WHATELY — It looked like Amherst and Frontier were headed to a 0-0 draw at Herlihy Park on Monday when Hurricane Maddie Hockman took matters into her own hands.
The freshman took a long ball into the box, but was surrounded by Redhawk defenders. Hockman made a pair of moves, cut back to her right and drilled a shot that made it just over the reach of Frontier goalkeeper CC Green, banging off the underside of the bar before falling into the goal to put Amherst ahead, 1-0, midway through the second half.
The Hurricane defense assured that score held until the final whistle, with Amherst coming away with a 1-0 Pioneer North win.
“It felt amazing,” Amherst’s Eleanor Jacoby said of Hockman’s goal. “I was so happy for Maddie because I knew she had been trying all game. We all felt a lot of relief and we were at the top of the world at that point. Immediately after, we all knew we had this and had to work our hardest. We were all in it together.”
It was already the second time Amherst (3-0) and Frontier (0-2-1) had squared off this season. The Hurricanes won the first game last week, 2-1.
All three goals came in the first half, with both defenses stepping up and making life difficult for the offenses.
“This game was way better than our last game,” Redhawks coach Phil Pittelli said. “We had opportunities but couldn’t get a shot off. Our touches were better in the first half and we were possessing the ball better.”
Green played a big part in keeping the game scoreless. She stopped 10 shots in goal, her best coming early in the second half off a tip from Addison Lepak.
Lepak tipped a cross that looked like it was headed toward the back of the net, but Green raced over and got her hand on the ball, knocking it over the goal to keep it a scoreless contest.
“That save was one of the best saves I’ve ever seen in my life,” Amherst coach Don Fraser said. “We couldn’t have hit the ball better. I didn’t sense any frustration from us after though, we just kept coming.”
On the opposite side, Jacoby was all over the field making plays for the Hurricanes defense. Playing the full 80 minutes, she was key in keeping the ball away from goalie Lily Gleason, who only had to make four saves.
“She really anchored down the defense,” Fraser said. “The way she anchored it down and sent the ball up, it was great stuff.”
The Redhawks look to get back in the win column on Wednesday against Sabis while Amherst faces off with Easthampton.
Easthampton 5, Holyoke 0 – The Eagles exploded for four goals in the second half. Raegan Delisle scored twice. Ana Growhowski added a goal and an assist. Abi McClafflin and Maria Belfakih also found the net once each. Caitlin Padeck contributed an assist. Adi Barr stopped three shots to keep a clean sheet for the Eagles.
Merlandie Pierre made six saves in the first half for Holyoke, and Sajane Cotto-Battle added three saves in the second.
Belchertown 3, Ludlow 0 – Mia Corish, Fallon Clancy and Macie Bolton scored a goal each in a road win for the Orioles.
Mabelle Bessette (three saves) and Jill Debarge (four saves) combined for a shutout.
Smith Vocational 1, Pathfinder 0 – Maggie Lauder turned away 15 shots to keep a clean sheet and help the Vikings win at home.
Shaniya Mawson scored the Smith Vocational goal assisted by Madison Clark.
Lenox 3, Granby 2 – Ella Laliberte and Briana Sosa each scored once for the Rams on Saturday. Ariana Klekotka added an assist.
The game was tied at 1 at halftime.
Hopkins 7, Franklin Tech 0 — Tia Fyden scored a hat trick to lead the Golden Hawks to a 7-0 independent win over the Eagles on Monday in Turners.
Helen Vissas added a pair of goals while Alayna Bailey and Sadie Cyr each found the back of the net in the victory for Hopkins.
South Hadley 5, Chicopee Comp 1 – Jordyn Balint scored twice with an assist, as the Tigers ran away on the road. Maddie Soderbaum (assist), Lauren Marjanski and Gianna Gurek also scored once each.
Drew Alley made three saves for South Hadley.
Granby 6, Pioneer Regional 0 – Liam Brown had a hat trick, as the Rams rolled at home.
Colin Murdock (assist), Jonathan Santiago and Robert L’Abbee also found the net.
Max Brown added an assist. Daniel Gauvin made four saves for Granby (2-0).
Hampshire 5, Holyoke 0 – Five Raiders found the net against the Purple Knights.
Owen Miller had a goal and an assist. Liam Illingsworth, Aidan Miklasiewicz, Grady Fern and Matt Sloan each scored once. Sloan, Dan Martin and Vincent Zononi each chipped in an assist.
The Raiders outshot Holyoke 26-2 and had seven corners compared to none for Holyoke.
PVCICS 9, Hampden Charter 0 – James Scott had a hat trick for the high-flying Dragons, which put away nine goals for the second game in a row.
Gavin Gilburg added two goals, while Abram Speek (two assists), Patrick Canavan-Gosselin, Teddy Scott (assist), and Grahm Arguin (two assists) scored once each.
Seb English dished two assists, while Robbie Hayes and Sam Wheeler each had one.
English also saved two shots in goal.
Gateway 0, Hoosac Valley 0 — Preston Coffey made five saves for the Gators to pitch the shutout on Monday in Huntington.
Northampton 3, Chicopee 1 – Brady McDonald netted his first goal of the season, as the Blue Devils won at home.
Jimmy Galvin scored seven minutes into the second half assisted by Zeke Kimball.
John Senn-McNally put the Blue Devils out front in the first half.
Alex Caldanaro saved four shots for Northampton.
Belchertown 0, West Springfield 0 – Cathal Carnely saved seven shots for the Orioles, and Jacob Chaisson stopped three s