), Sean Kenney, Ian Kehoe, Jeremy Fleming, Kyle Monier, Finn Thurston, and Ben Haseltine. Jon Little and Ian Kehoe shared goalkeeping duties.  Even with a huge goal margin, coach Ashley Carafiello is looking for improvement in areas like the team’s trapping skill and field vision.
The Chiefs next game is 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25 hosting Charlestown.

GM Varsity Boys 0, Windsor 1

Wednesday, Sept. 19
Originally scheduled to play on Tuesday but postponed due to heavy rains, Green Mountain visited Windsor on Wednesday.  Apparently their scoring touch was also postponed as the Chieftains were shut out in the 1-0 loss to the Yellow Jackets.
Green Mountain controlled the game with some fine defense and good midfield play. The Chiefs passed well and had numerous quality scoring opportunities, out-shooting the Yellow Jackets by a huge 26-3 margin. But despite carrying the play, the Chieftains “became one dimensional in the red zone,”  said coach Scott Walker. “We had amazing opportunities on goal, but our offense failed us.  We either missed completely or shot the ball right at their keeper: We made him look like a superstar.”
The coach was clearly frustrated after the game, believing that his squad had so many chances early that “the game should have been over at halftime. We have got to be ferocious and we have got to finish.”
Frustration aside, Walker managed to find some positives, good defense in general and some stellar play from sweeper back Elliot Leonard in particular. “Elliot played the best game by a sweeper that I’ve seen in a long time. He was phenomenal the way he commanded the game.”
This was a tough loss to take given GM’s domination of the ball, and with two tough opponents looming later this week in Leland & Gray and Twin Valley, this was a win the Chiefs needed to nail down.  The loss left Green Mountain with a record of 2-3.

GM Varsity girls 0, Proctor 8

Thursday, Sept. 20
GM’s Lady Chiefs visited Proctor on Thursday and the Phantoms were not very gracious hosts, blasting the Lady Chiefs 8-0.

GM Varsity Boys 0, Leland & Gray 3

Friday, Sept. 21
Missing midfielders Ryan Williams and AJ Pazchowski, the Chieftains responded well against Leland & Gray in spite of the 3-0 loss.

GM’’s Jake Cavacas takes on a Rebel defender./Photo by Greg Hart

With a thin bench and players playing unfamiliar roles, the Chiefs looked surprisingly confident against the Rebels, holding Leland & Gray scoreless until they broke through with less than 10 minutes left in the half.
The Rebs looked frustrated and unsure as they faced a far different GM team than they steamrolled less than a week ago. Regarding the difference in his team’s play in the two matches, coach Scott Walker said, “We lifted our game to match theirs. I’m looking forward to playing them one more time, more than they’re looking forward to facing us again I’d bet.”

GM Varsity Girls 0, Chelsea 1

Saturday, Sept. 22
Green Mountain lost to Chelsea in a tightly contested game at home.  The scoreless deadlock was broken with only 10 minutes left in regulation, giving Chelsea a hard fought 1-0 win and sending the Lady Chiefs off with an 0-5 record for the season.
“Emily Castillo played a great game in goal,  she took charge in the back when the ball was there and was aggressive off her line to shut them down several times,” said coach Julie Walton. The coach also noted striker Madi Huntley’s performance: “She played a great game as usual, working hard to create several scoring chances for herself.  The Chelsea goalie made a couple of great saves and Madi had several close misses wide or high.”

GM Varsity Boys 0, Twin Valley 2

Saturday, Sept. 22
Playing tough opponents on back-to-back days with a depleted lineup was too much for the Chiefs as they lost a well-played game to Twin Valley 2-0, dropping their record on the season to 2-5.
Goalie Kyle Kemp finished the game with nine saves including several “legitimate robberies,” according to coach Scott Walker. The Chiefs had kept the game scoreless 20 minutes into the second half when Twin Valley finally broke through.
Despite the second loss on consecutive days, coach Walker is actually encouraged by his young team’s play, “We played with a lot of discipline and without any letdowns. That’s huge for us.”
With the defense gelling as a group, it’s time for the offense to chip in as they have been held scoreless for four straight games.  “We’ve been getting quality chances but we simply have to start finishing them,” said Walker.