St. Mary’s Drew Collins attacks the box as the McCann goalie collects the ball. (Photo by Chris Putz)
WESTFIELD – The St. Mary’s High School boys’ soccer team got a lift from a familiar foe.
Senior Justin Crosby, a Westfield High transfer, scored one goal and nearly added a few more in a 5-2 loss to McCann Tech at Westfield Middle School North on Tuesday.
Crosby did not waste much time making his presence felt on the field in his Saints’ debut. The senior transfer scored from the right side of the field, drilling a shot off the far post. The ball ricocheted into the back of the net.
McCann responded with three straight goals. They added a fourth, but it was an own goal before tacking on their fifth. Chad Raimer scored all four goals, including one on a penalty kick.
In the 50th minute, Crosby made a great run at the McCann goalie as the ball slowly trickled back to the keeper. The new senior Saint accelerated toward the ball, arriving simultaneously with the goaltender.
Crosby went hard at the ball. The ball caromed to a teammate, who took a shot at the goal. The shot went wide.
“Justin Crosby uses his athleticism and quickness to create opportunities,” St. Mary’s coach Andrew Martin said. “We just couldn’t string together enough passes to create something.”
St. Mary’s is in the midst of blending new faces such as Crosby, defender Joe Lubanski, and freshman Zach Girard with savvy veterans.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Martin admitted. “Our defense. Our talking. A lot of things I wasn’t expecting. We’re blending a lot more faces. It’s our first game – I know we’ll improve.”
St. Mary’s goalie Bryce Kibbe finished with 18 saves.
Hopkins Academy 1, Gateway 0
Paul Delaney scored in the 23rd minute for Hopkins Academy, the game’s only goal. Hopkins outshot Gateway, 16-4.
Mike Arel had seven saves in net for the Gators.
Chicopee 2, Westfield 0
Robby Sullivan and goalie Sam Blake played well in a loss for Westfield.
“It was certainly not the result we wanted,” Westfield coach Gabe Crane said. “The good news is that we have plenty more games to take care of business. We weren’t fortunate to score, but we’re getting stronger every day.”
Late Results
Belchertown 5, Southwick 0
Five different players scored to lead Belchertown. Tim Reardon (7 saves) and Patrick King (5 saves) split time in goal for Southwick on Monday.
Belchertown JV 3, Southwick 0
Danny Sullivan and Adam Jensen provided strong goaltending for Southwick.
