Lenox girls’ soccer surprises many with Western Massachusetts title

WESTFIELD – When Lenox’s star forward, Jen Delasco, went down with a collarbone injury, head coach Matt Cote wasn’t sure what to expect, especially having to face an undefeated Granby team in the Western Massachusetts semi-finals.

This story however, had a fairy-tale ending.

“It’s funny, we are a good team – but at the beginning of the season – I didn’t know,” Cote said. “This is a little bit of a Cinderella story.”

With a hard-fought win over Granby, 1-0, in the semi-finals, the Millionaires took the momentum of that win and rolled over Gateway on Monday morning, 2-0, to win the Western Massachusetts championship in Westfield.

“I knew after we played so well against Granby, that if we played that well against Gateway, there was no way were going to lose,” Cote said. “These girls inspire me everyday with their play, they inspire their parents and their friends from home.”

Despite losing Delasco, who turned into a crucial sideline coach for Cote, the Millionaires offense didn’t miss a beat as freshman Alessandra Arace and eighth grader Tova Brown filled the gap in the center of the attack, while Josie Marshall and Hayden Zinchuk dominated the midfield and backline.

“Nobody can handle her,” said Cote of Arace, who had a goal and an assist in the finals win. “She is like a little dog always nipping at your heels – she doesn’t know how to stop.”

Arace set up Lenox’s first goal on a corner kick, where Marshall was able to get a foot on a ball sent to the back post, redirecting the ball into the net, giving the Millionaires the early lead.

“Marshall and Zinchuk absolutely owned the midfield – they had time and space – they were passing circles around them,” Cote said. “I could go down the line on every player – I am real proud and real pleased, and it’s a real good day to be a coach.”

Marshall set up the clincher goal, in the second half, with a centering pass just in front of the Gateway goalie as Arace softly redirected the pass into the goal for the 2-0 final.

Arace, who has unlimited potential, grew expeditiously during the tournament thanks largely to Delasco and her tutelage of the emerging star.

“[Delasco] taught [Brown] and [Arace] about what to do [on offense] up top,” Cote said. “She taught and coached them during the games because she knows the position inside and out.”

While Lenox did earn the no. 1 seed, largely due to past merit rather than this year’s record, Cote had some tough personnel decisions to make and didn’t see his team come together until mid-way through the year.

“About halfway through the season, we felt like we were playing like a team – I wasn’t sure about my decision making with who to put where and minutes but it turned out those decisions paid off,” he said.

The strength of this year’s team was their ability to be calm under pressure with their transition game, as their back line made smart decisions and rarely panicked.

Zinchuk, Jane Fitzgerald and goalie Kathy Prescott were the difference-makers on Lenox’s defense as they helped shut out all three opponents in the tournament.

“Our strength is when to play the game small and when to cut bait,” said Cote. “Our defenders know they have midfielders checking when the ball is in the air.”

Look for more coverage in the Beacon online at berkshirebeacon.com for continued tournament coverage as these girls work toward a state final.

Posted by Tim Davis on November 15, 2012. Filed under High School Sports,Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry