The visiting Smith Academy field hockey team bounced back from losses to East Longmeadow and Westfield last week, earning a 1-0 victory over Northampton in a Valley League contest Tuesday afternoon.
The Falcons improved to 10-2-1 with the win while Northampton fell to 4-6-2.
Smith Academy cruised to a 6-0 win when the teams met earlier this season, but this time around Northampton stayed close throughout.
“Northampton was a much different team than the first time we played them,” offered Smith Academy coach Judy Strong. “Which created some changes for us.”
The game’s only goal came early in the first quarter. Amanda Novak ran down the whole left sideline to find a sliver of space. As she darted to the right she spun her stick around to the right which resulted in an open opportunity in the goal circle. Novak knocked it off a defender’s leg to place it perfectly for teammate Maisy Dyer, who buried a shot for a 1-0 lead.
An equalizer opportunity came from the Blue Devils in the second half, but Smith goalie Hadley Szynal (seven saves) swallowed up a dangerous shot to keep the Falcons in front.
“Overall, the effort we gave was phenomenal and we had some great passes into the circle,” Strong said. “Now we just have to work on finishing on the offensive end.”
Belchertown 11, Palmer 0 — Abigail Olden scored four goals and Bella Cebula tallied three times as the Orioles rolled past Palmer, 11-0, Tuesday.
Elyssa Wrona, Sara Morley, Abigail Canale and Adianna Dubuque also found the back of the net for Belchertown. Wrona and Olden combined for five assists.
Franklin Tech 3, Amherst 0 — Lauren Ross tallied a first-half goal to get the Eagles off a running, and she added another in the third quarter en route to a 3-0 victory over Amherst Tuesday afternoon.
Amherst goalie McKenzie Schreyer stopped 15 shots.
Easthampton 2, Frontier 2 — Little separated two of the top teams in Division 4 Tuesday night in South Deerfield, as Frontier and Easthampton played to a 2-2 draw in a Moriarty League contest.
Frontier’s Cairn Bright got the scoring started with a rocket of a free kick from 25 yards out in the 17th minute, staking the Hawks to a 1-0 advantage.
The lead was short-lived however, as Easthampton equalized just two minutes later when Carter Hebert buried a well-placed left-footed shot to make it 1-1.
Frontier (10-0-1) retook the lead in the 31st minute, capitalizing on a miscue. Bright’s long free kick from just inside midfield was floated toward the Easthampton goal, and keeper Griffin Foskitt skied to get a hand on the ball. It deflected off his tips and went over his head however, where Dante Ruggiano was waiting to bury the loose ball into an empty net for a 2-1 lead.
Just like earlier however, Easthampton (8-1-2) had a quick answer. Two minutes after the Frontier tally, Hebert played a ball wide to Gabe Rapoza, who crossed it into the box. The ball deflected off a Frontier defender, and beat goalie Dylan Martin to pull the Eagles back level at 2-2.
The teams played a scoreless second half, and both sides left South Deerfield with a point.
South Hadley 3, Mahar 2 — Charlie Anischik scored two more goals in the Tigers’ 3-2 victory over Mahar Tuesday afternoon.
Colin Quinn also scored and added an assist for South Hadley. Brady Mendoza registered two assists in the win, and goalie Tyler Evans made two saves.
Mahar’s Cole Johnson scored both goals for the visitors.
Granby 4, Renaissance 0 — Liam Brown tallied twice, and the Rams picked up their 10th win of the season Tuesday.
Francisco Climent notched a goal and an assist for Granby, which led 2-0 at halftime. The fourth tally was an own goal. Assists were credited to Gavin Moreno and Patrick French.
Goalie Daniel Gauvin made three saves for Granby (10-2-1).
PVCICS 1, Duggan 0 — Teddy Scott notched the game’s only goal in a 1-0 win over Duggan Tuesday in Hadley.
James Aas recorded the assist on Scott’s goal. PVCICS’ Abram Speek made two saves and Seb English added two more saves.
Chicopee 4, Holyoke 3 — Tim Gaughas found the net for the Purple Knights in a home defeat.
Belchertown 1, East Longmeadow 0 — Mia Corish notched the game’s only goal in the first half and the Orioles stayed unbeaten with a 1-0 Coombs League win Tuesday.
Avery Klingensmith assisted on Corish’s goal. Mabelle Bessette recorded seven saves as Belchertown moved to 9-0-3 on the year.
St. Mary’s 3, Smith Academy 0 — Allie Goodreau scored twice in the first half and Emma Goodreau had the other tally as the Saints scored a 3-0 win over the Falcons on Tuesday.
St. Mary’s did all its damage in the first half. Smith Academy goalie Maddie Bell made nine saves.
Hampshire 5, Chicopee Comp 0 — A four-goal second half explosion propelled Hampshire to a 5-0 win Tuesday night in Westhampton.
Ella Forest, Kayla Lukasiewicz, Maisie Bowler, Larissa Riley and Parker Pallante all scored in the win. Brie Salomao and Penelope Villada notched assists, and goalkeepers Makena Rogalski and Delaney Cantwell combined for seven saves and a shutout.
South Hadley 2, Wahconah 1 — Elyse Manzi netted a game-winner for the Tigers in the 72nd minute on the road to complete a comeback.
South Hadley went down in the first minute before Cianna Gurek tied it at 1 in the 19th minute. Lauren Marjanski assisted the equalizer.
Hampden Charter 4, Gateway 0 — Jayliana Rivera stopped eight shots for the Gators at home.
Smith Vocational 3, Pioneer Christian 2 — Jaycee Beaulieu racked up nine blocks, 15 assists and five kills as the Vikings held on for a wild 25-21, 25-17, 18-25, 20-25, 15-9 victory on Tuesday.
Yanibel Agosto recorded 15 aces, 15 digs and two assists, while Amber Pensivy notched 10 aces and Sarah Paradee added eight aces and 10 digs. Jordan Dunham chipped in four aces and five digs, and Arianna Santiago followed with five aces and 10 digs.
Easthampton 3, East Longmeadow 0 — Lanah Carson put down 11 kills with two aces, as the Eagles won 25-10, 25-20, 25-15 at home.
Skylar Raskevitz added nine digs for Easthampton. Delima Fournier distributed 15 assist and also had seven digs and three aces. Rina Damon and Marlina Devine fired four kills each.