WASHINGTON — Housatonic Valley Regional High School’s boys varsity soccer team concluded the regular season with a tough road loss at Shepaug Valley High School Wednesday, Oct. 28.
After taking an early lead, Shepaug held on to a 1-0 margin at halftime despite a relentless attack by the HVRHS offense for most of the first half. Shepaug’s perseverance paid off in the second half as the Spartans scored three goals in quick succession to secure a 4-0 win.
The game marked the end of the regular season for both Berkshire League teams. It was played in Washington, with the temperature about 55 degrees.
In the opening minutes, Shepaug’s Grady Hughes put his team ahead with an early goal.
HVRHS played with unwavering effort and created offensive opportunities by winning most 50/50 balls.
Senior striker Jackson McAvoy faced swarms of Spartan defenders whenever he got the ball but came close to scoring several times as the first half progressed.
The second half started with more pressure from the HVRHS offense and another shot by McAvoy that was saved.
In the 65th minute, Shepaug’s Jonathan Croft launched a free kick from the left side into the box. The ball soared over the players who were leaping to head it and landed in the right side of the net.
Just two minutes later, Hughes got his second goal of the day, weaving inside in a solo effort before scoring with a low shot to the right.
In the 74th minute, Shepaug scored on a follow-up effort after a corner kick. Shepaug’s Elijah Tendler collected the ball at the top of the box and fired a hard strike into the top left of the net.
HVRHS had several scoring chances down the stretch, the closest of which came from captain Angel Gonzalez, whose late-game shot was saved.
Heading into the postseason, Shepaug sat in fourth place in the BL with a record of 10-5-1, while HVRHS was in fifth place with a record of 7-9. At the top of the league were Northwestern (14-1-1), Nonnewaug (14-2) and Lakeview (11-4-1).
All five teams earned bids to compete in Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference tournaments. Nonnewaug and Lakeview will represent the BL in the Class M tournament as the fourth and 13th seeds, respectively. In Class S, Northwestern is seeded first, Shepaug eighth and HVRHS 15th.
The first round of boys soccer tournaments is scheduled to begin Friday, Nov. 6, with higher seeds hosting home games.
