The Oct. 24 district tournament loss was the final game in the high school careers for North Adams seniors, from left, Cloie Vance, Laney Hesler, and Jordan Yoder. (Photos by Mark Carpenter)
The Oct. 24 district tournament loss was the final game in the high school careers for North Adams seniors Cloie Vance. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)

North Adams fall 4-0 to Alexander in DIII tourney – 

By Mark Carpenter – 

Another successful soccer season for Coach Dave D’Avignon and the North Adams Lady Devils came to a disappointing end on Oct. 14 on the turf at Waverly High School. Riding a 12-game unbeaten streak and coming off a win over Zane Trace that gave them their fourth consecutive sectional, the Lady Devils faced off with the Alexander Lady Spartans in the Division III District semi-finals. The Lady Spartans were the number one seed on the east side of the bracket and showed exactly why as they shut down the North Adams offense on their way to a 4-0 victory that eliminated the Lady Devils from postseason play.
Any adrenaline the Lady Devils may have had coming into the contest seemed to evaporate less than five minutes into the game when the Lady Spartans were awarded a penalty kick after a North Adams foul in the box. Chosen to take the kick was Alexander’s All-State midfielder McKenna Rice and she rocketed the shot past keeper Alaina Eiterman for a quick 1-0 advantage.
If that early goal didn’t put the Lady Devils on their heels, the second Alexander goal did. At the 26:11 mark of the first half, Rice was credited with her second score on an “own” goal. A Lady Spartan shot attempt was blocked by Eiterman , then controlled and shot again by another Lady Spartan at an open net. North Adams fullback Jordan Yoder rushed to the scene to try the “non-goalie” save but in a bang-bang play, the ball ricocheted off the right post and into the net, making it 2-0.

The Oct. 24 district tournament loss was the final game in the high school careers for North Adams senior Laney Hesler. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)

A third Alexander goal before the half came with 19:09 remaining when a free kick from about 40 yards away found the foot of the Lady Spartans’ Amora Albano who beat a North Adams defender and neatly fired the ball into the upper left corner of the goal, making it 3-0 at the intermission.
The tone of the game for the Lady Devils changed again just over four minutes into the second half when center midfielder Braylie Jones was involved in a violent collision with Rice in front of the North Adams goal. Jones went down and stayed down and a life squad was called to transport her to a local hospital, where she was checked out and determined not to be seriously injured.

The final goal of the game came from Alexander’s Albano, who after a skillful set of one-two passes down the middle, fired a shot into the right corner of the net from about 10 yards out to make the final score 4-0 in favor of the Lady Spartans.
“What can you say?”, quoted Coach D’Avignon after the game. “There’s a reason why Alexander is the number one seed. It just wasn’t our night. Even though we got behind early, our girls fought valiantly. In the first half we were only out-shot 8-7, but shot ourselves in the foot with a PK, an own-goal, and a free kick goal. Then in the second half we were simply outplayed.”

The Oct. 24 district tournament loss was the final game in the high school careers for North Adams senior Jordan Yoder. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)

The loss marked the final games on the high school careers of North Adams seniors Laney Hesler, Jordan Yoder, and Cloie Vance.
“This was a young team, but we got great leadership from our seniors,” said D’Avignon. “Laney and Jordan both played all four years and were part of four sectional championships. Cloie transferred in her sophomore tear and was part of three. All three girls were valuable members of the team and will be missed.”

After a slow start, the Lady Devils finished their season with an overall mark of 10-5-2 and Coach D’Avignon is very proud of what his girls did and what their future holds under a new head coach, as the loss last week marked the end of his tenure at NAHS.
“I am so proud of this young team. It has been a pleasure to coach them and the other teams in the Southeast better watch out. Almost all of these girls will be around for awhile and with their work ethic and love of the game, they will be heard from for years to come.”