Women’s Soccer Conquers Holyoke Cougars, 3-1

BROCKTON, Mass. ---- The Massasoit women's soccer team used a pair of second half goals by Anya Welch-Batstone (Avon) to conquer perineal power Holyoke Community College, 3-1, on Saturday afternoon at Warrior Field.

Massasoit (4-2-1, 4-1 R21) had played second fiddle to the Cougars (6-4-1, 4-1 R21) within Region 21 action over recent years. HCC, winners of six-straight Region 21 crowns, had gone 28-straight matches without a loss to the Warriors and known as the Goliath in New England within the junior college ranks.

That winless streak vs the Cougars was snapped on Saturday, as Massasoit earn its first victory vs Holyoke in nearly 10 years to the day, with the last win against the Cougars coming back on Sept. 27, 2008.

In addition, HCC had not lost a contest to a Region 21 Division III opponent in nearly seven years, with the last coming to Manchester CC on October 23, 2011, in the Region 21 Championship.

But that streak came to an end in Brockton thanks to a solid team victory against the Cougars.

The Warriors put the pressure on the HCC defense in the early goings of Saturday's match, but were kept off the scoreboard for much of the first half. In the 40^th minute, Alex Santos (Whitman) launched a deep shot from the center of the field that squirmed its way to the net to give Massasoit the 1-0 lead.

Massasoit held the 1-0 advantage at the break.

In the second half, HCC answered when Samantha Tersavich lofted a free kick shot just over the reach of keeper goalie Katie Amado (Whitman) to even the score in the 52^nd minute.

"I thought we dominated the first half," head coach Jim Stapleton said. "We should have been up a couple of goals in the first half. In the second half we to survive a couple of tough times by Holyoke. Their kid (Tersavich) made a big play on that free kick goal."

Following the free-kick goal, the momentum pendulum clearly swayed in favor of the visiting Cougars until Welch-Batstone would strike on a pass into the box by defender Betty Blake (Whitman) for what proved to be the game winner in the 60^th minute.

The Warriors added a much needed insurance goal when Dineida Gomes (Brockton) found Welch-Batstone on a breakaway in the 82^nd minute to bring a decade-long winless streak to a halt against Holyoke.

"We answered when Betty (Blake) found Anya (Welch-Batstone) and then she scored again on a breakaway. Anya is going to score; she's not going to get shutout. She just comes keeping at you. The formation we play puts a lot of pressure on her, but she is a nuisance to the opposition. Overall, it was a good team win. Katie played well for us in goal. Morgan had her best game at sweeper and we got contributions from everyone. I am really proud of the way the girls played today."

Welch-Batstone recorded her third consecutive multi-goal contest and has now scored in six of seven contests for the Warriors in 2018.

In net, Amado finished with seven saves, as Massasoit returns to the pitch on Monday with a road contest at Bunker Hill CC.