Hoosac Valley Edges McCann Tech in Opener
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – The Hoosac Valley girls lacrosse team graduated a lot of offensive firepower from a team that went 1-1 in the state tournament a year ago.
But the Hurricanes’ leading returning scorer showed Friday that she is ready to fill the void.
Reagan Shea scored four goals, including the game-winner midway through the fourth quarter, as Hoosac Valley earned a season-opening, 9-8 win over McCann Tech on Berkshire Community College’s Gene Dellea Field.
Peyton Choquette and Rylan Larabee each scored twice, and Cameron Lovato stopped eight shots in net to get the Hurricanes off to a 1-0 start.
Last year, Hoosac Valley went 14-4, but its four top scorers – all seniors – each averaged at least three goals per game. Shea was fifth on the Hurricanes’ scoring chart with two goals per outing.
Hoosac Valley needed every goal it could get on Friday as it went back and forth with the Hornets all afternoon.
“We pulled it together,” first-year coach Angela Quinto said. “We’ve only been outside one day. And we haven’t played yet with lines on our field. So we’ve got some work to do. But we worked hard today, and I’m proud of them.”
Shea, a junior, was a key.
“She played really great,” Quinto said. “She got a lot of good ground balls, controlled possession. She really stepped up today.”
But McCann Tech (0-1) got on top early, getting the game’s first goal from Taylor Ziemba and taking what would be the only two-goal margin of the day when Ziemba scored a free position goal late in the first quarter to make it 3-1.
Larabee found the back of the net 19 seconds later for the Hurricanes, and Shea scored the first goal of the second quarter to tie it. And it stayed tied, 4-4, going into half-time.
Gabrielle Wells-Vidal (three goals) scored on a free position to start the second half for McCann Tech. But Shea scored the next two to give Hoosac Valley its first lead at 6-5.
The Hornets took their final lead when Jordyn Lloyd (three goals) won a draw and raced in for an unassisted goal late in the third quarter.
Going to the fourth, it was clear that the Hornets were not the team that lost, 16-2, early in the season last spring to the Hurricanes. This was the McCann Tech team that went 4-1 down the stretch to finish 4-13 in 2025.
“At the end of last year, we were able to get a little rhythm going and get everyone on the same page,” McCann Tech coach Christian Chenail said. “We have lower numbers this year, but, outside of one girl that was here today, they’re all returners, kids who have been in the program for at least a couple of years.
“So that’s a huge benefit. That’s something we haven’t had in previous years. So it’s nice to have a good core group of older girls returning.”
But, as Chenail noted, it’s a small group.
The Hornets have some players who were not in uniform on Friday, but the ones who were did not allow McCann Tech to have any reserves. The lack of rest started to wear on the team in the fourth quarter, Chenail said.
Early in the fourth, Hoosac Valley’s Choquette forced a turnover in the middle of the field, and Shea got the ground ball and went in for an unassisted goal to tie the game, 7-7.
Moments later, Larabee converted a free position to give the ‘Canes the lead, but Lloyd scored in traffic with 6 minutes, 35 seconds left to tie it, 8-8.
Less than a minute later, Kennedy Whitley set up Shea to give the Hurricanes a one-goal lead that they were able to maintain.
They made things tough on themselves when they took a shot with about a minute left. The Hornets got possession and forced Lovato to make one last save, but she was equal to the challenge, preserving the 9-8 decision.
“We’ve got some things to work on, like minding the clock and recognizing how much time we have left and when to keep possession versus taking your shots,” Angela Quinto said. “But this was a good start.”
Photos from this game to come.