Wednesday’s state Division 3 boys soccer semifinal features two teams that were not the favorites to still be alive in the postseason during the third week of November.
But defending sectional champion Frontier Regional School (13-3-4) will play Central Mass. champ Nipmuc (17-4-1) of Upton at 7:15 p.m. at Westfield State.
The winner will move on to the state championship game against either Wayland or Medway.
What has made Frontier’s championship run improbable this season has been the turnover the Red Hawks endured following last year.
Frontier lost 13 players to graduation and entered this season with just four returning starters.
Despite the turnover, the Red Hawks had another successful season, winning the Schmid Division and carrying that momentum into the postseason.
The majority of the retooling came on offense. Ethan LaFleur, who missed most of last season with an injury, returned for his junior season. LaFleur netted 16 goals to go with six assists to lead the Red Hawks. Zach Hamilton finished with seven goals and six assists, Ian Newman had seven goals and two assists, and Dan Bronke finished with six goals and three assists.
The foursome combined on just four goals and seven assists last season.
“We lost all of our scoring power from last year,” Frontier coach Dale Totman said. “We knew that our defense was going to be strong, but the question was will other players step up for our offense. Honestly, they have done a great job. And Ethan, he just keeps getting better as the season progresses. He is playing his best soccer right now. The two goals he scored against Belchertown (in the sectional finals) were amazing.”
Because of the offensive turnover, the Red Hawks concentrated on building from the back at the start of the season.
“We were returning two starters in the back,” Totman said. “We knew that was probably the strength of our team and we just built it from there.”
The result was a defense that allowed more than one goal in a game just twice. First-year starting goaltender Peter Bronke has 11 shutouts and has consistently made plays during the postseason. He will have to continue to be a wall in the back if Frontier is going to advance to its first-ever state championship.
“We knew coming into the season that Peter was going to be a good goalie, but being just a sophomore, we didn’t know what level he would perform at in his first year,” Totman said. “He has played at a very high level.
“Our back four are very, very strong, but we play team defense,” Totman added. “We like to say that when we don’t have the ball, everyone defends, and when we do have the ball, everyone attacks.”
Frontier’s defense will have its hands full with a Nipmuc offense full of power. The Warriors have five players who have scored 13 or more points on the season. Jackson Bukunt (12 goals, five assists) and Alex Ott (nine goals, eight assists) lead the team with 17 points, while Dawson Zach (eight goals, seven assists), Jonas Walter (nine goals, five assists) and Jake Szymko (10 goals, three assists) are just behind.
“Last year, we had the mentality that we were fearing (Douglas) rather than focusing on our game,” Totman said. “That has been our theme this postseason, that we focus on what we do well. We can outpossess a team and dominate that way, or if we need to sit back and defend and counter attack, we can do that very well, too.”