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Granby’s Gavin Moreno (10), right, maneuvers the ball at the top of the box before sending a low shot past PVCICS defender Owen Tuttle (19) for a goal in the second half Wednesday during the boys soccer Class D quarterfinals Wednesday in Hadley. -
Granby’s Gavin Moreno (10), middle, celebrates with Jaxton Roy (9), left, and Riley Goodhind (7) after scoring against PVCICS in the second half Wednesday during the boys soccer Class D quarterfinals Wednesday in Hadley. -
PVCICS defender James Scott (8), left, slide tackles the ball away from Granby’s Cody White (23) in the second half Wednesday during the boys soccer Class D quarterfinals Wednesday in Hadley. -
PVCICS’s Owen Tuttle (19), left, fights for possession against Granby’s Gavin Morino (10) in the second half Wednesday during the boys soccer Class D quarterfinals Wednesday in Hadley. -
Granby’s Jaxton Roy (9) gets taken out by PVCICS’s Clayton English (14) in the second half Wednesday during the boys soccer Class D quarterfinals Wednesday in Hadley. -
PVCICS’s Owen Tuttle (19), left, settles the ball against Granby in the second half Wednesday during the boys soccer Class D quarterfinals Wednesday in Hadley. -
PVCICS’s James Scott (8) heads the ball against Granby in the second half Wednesday during the boys soccer Class D quarterfinals Wednesday in Hadley.
HADLEY – Granby forward Gavin Moreno stood all alone in the box, practically standing on the penalty stripe waiting for his teammate Anthony Santiago to find him. Moreno – parallel with a PVCICS defender to keep him onside – knew if Santiago could get him the ball, he’d be able to send the Rams to the Western Mass. Class D semifinals.
Santiago hit him with a perfect pass, Moreno took one touch and turned to goal. He blasted a shot by the dive of Dragons keeper Damian Loinaz to give Granby a 2-1 overtime win on Wednesday afternoon.
Moreno scored from a similar area in the first half, a spot he loves to operate from. The junior has now scored 18 goals this season.
“I definitely like it up there,” Moreno said. “I love my teammates for getting me the ball in the right spots. I just try to find an area between the defense, and today it worked perfect.”
After a scoreless first half, it looked like Granby would take control following Moreno’s first score 13 minutes into the second. But the Dragons refused to go away, and their pressure and intensity ramped up even more with their backs against the wall.
The Rams struggled to adjust to that pace of play.
“There was a bit of a timid nature to our play in the first half, we didn’t control possession of the ball the way we normally would,” Granby coach Todd Dorman said. “PVCICS did a good job staying with it and pressuring us. We played to some of their strengths, and they were able to capitalize.”
With Granby holding to its 1-0 lead, the Dragons needed to knot it up or their Western Mass. championship aspirations would be put to bed early.
PVCICS, a team that features several girls due to the school not fielding a girls team, responded in a big way. With about 20 minutes to go, the Dragons found space for forward Alexandra Hyrne on the right side of the box. Hyrne dribbled free from two Rams defenders, found space, and fired a shot by Granby goalie Daniel Santiago to tie the game at one and eventually send it to overtime. Hyrne’s point total now stands at seven this season.
“Alex is remarkable,” PVCICS head coach Mike Locher said. “She is tough, she is skilled, and she took on two guys, beat them, and got a good shot off. Hats off to her. She’s a phenomenal player.”
Granby has been one of the better defensive units in the region this season. Eight of their 11 wins this season have come via shutout. That may not have been the case Wednesday, but the defense still played great and limited PVCICS’ scoring chances.
“We had a couple substitutions, so I think there was a miscommunication that led to the one breakdown,” Dorman said. “By in large, the defense does a great job controlling the tempo. They make clearing the ball and possessing it a priority, which limits the number of shots.”
Coming into Wednesday, Granby was a No. 7 seed and PVCICS stood at No. 2 in the Class D tournament. The Rams won the Schmid League and only lost one game, but somehow were ranked as low as No. 7. Moreno and the rest of the Granby squad were more than motivated to prove that ranking wrong.
“We had a big talk before the game, and we don’t think we should be ranked as a seven seed,” Moreno said. “Proving that today was very important to us.”
Two years ago, the Dragons were blown out by Granby. Last season they won only four games. After losing no seniors from 2022, adding some new faces, and improving the team chemistry in the offseason, a 10-6-1 record this year was the outcome. The growth of the program shown on Wednesday sat very well with Locher.
Also, PVCICS is automatically a Division 5 state tournament qualifier due to its winning record.
“I’m really super proud of the team’s effort, because even though we were ranked higher than Granby, they’re from a stronger league and it’s just kind of a fluke in the ranking system that they aren’t ranked higher in Western Mass.,” Locher said. “I think they beat us 6-0 two years ago, so for our team to hang in there and basically tie 1-1 was tremendous. It showed a lot of growth in our program. Beating teams that beat us last year, going toe-to-toe with Granby, it’s been a lot of fun this season.”
Granby (11-1-5) plays the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal between No. 6 Smith Academy and No. 3 Pioneer Valley Christian Academy in the Class D semifinals at a date and time to be announced.
