Boys Soccer: Mohawk Trail postseason bound - The Recorder

GREENFIELD — At the start of the season, Mohawk Trail Regional boys soccer coach Nick Brown had a simple goal in his first season of making the tournament.

After not fielding a team in 2018, the prospect of making the postseason seemed unlikely to just about everyone except the Warriors.

Mohawk used the doubt as motivation, and on Monday, defeated Greenfield 4-1 at Vets Field to seal a spot in the tournament for the first time since 2014.

“It hasn’t quite set in yet,” Brown said. “Last time we made tournament was my senior year here and we actually clinched tournament at Greenfield. It’s a full circle which is super cool.

“These guys put in the effort,” Brown continued. “It was them. They wanted it, they went out and got it. Did we think it was possible? From day one, these guys were saying we’re making tournament. They strove for it and they got it.”

Tyler Dubreuil and Oscar Cassin each scored twice in the win for the Warriors (7-6-4), who used their counter-attack offense to generate goals.

Reuben Bassett made nine saves in net to preserve the victory and keep the Mohawk season marching on.

“They’re riding high right now,” Brown said. “We did it. They wanted the team, they wanted the postseason and we made those things happen. It’s a team that’s postseason bound. We’re a team to watch for sure.”

Dubreuil put the Warriors on top early, stealing the ball on the Greenfield side of the pitch and using his speed to race past the Green Wave back line, creating a one-on-one between him and Greenfield keeper Alex Carballo.

The sophomore finished into the right side of the net to make it a 1-0 lead in the third minute.

Trying to preserve the early lead, Mohawk packed in its defense. The Wave (3-10-3) finally cracked the armor in the 34th minute of the first half after a free kick was sent into the box.

Greenfield forward Theo Popusoi got the free kick in front of the net, collected it and fired on goal, but a Mohawk defender stopped the shot. The ball bounced back into the box where Peter Balan drilled it into the net to even the score.

Five minutes later, the Warriors regained the lead. Jaime Colemenjaro collected a long pass and dribbled down the middle, dishing it to a streaking Cassin who buried it into the corner of the net to give Mohawk the lead going into the break.

It was a first half of missed opportunities for the Green Wave, who missed a pair of penalty kicks.

The Warriors got the goal they needed in the second half to feel comfortable as Cassin dribbled in and finished into the left corner of the net in the 59th minute.

Brown was proud of the poise his squad showed in a pivotal game.

“We got the quick goal which was big,” Brown said. “It seemed like the guys wanted to play more defense and lock in but we didn’t have the communication that we needed. We brought that out in the second half and played our game and found the net a few more times. That’s all you can ask for. Anything I’ve asked, these guys have done it.”

Tyler Dubreuil added an insurance goal in the 63rd minute, driving into the box where he was fouled. He took the penalty kick and banged it home to make give Mohawk a three-goal cushion.

Mohawk takes on Drury on Wednesday to close out its regular season while Monday’s match marks the final game of the year for the Green Wave.

Mohawk 4, Greenfield 1