Women’s Soccer Defeats Local Rival
Strong Second Half Propels Lady Cougars to Victory
(Holyoke, MA) - The Lady Cougars soccer team squared off against their longtime local rival Springfield Technical CC on Wednesday afternoon on the campus of HCC. After a hard fought goalless first half that saw the Cougars denied of several scoring opportunities, Holyoke unleashed an offensive onslaught just after halftime. The Cougars scored twice in the first five minutes of the second half on their way to a 4-0 victory. Holyoke has dominated the rivalry for quite a stretch, having won 20 consecutive games since their last loss to the Lady Rams in 2008. The Cougars have earned 17 shutouts among those 20 wins, including seven in a row dating back to 2014.
The Cougars received goals from four different players in Wednesday's win. Tamara Nicholson (Chicopee, MA / Chicopee HS) calmly opened the scoring just minutes into the second half on a play set up brilliantly by McKenzie Wilson (South Hadley, MA / Smith Academy). The team's leading scorer Cassidy Snyder (Holyoke, MA / Smith Academy) buried the second goal before Jessica Patruno (Granby, MA / Granby HS), who was Holyoke's strongest player in the game, notched the third. Shannon McCarthy (Chicopee, MA / Chicopee Comprehensive HS) scored the fourth and final goal and Cougar goalkeeper Maddisin Atkinson (Easthampton, MA /Smith Vocational HS) earned her and the team's fourth shutout of the season. Emma Gomes (Ludlow, MA/ Ludlow HS) had a tremendous performance, playing early on in her usual midfield role before moving back to play defense where she was particularly impressive. Maddison Zollo (Monson, MA / Monson HS) and Miranda Grochowski (Westfield, MA / Westfield HS) each pitched in offensively with an assist and Allison Zollo (Monson, MA / Monson HS) played exceptionally, as she has all season.
Holyoke is 4-2-0 overall this season and 2-0-0 in regional play. Their next game is Saturday at Massasoit CC, a regional adversary they have played against in four of the last five New England Championship games. Sunday they will travel to play Division I opponent CC of Rhode Island. Let's go Cougars!!
Photos: (Main) Jessica Patruno looks to play a ball into a teammate earlier this season. (Thumbnail) Emma Gomes dribbles the ball down field in an early season game.
