NORTH ADAMS -- For the Hoosac Valley boys’ soccer team, so far so good through its first two games. For Drury, it’s back to the drawing board.
The Hurricanes scored just 17 seconds into the game and three times in the first 10:30 for a firm grasp on their second win in as many games, as they beat the Blue Devils 4-0 on Thursday afternoon.
"Twelve goals for, 0 against -- it doesn’t get any better for Hoosac in the first few games," first-year coach Camilo Bermudez said. "If we didn’t get the first-minute goal, it would have been a little bit more tense. I think that first-minute goal really helped us relax."
Drury played the opening kick back into its own zone, but Hoosac immediately came hard with the pressure up the middle. Nick Ryan forced a turnover and passed left to Sean Ryan-Kut, who did the rest with a nice side-step to the right before kicking the ball back across his body and into the far side netting for the ultra-fast 1-0 lead.
The goal stunned the Blue Devils and Hoosac continued to press. Shawn Knapp deposited a Ryan-Kut cross that lay in the 18-yard box behind Joe Liporace with 7:27 gone to double the lead. He struck again with 10:30 gone for a comfortable lead.
"I thought we had it in us," Ryan-Kut said of the three quick goals, "because we’ve been practicing hard and coming through.
"[Knapp and I have] been playing together our whole lives, and we just know our styles
While the lightning-quick strike allowed the Hurricanes to settle into their rhythm, it forced the Blue Devils into over-thinking the simple plays.
"It’s bad enough that Drury kids, since I was in high school, put so much pressure on playing Hoosac, and they put so much pressure on themselves because they want to beat Hoosac and then [17] seconds into the game, you’re all ready down 1-0," Drury coach Greg Caproni said. "You’ve spotted them even before the game has started. It just makes you think about the game even more and puts more pressure on yourself, and again, I keep telling the kids ‘relax.’ "
Hoosac then fell from its 4-3-3 to a conservative 4-4-2, and its play followed. Ryan-Kut and Knapp were wreaking havoc in the early going. One-two combinations, diagonal runs and through balls to feet were every where. But once the formation changed, they fell back on their heels and the attack wasn’t the same.
It allowed the Blue Devils to shake off the initial daze and counter with some offensive chances of their own at times. David Frye was the primary beneficiary of long balls played in behind the Hoosac defense. His first good opportunity came on a breakaway, but Tom Galisa was up to the task. The two squared off several more times, but Galisa was up to the task.
His counterpart, Joe Liporace was just as good. Every few minutes the Hurricanes had him scrambling inside the 6, but he usually came away with the save. He saved his best for a penalty kick with 27:41 left. Knapp had been hauled down inside the box from behind and was searching for the hat trick. Liporace had other ideas, diving to right, he stretched toward the post and batted the ball away.
"Joe needed that PK save like there’s no tomorrow," Caproni said. "I hope he can build off that because he works so hard."
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