SPRINGFIELD – Saturday’s Western Mass. Class B final was a rollercoaster for the Northampton girls lacrosse team.
The No. 2-seeded Blue Devils trailed 13-12 with less than a minute to play, playing defense while No. 1 East Longmeadow tried to put in an insurance goal. A turnover with 40 seconds to play sent Northampton flying back into the offensive end, and with 14 seconds to go, junior Chloe Denhart got the ball past Spartans goaltender Jenna Hawley for a dramatic goal to tie the game up and force overtime.
“You should’ve seen me, I think I jumped three feet in the air,” Northampton head coach Kyla Power said on Denhart’s game-tying tally.
But just minutes after their joyous celebration, the Blue Devils found themselves on the other side of the coin. It was the Spartans’ Adelaide Jordan who scored the game-winning goal 57 seconds into OT to secure the sectional title.
It was a tough loss for Northampton, which had split a pair of regular season meetings with East Longmeadow. The Blue Devils won their season opener against the Spartans, 14-12, and fell 15-6 in the second with a short-handed squad. Their third game against East Longmeadow fell on the biggest stage many of the team’s players had ever been on.
“I think it can be nerve-racking. I had multiple freshmen playing out there. It can be nerve-racking when you’re in this big of a field,” Power said. “Part of my plan was also to just play your game. Don’t overthink, don’t overanalyze, don’t get panicky. Breathe and play your game. If you play your game, it’ll be a good game.”
Northampton goalie Riley Shea made 10 saves in the loss, and the Blue Devils were paced offensively by Denhart, who scored four goals and two assists. Sofia Ciaglo and Izzy Epstein also recorded a hat trick apiece.
It was a good game for both teams, if not a bit streaky. The Spartans came out hot, led by attacker Megan Morneau. She scored a natural hat trick, striking three times within a two minute, 13 second span to take a quick 3-0 lead.
Ever resilient and comfortable playing as the underdogs, the Blue Devils struck right back. Just 11 seconds after Morneau’s third goal, Epstein got Northampton on the board, the first of four unanswered goals the No. 2 seeds scored to take a 4-3 lead.
“I know that our team – we love for some reason, when we’re like, four under is when we play our best consistently. It’s been a thing for us all season,” Power said. “We’re like, ‘Oh, we’re four down? Bam! I dominate.’”
From there, the teams traded goals the rest of the first half. East Longmeadow took the lead back heading into intermission with a 6-5 lead, and it exploded out of the break by putting away three goals in the opening two minutes to take a commanding 9-5 lead. The four-goal margin was the largest either team had managed to post in the game.
Undeterred, the Blue Devils answered back, scoring three goals in less than two minutes to make it a one-goal game yet again. East Longmeadow managed to keep its lead for the rest of the game, pulling away to a 13-10 lead with 11:10 left. Denhart stepped up, scoring the Blue Devils’ final three goals, including the game-tying tally.
“She’s fantastic. She is one of those people who dominates on the field. She’s amazing with her teammates,” Power said on Denhart. “So does it surprise me? No it doesn’t. Did it make me very, very happy? Yes.”
Despite the loss on Saturday, Northampton’s season isn’t done yet. The Blue Devils earned the No. 21 seed in the MIAA Division 2 tournament, and will travel to face No. 12 Minnechaug in a Round of 32 game on Wednesday at 4 p.m.