WEST SPRINGFIELD — With the golden goal to secure it, No. 4 Monson took down top-seeded Granby in double overtime on Monday night in the Division V state semifinals.
Hannah Murphy notched both goals for the Mustangs to lead to the victory.
“We wanted to be in attack mode, and you know, at times we didn’t do it, but at times we did. We wanted to play to feet, and we wanted them to chase us. They’re just so talented,” said Monson head coach Larry Pagliaro. “We have one more mountain to climb.”
With the win, Monson secured its spot in the state championship game on Saturday at 12:15 p.m. at Curry College in Milton. The Mustangs will face the winner of No. 2 Hopedale and No. 3 Hull, which play in a semifinal on Tuesday night.
Monson has put together an exceptional postseason run despite its earlier loss in the Western Mass. Class C finals to Mount Greylock. Since then, the Mustangs have earned wins against Franklin Tech, Holbrook, and Saint John Paul II, accumulating 16 goals in the state tournament prior to their matchup against Granby.
Granby opened the first half with several looks. Junior Kalli White was active on the attack, while the Rams’ defense played physically to hold off shots from Monson. While Granby found success in setting up plays and passing through tight coverage, Monson continued to hold it down defensively and prevented an early breakthrough.
With 10 minutes left in the first half, Monson drew a foul outside the box and was awarded a free kick taken by Murphy. She placed the shot in the top right corner, out of reach of Granby goalie Meredith Bartosz, to break open the scoring and give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead.
With the momentum leaning away from them, Granby battled back before halftime, eager to even things out. The Rams pushed back against the deficit and immediately responded with pressure on Monson and quick offensive runs, trying to find an opening. Still, Monson tightened its defensive shape and cleared high-pressure balls to enter the break with the 1-0 advantage.
“We talked about it at halftime, how we want to continue the momentum, and we want to be in attack mode,” said Pagliaro. “This Granby team, they played to feet so well, they used the length of the field so well, and they made it difficult on us.”
To start the second half, Monson’s Chelsea Hull came out firing, taking multiple quick attempts in hopes of adding to their lead. Jordan Szado nearly capitalized as well, breaking past Granby’s defensive line, yet Bartosz stepped up to shut down the opportunity before she found her footing.
White continued to generate chances for Granby, crossing the ball to Marcela Tapia for a look in front of the goal. Though it didn’t convert, the team kept pressing. A ball from McKenna Cudworth to Tapia looked like another opportunity for the Rams to tie things up. Charged by the defense, the shot was collected by the keeper.
Even with the repeated attempts, Granby couldn’t seem to break past Monson’s defensive line.
With time slipping away, the Rams needed to execute to keep their season alive. Finally, with 6:42 left on the clock, White took it up the left side and buried one into the bottom right corner to tie the game at 1-1.
“We never felt that we were out of the game. We were putting enough pressure on them that we felt we would break through sooner or later,” said Granby coach Bob Weaver. “We had some opportunities in the first half that we just didn’t finish.”
As regulation time closed out, the score was still locked at 1-1, sending the semifinal game into overtime where the first goal would determine the fate of the match.
With a five-minute break, each team had a chance to regroup. Granby seemed to have control and maintained possession of the ball for a majority of the first overtime. Yet in goal for the Mustangs, Grace Berry denied anything that came her way.
With the pressure building on every possession and both teams refusing to back down, the game pushed into double overtime.
As penalty kick lineups were about to break out, Murphy played hero once again for Monson. With only two and a half minutes remaining, Murphy knocked one in, colliding with the goalie on the play, sealing things up for the Mustangs for the 2-1 win.
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