Western Mass Pioneers Stay Top With Third Win of 2024 Season
The Pioneers made it 3-for-3 as they brushed aside Rush Albany.
The Western Mass Pioneers added to their winning streak as they enjoyed another goal-fest and beat Rush Albany 4-0. The Pioneers have scored nine goals across three games and are yet to concede.
“Everyone feels good,” said Lauri Goddard, who scored a brace and assisted one. “We’ve got a lot of good players competing for places and we’re getting results which is the important thing.”
It only took the Pioneers four minutes to break the deadlock through striker Alec Hughes. Winger Patrick Gryczewski received a throw-in on his chest and burst past a group of four defenders. With the Rush defense back peddling, Gryczewski slid a pass for Goddard, who dribbled between two defenders and whipped the ball into the box for Hughes to tap in.
Albany Rush then struggled to get a rhythm and was forced by the Pioneers’ heavy press to play long. They managed to win a corner in the 21st minute, but Rush midfielder Dylan Maxon sent the ball straight to Hughes' 6-foot-4 frame and the striker cleared it.
“Coach Molinari and I thought that Albany would try to play out the back,” said assistant coach Tomás Duben after the game. “So we played with a higher press to cut off their defenders and defensive midfielder.”
A minute later, Hughes received a pass from Goddard in the opposition box after the winger got past Rush's left-back Lucas Watt. Before Hughes managed to get a shot off, Albany goalie Daniel Shannon dived at Hughes’ feet and grabbed the ball.
The referee called for a cool-down break after 23 minutes of the first half. As a result of the break, the Pioneers returned energized and did not allow the Albany Rush out of their half.
In the 32nd minute, Santiago Blasco tackled an Albany attacker, quickly got on his feet, and played a pass out for Gryczewski. The winger found Zach Sauer’s overlap and the Pioneer right-back found Hughes at the near post.
After securing his brace, Hughes chased for the hat-trick but was denied in the 40th minute as Rush center-back Karl Daly blocked the striker’s header.
After the half, Gianluca Cersosimo pulled off his first and only save of the match as Rush winger Summer Nenninger put in a cross for Maxon. The midfielder’s shot caught a deflection but was found by forward Paul Abbatiello. Abbatiello shot the ball towards the ground and Cersosimo dropped himself to grab it as soon as it bounced.
In the 55th minute, Goddard was fouled 23 yards away from the goal as he and Hughes countered after the Cersosimo save. Goddard stepped over it and put the ball over the wall before it dipped into the bottom left corner to make the score 3-0.
“I’ve been taking some free-kicks after training sessions this week and I was missing loads of them,” said Goddard after the game. “Coach Federico [Molinari] was laughing at me so I told him that come the game, I was going to score one. So once I saw the gap in the wall, and being a right-footer on the left side, I knew I wanted to put it just over the wall.”
With 3-0 up on the scoreboard, the Pioneers began to enjoy longer spells of possession as they slowed down the game.
In the 61st minute, Gryczewski and Camilo Comi came off for Ali Taleb and Augustine Boadi. The fresh legs kept the heavy pressure going as the game died out.
“Looking at the last three games,” said Duben. “What puts us in these conditions is the collective effort from all our players during the 90 minutes.”
The Rush got one more chance to score as another cross from Nenninger found Abbatiello at the far post but the winger could only hit the side netting.
In the 66th minute, Goddard threatened the Rush again as he burst towards the box from the right side of the pitch and played a one-two with Kwame Adu-Gyamfi to break into the box. After settling the ball, he shot and watched as the ball went into the side netting.
A minute late Boadi cut off a pass near the halfway line and burst past the Rush backline before cutting onto his right foot and taking a shot. An Albany defender blocked his shot and the deflection flew up into the box. Hughes got under it and nodded the ball into the path of Goddard. The winger caught the ball with his first touch and volleyed it into the back of the goal.
Four goals up, the Pioneers kept the game at bay for the last 15 minutes as the Rush couldn’t muster a late comeback. Late substitute Ali Taleb took the Pioneers’ last shot in the 85th minute as he cut onto his right foot inside the Albany 18-yard box and sent his shot wide.
“We told them we had to keep being the protagonists in the game,” said Duben about how they kept the players motivated to see the game out. “The key was not losing the order or the intensity we had in the first half.”
The Pioneers host Black Rock FC at 7:00 p.m. on May 31st for their next game. Albany Rush plays at home on the 25th against Black Rock FC in a 4:00 p.m. kickoff.