EAST LONGMEADOW — An early goal and some outstanding defensive play was all the Belchertown boys soccer team needed to advance to the Western Massachusetts Division 3 final.
Hayden Bennis scored inside the first minute of play and set up a second-half goal by Ben LaClair as Belchertown beat Southwick, 3-0, Thursday night in a semifinal at East Longmeadow High School.
Alec Morgado also scored for third-seeded Belchertown (12-7-1), which will play No. 4 and defending champion Frontier Regional (12-3-4) for the sectional title Sunday at Westfield State University.
“It’s been a rough season and it’s nice to see the guys get back to the final,” Belchertown coach Tony Almeida said. “The guys really put it together.”
Defense has been Belchertown’s calling card all season and this game was one it needed its defenders to step up. Southwick fought fiercely to overcome that early deficit, but Belchertown kept making clutch plays on defense.
It seemed every time Southwick appeared to be in position to score, someone was there to break up the play. Goalkeeper Tanner Clark made seven saves.
Cyrus Raines and Noah Pare used their experience to their advantage and frustrated the Rams throughout the game. The pair was physical and aggressive and that combination was too much for No. 2 Southwick (13-4-1) to overcome.
Belchertown did not waste time getting on the scoreboard. Hayden Bennis scored 48 seconds into the game to provide the Orioles with a 1-0 lead.
Belchertown moved quickly down the field. Morgado dished a pass from the left side to Bennis, who banged a hard shot into the lower-right corner.
“That was big,” Almeida said. “It allowed us to develop our game and put them back on their heels.”
Belchertown tried to build on that lead, but missed on some quality chances. The Orioles did withstand some late pressure by the Rams late in the first half, thanks to some strong plays by the defense.
LaClair raised the margin to 2-0 just over five minutes into the second half.
Bennis centered a high pass to LaClair, who headed the ball past Nick Chambers to give the Orioles some breathing room.
Morgado increased the Orioles’ lead to 3-0 after he scored an unassisted goal with 12:17 remaining.