WESTHAMPTON — After 100 minutes of scoreless soccer, Hampshire Regional girls soccer coach Gareth Flitcroft asked his team one simple question: who wants to take a penalty?
Olivia Aldrich, Abigail Goodnow, Sophie Aldrich, Carley Stenson and Sam Tersavich all answered the call, and all five promptly buried their spot kicks to help the No. 8 Raiders top No. 9 Hoosac Valley, 5-3, in the penalty shootout to advance in the Western Massachusetts Division 3 Tournament.
All five put well-placed efforts past Grace Kronick to keep the season going, and when Tersavich rifled in the fifth penalty to seal the win, the Raiders mobbed their captain to celebrate.
“I just said to the girls, who wants to take one?” Flitcroft said. “The five put their hands up and they all looked confident, and we scored all five. Yeah, I’m happy for them.”
The Raiders (9-7-1) will visit No. 1 South Hadley (16-1-1), Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinals
The Hurricanes (6-6-5) kept sending wave after wave at Hampshire in the second half and in the two periods of extra time, but the ’Canes’ inability to capitalize on golden opportunities coupled with some stout defending at key moments allowed the game to go to spot kicks.
“We were just talking at the end of the game there about how far we’ve improved from a technical point of view, but from a mental point of view as well,” Flitcroft said. “It’s in those situations where we’ve kind of got to roll our sleeves up, work hard and dig deep and kind of win those second balls and win those headers in the midfield. We adapted well to the type of game it was tonight, the girls are ecstatic.”
The two teams played out a very cagey first half, with both sides going hard into tackles as they tried to feel each other out. Hampshire got the first look of the game three minutes in, only for Kronick to make one of her five saves on the night. Hoosac answered when Ellie Field sent a shot just wide inside the box.
Kronick made an important stop before the break. Tersavich fired off a low shot that Kronick repelled back into play. With the ball rolling dangerously through the box, Skylar Case booted the ball clear before a Raider could get to it.
“The girls are very close, and they really went at it tonight,” Flitcroft said. “It was a typical playoff game, where it can get a little scrappy at times, especially at the start where both teams are a little bit nervous. We came up against a Hoosac Valley team that are probably the most physical team we’ve played in terms of the challenges, in terms of the style of soccer they play, and we really had to dig deep.”
In the second, Tersavich nearly broke the deadlock when she had a cross come back to her, only for the shot to go over the crossbar.
The rest of the second half was all Hoosac. Alie Mendel nearly pounced on a defensive error by Hampshire, but her shot caught the wrong part of her leg and went over the crossbar. Jess Halverson also came close to breaking the deadlock, but her shot rifled off the post and out.
At the other end, Riley Robinson and Ashley Meczywor had their hands full dealing with Tersavich and Sophie Aldrich, but the defense shut down Hampshire’s attack. The best chance for Hampshire came on the rare moment a pass beat Robinson and Meczywor, with Tersavich playing a crafty through ball onto the feet of Emma Kuntz, only for Kuntz’s shot to hit the outside of the side netting.
In the closing moments of the second, Hoosac got a corner kick and a shot off in the box with Hampshire goalie Katie Taylor beat. But Barrett LaPlante used her head to slam the ball away moments before it crossed the goal line.
“It just exemplifies the character we have on this team, that the girls are throwing themselves at the ball to stop a goal,” Flitcroft said. “And Barrett tonight was sensational. She’s one who has improved so much over the year, and tonight she showed it.”
Kronick came up with one last save in the second 10-minute overtime, stopping a well-struck effort from Aldrich. Later, with the clock nearing all zeroes, Hoosac’s Shaleigh Levesque found herself in the box with the ball, but before she could get a shot off, a pair of Raiders crowded her out to clear the danger.
“I thought we had better offensive chances than they did,” Hoosac coach Kathy Budaj said. “A lot of corner kicks for both teams, which was odd. But, overall, like I said, just putting the ball in the net. It’s soccer. I’ve lost games where we’ve outshot teams 20-2 and we’ve lost. It is what it is. It’s tough to swallow, it’s a hard swallow. I wish them the best in the tournament. We’re just going to have to fight and come back next year.”
Hampshire went first in the spot kicks, and Olivia Aldrich scored with a goal low and to the left. That got Hampshire off and running, as Goodnow, Sophie Aldrich, Stenson and Tersavich all converted.
For Hoosac, Halverson scored on the first kick, while Robinson and Levesque scored in rounds three and four. Claudia Bresett was the lone Hurricane to not convert, sending her spot kick over Taylor’s goal. Hoosac did not have a fifth penalty taker, as Tersavich’s goal sealed the win.