SOUTH DEERFIELD — The fourth time was the charm for the Easthampton boys soccer team.
After losing once and tying twice against Moriarty League rival Frontier during the regular season, the fifth-seeded Eagles finally broke through in Monday’s Western Mass. Class B quarterfinal. Carter Daughdrill and Carter Hebert both tallied second-half goals, and Easthampton held on for a 2-1 victory over the fourth-seeded Redhawks.
The Eagles (11-3-3) advanced to play in Wednesday’s Class B semifinal round at No. 1 Belchertown.
“This game almost feels like a final, especially since every game we’ve played against them has been a battle, similar to this game,” Easthampton coach Andrew Lawrence offered. “Their keeper [Owen Babb] really kept [Frontier] in the game for a long time. It felt really good to finally close it away because I felt we had some opportunities earlier in the game and finally to actually get one in, it relieved some of the pressure and they were able to start having fun again.”
Daughdrill broke through in a scoreless game with 31:44 remaining in the second half. Hebert flicked a set piece ball up top to Daughdrill, who trapped and created some space to get a shot off that beat Babb for a 1-0 advantage.
Hebert made it 2-0 with 16:04 remaining, cashing in on Easthampton’s third opportunity in a flurry of activity around the Frontier net. Babb made the first save, a diving stop, and Redhawks defender Payton Sladeski also pulled one off the line when he got in the way of an Eagles blast. Hebert was there for the third attempt however, firing the rebound into an empty net to double the advantage.
Frontier (11-2-3) didn’t go away however. Less than two minutes after Hebert’s goal, Cairn Bright lifted a shot toward Easthampton goalie Griffin Foskitt. The ball awkwardly bounced on the slick grass and off Foskitt, where a pouncing Tyler Dubreuil charged and buried the rebound to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Babb made two huge saves in the final 15 minutes, both on blasts from Easthampton’s Mateo Navarro, to keep the hosts within shouting distance, but Frontier was unable to find the equalizer. Babb finished with seven saves on the night, as the freshman impressed in his first action of the season after missing the first two months due to a broken arm.
“I think the goals that were scored on him were going in no matter what. Easthampton is just a really dynamic team,” Frontier coach Evan Horton said. “The guys have a lot of confidence in [Babb]. We think he gives us a chance.”
Horton said Monday’s loss was disappointing on a number of levels, but particularly because the two teams had already played three times this season. They finished first and second in the Moriarty League, and both have statewide tournament aspirations in the Division 4 field next week. Frontier will now play a consolation game Wednesday against Pope Francis that will still count toward the state power ranking.
“It’s nonsense that we’re playing a team from our league, a team that we played three times in the regular season, and we’re playing in a quarterfinal game,” Horton said. “I get it, it’s power rankings, but this is nonsense. In my opinion, it’s bad for Western Mass. soccer, to have the two of us fighting it out in an early round game.
“I feel like this next week [of tournament games] is hurting more teams in Western Mass. than it’s helping in terms of getting us all where we want to get to,” he continued. “I get it, [a Western Mass. tournament is] what everybody wants. At the same time, it’s experimental. We’re kind of guinea pigs and you can’t get too mad about it. I believe they’ll evaluate and make changes. But there are inherent flaws in the [Western Mass.] ranking system as it stands in my opinion.”
Lawrence said the next two weeks could be quite the ride for his team, with at least one more round in the Western Mass. tournament along with the state tournament next week. Easthampton and Frontier could even play each other for a potential fifth time in the state tourney.
“It’s going to be exciting and hectic,” he said. “A lot of games in a short period of time so we’re going to do the best we can to keep the guys fresh and motivated and healthy. Hopefully we can make a run.”