WHATELY — The rain at Herlihy Park couldn’t hold down the Hampshire Regional girls soccer team on Monday.
The Raiders earned a corner kick in the second minute of play and capitalized to take an early lead. The visitors tallied three more goals before the halftime whistle blew.
Hampshire then found the back of the net two more times in the second half while keeping Frontier Regional’s offense bogged down on the other side of the field. The Raiders walked away with a 6-0 independent victory.
“Quick starts are good,” Hampshire coach Stephen Croft said. “We’ve been able to get early goals in maybe three of our games so far and that sets the tone for the game.”
The loss was the first of the season for Frontier (4-1-2), and despite the score, coach Phil Pittelli said he saw a lot of encouraging things from his team against a tough Raider squad.
Getting to test themselves against one of the better teams around is something Pittelli feels will help his team down the road.
“This is a game I wanted because it helps get us ready for the playoffs,” Pittelli said. “It gives us a good look of what we aspire to be. We can talk about what makes [Hampshire] so good and how they’re able to move the ball around. When we’re scoring at will in games, it doesn’t help us. Playing them helps us. They play a controlled game and a game we want to play. We just have to find a way to be more accurate and have better first touches.”
It was Emma Allyn who kicked off the scoring for Hampshire (5-1), knocking in a volley that was sent in by Parker Pallante to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead just two minutes into the game.
In the eighth minute, Hampshire drew a foul and earned a free kick from well outside the box. Ella Forest took it and smashed a shot that lofted over the head of Redhawk goalie Jazzy Hayes, and dipping just under the bar to give the Raiders a 2-0 lead.
It was another long shot that provided Hampshire a three-goal cushion. Pallante dished the ball off to Anna Puttick, who drilled a shot from outside the box that lofted into the goal to make it 3-0 in the 30th minute.
Maisie Bowler added to the Hampshire lead before the half, blasting in a shot off a pass from Forest. Croft said he was encouraged to see four different girls find the back of the net in the first half, showing how many scoring options the Raiders have.
“The last three or four games our goal scorers haven’t been just one player,” Croft said. “It’s been even across the board. We’ve had nice, balanced scoring which is good to see. It’s awesome when everyone gets in there and contributes.”
Allyn tallied her second of the game in the opening minutes of the second half, once again scoring off a corner — this one sent in by Bowler. Shayne Moynihan closed out the scoring, banging in a shot off a dish from Pallante to make it 6-0.
Hayes played the first half in goal for the Redhawks, making 10 saves. Cadi Wells-Robinson came in for the second half and also stopped 10 shots.
Pittelli said he liked the way his team defended and felt they moved the ball well in spurts, but were unable to consistently hold possession.
“In the second half we didn’t have as many runs or opportunities as we did in the first half,” Pittelli said. “In the first we had some really good passing sequences. In the second we were kicking it to get it out. Defensively I was proud of how everyone moved. Both keepers played well.”
Frontier looks to get back in the win column on Wednesday as it takes on Palmer. Hampshire hopes its strong start to the season continues on Wednesday when it hosts Agawam.
“We’re having a good season,” Croft said. “It’s still a learning process. I keep telling them to keep working hard at practice and keep getting better. The goal is to be playing at our best come playoff time.”