SOCCERPLUS 3 MUTINY 1

Article by MIGE BOGEN of The Republican 

AGAWAM - If it is possible to lose a game, yet come out better off than you were 90 minutes earlier, the New England Mutiny did it last night.

The Mutiny showed heart and hustle that should help them in the long run, as they dominated the second half against the next generation Boston Breakers in WPSL clothing - the SoccerPlus Connecticut Reds - in a 3-1 loss at Agawam High School last night.

New England, which fell behind 2-0 early, was behind by only a goal with plenty of time remaining, and had more than a few chances to tie it before SoccerPlus added a penalty kick with 17 seconds left.

Mutiny coach Tony Horta was ejected after objecting too strenuously to the call, which was fine with him.

“I thought the ref did a poor job throughout and it was a point that needed to be made,” Horta said.

Beyond his frustration with the officiating - and Horta admitted that the game was likely lost before Tiffany Weimer’s penalty kick - the coach was pleased with his team and its effort.

“I thought we played well, and did a good job adjusting to what they did in the first half,” he said. “I thought we executed well and I think we showed that the Mutiny is a team with character. I’m looking forward to the second game.”

The Mutiny kept up territorially with the Reds in the early going, but what they couldn’t do was put any direct pressure on SoccerPlus goalkeeper Jill Mastroianni.

The Reds, on the other hand, did pressure Labbe when they went on the offensive, and Weimer, the league’s leading scorer, brought the Reds’ efforts to fruition in the 19th minute.

Only two minutes later, Labbe asserted herself by taking a rocket to the chest off the foot of Connecticut’s Maggie Tomecka.

In the 25th minute, though, Katie Schoepper won the ball from a couple of Mutiny defenders, fought them off while keeping her body between them and the ball, and beat Labbe to the left side of the goal to make it 2-0.

In the second half, the Mutiny began to dominate play, and Mastroianni was back into the game in the 10th minute to record a couple of rather easy saves.

The Mutiny halved Connecticut’s lead in the 60th minute when Mary Francis Monroe’s corner kick went to Karyn Riviere, who sent a head ball toward the goal. A Connecticut defender made the stop and the rebound went to Deb Nelson, who beat Mastroianni to the short side.

Monroe came within a hair of tieing it with nine minutes left when Mastrioanni just got between her head ball and the goal line.