The rubber match between the East Longmeadow and Northampton girls lacrosse teams will also decide the Western Massachusetts Class B championship.
The teams have split two Valley Wheel matchups this season. The second-seeded Blue Devils (11-9) prevailed at home in the season opener 14-12, but the top-seeded Spartans (9-9) exacted their revenge 15-6 on April 25.
“When we lost to them the second time it was a hard hit. But it happens. We had several players out sick and five players on the field playing through sickness,” Northampton coach Kyla Power said. “ in many ways this game feels like the redo that the team has been waiting for. A chance for a comeback. I am grateful my girls get that chance and proud of them for all the hard work they put in to get here.”
They’ll meet for the third time at 4 p.m. Saturday on a neutral field at Western New England University.
Northampton led No. 3 South Hadley 14-0 at halftime in their semifinal when the game was called off due to weather. East Longmeadow beat No. 4 Wahconah 22-5. The Spartans have won their last six games after a four-game losing streak. They dropped four games in a row twice this season.
The Blue Devils last played for a sectional championship in 2003, when they fell to Longmeadow. East Longmeadow has never reached the sectional final.
Sophomore Sofia Ciaglo has been the engine of Northampton’s offense. She leads the Blue Devils with 76 goals and 29 assists in 20 games. Chloe Denhart has 54 goals and 22 assiss, while Izzy Epstein has scored 53 times with 18 assists. There are five Blue Devils with at least 20 goals.
East Longmeadow features a three-pronged attack. Olivia Robb leads the way with 40 goals, while Adelaide Jordan (11 assists) has scored 39 and Megan Morneau (25 assists) has found the net 38 times.
Both teams have qualified for the Division 2 state tournament, so a loss Saturday won’t end either season, but it will settle the score.
No. 2 Granby knows exactly what to expect when it lines up across from No. 1 Mount Greylock in the Western Massachusetts Class C Championship game.
The teams will meet for the third time at 4 p.m. Saturday at Berkshire Community College. The Mounties (16-3) won both games by double digits with an average margin of 12 goals.
Mount Greylock has played in the last three Central-West sectional finals dating back to 2019. The Mounties fell against Bromfield in all three. Granby has never played for a girls lacrosse championship.
The Rams feature three of the most dangerous attackers in the class led by Gabby Walz (87 goals, 12 assists).
Ella Laliberte has contributed 68 goals and 12 assists, while Ari Klekotka has put the ball in the net 53 times. Senior Liberty Conlin is experienced and stalwart in goal.
Mount Greylock will ride with the dynamic scoring duo of Sarah Palumbo (89 goals, 15 assists) and Ainsley Abel (79 goals, 17 assists). Both Zoe Armet (32 assists) and Tessa Leveque (13 assists) have found the net 30 times each.
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.