https://vimeo.com/142690030
video by Dakota Antelman
by Dakota Antelman
Senior Mike Conley could not be contained vs Quabbin on Thursday night, posting two goals and adding to an already illustrious resume of high scoring games this season. His work, as well as an early second-half explosion by the rest of the Hawk offense, helped Hudson soar past Quabbin by a score of 4-1.
The Hawks entered Thursday’s contest engaged in a tight battle for control of the Midland League B. Winners of three straight games, including a 6-1 rout of the division leading Nashoba Chieftains, the Hawks had momentum on their side. But with the season entering its final weeks before playoffs, urgency remained prevalent in their game Thursday.
“These games are very important,” Conley assured. “We want a good seed in the playoffs. We’re working towards a bye week as well.”
Nevertheless, the Hawks started out slow. Though maintaining possession for much for the first half, Hudson mustered little threatening offense. On several occasions, Hudson took the ball wide along the sideline but could not push back towards the goal for a shot.
As time ran out, Hawk goalie Cam Greeno was beaten by an arcing Quabbin shot from just past midfield that sent the teams to halftime knotted in a 1-1 tie.
“That was unfortunate,” Conley later said of the goal. “You give that kid the shot 10 more times, he’s not gonna make it. [It was] just unfortunate; it served as a wake-up call.”
The Hawks regrouped at half-time and quickly took hold of the second half. Conley opened things up with a gritty goal on a rebound in front of the Quabbin net. Four minutes later, he struck again, this time drilling a shot into the top half of the Quabbin goal. Filipe Cabral added a goal of his own one minute later, upping the score to 4-1.
“There’s no magic tricks to energize these kids,” said Hudson coach Dimitry Markonidis. “They just always show up and play [a] good game. We work on being creative on offense and just playing smart in front of their goal. We did that in the second half today.”
Quabbin did call time out after the fourth Hudson goal and was able to apply increased pressure to Greeno and the Hawk defense in the final minutes of the game. Things got rough as they did so and the physical aspects of the game, which had been brewing all afternoon, boiled over.
Hudson was repeatedly called for fouls in the second half, many on aggressive battles for possession that sent Quabbin players falling to the ground. Likewise, Hudson took a beating as well. Sophomore Will King, who came up limping after a slide tackle in the first half, was hit in the head late in the second half and had to be helped off the field by teammates and coaches. The physicality came to a climax during an argument between Hawk players and the officiating crew over a penalty call. The referee penalized Hudson with a yellow card following the exchange.
Markonidis downplayed the yellow card following the game.
“The yellow card is something we’re still working on,” he said. “The kids sometimes get frustrated and talk
into the referee’s back, that’s what happened today again; it’s a yellow card. We’re not gonna think about it too much.”
Quabbin coach Rick Lindstn echoed Markonidis when speaking about the physicality of the game.
“Obviously, my guys were getting frustrated. Hudson was getting frustrated, getting pushed back. There was name calling going on. But that’s part of the game. It’s Division I soccer, not middle school,” he said.
Overall, Hudson left Thursday satisfied with their performance. The success of Mike Conley, which has been a talking point for them all season, earns more validity with each new game. Conley has eight goals this season, with six goals in just his last three games. He ranks third in goals scored among all forwards in Midland League B and has accounted for nearly 20% of Hudson’s goals this season.
He has turned heads across Midland League B. Rick Lindstn said his Quabbin Panthers structured their defense Thursday around containing Conley.
Markonidis knows this and praises Conley freely.
“He’s an excellent player. He knows the game well, very confident. He has scored 20% of the goals this season and last season as well. He is such a great player, and I hope he has an ability to have a college career. He’s just very smart.”
Markonidis acknowledges that the Hawks are close to securing a playoff berth. With Conley on an offensive streak that has lifted his team to three straight wins over the past few weeks, he and his team look to their remaining five regular season games with optimism.
