SOUTH DEERFIELD — It’s always challenging playing an unfamiliar opponent, but you’d never know it based on the way the Frontier field hockey attacked the Leicester defense on Friday.
The No. 8 Redhawks carried over the momentum gained from Monday’s Western Mass. Class C championship victory over Greenfield into the state tournament, putting pressure on the Wolverines defense from the opening whistle.
Frontier had the ball almost exclusively in 25th-seeded Leicester’s end of the field throughout the first quarter and gained five corners, but had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard. That changed in the second period, when the Redhawks scored twice to take a 2-0 lead into the half.
Frontier tacked three goals on in the fourth quarter to run away with a 5-0 victory in the MIAA Division 4 preliminary round, punching a ticket into the Round of 16.
“I look at seeds and records as irrelevant going into the state tournament,” Redhawks coach Missy Mahar said. “Every team comes ready to play so you have to be ready to go. We did well, we ran our system and shut down their strengths. I’m proud of the way the girls played and responded to seeing a team they never played against.”
While there were times during the season Frontier struggled to score, it has turned things on when most needed. The Redhawks scored four goals in its Class C semifinal contest against Southwick, rallied to score twice in the second half against the Green Wave and followed it up with Friday’s five-goal performance.
“Our ties this year, we had trouble finishing,” Mahar said. “I’m happy to see throughout the postseason that they’re finishing and creating not just the first but second opportunities.”
It was Rebecca Wallace-West who got the scoring started against the Wolverines. The Redhawks forced a turnover, with the senior getting the ball and firing a shot on goal. The initial attempt was saved but the rebound kicked out to a charging Wallace-West, who buried the follow-up to give Frontier a 1-0 lead.
The Redhawks added to their lead with just over a minute to go before the halftime whistle. Lila Roche drove in and dished a pass to Macy DeMaio, who blasted a shot home to make it a 2-0 game at the break.
“We go into every game not thinking about the other team’s record,” Roche said. “We come in, play our game and work our hardest. We were watching them in warmups and we said the first five minutes will dictate the game. We had to make sure we were going harder than they were.”
The Frontier pressure continued in the second half, as the constant attack wore down the Leicester defense in the fourth quarter. Ashley Taylor made it a 3-0 game with 11:35 to play, smashing in a goal off a dish from Roche.
Roche then found DeMaio again in front to make it 4-0 with 7:43 to play. Roche scored herself with 1:32 to play, banging in a shot off a pass from Hailey Hutkoski to close out the scoring.
You always want to be playing your best down the stretch, and that’s exactly what Frontier is doing.
“We came off the Western Mass. championship, everyone is healthy so let’s keep rolling,” Mahar said. “We always talk about taking it one quarter at a time. I love the fact that the girls take that mentality and give it their all for 15 minutes and move on.”
While its Round of 32 matchup featured an unfamiliar opponent, if all holds to form, the Redhawks will take on a team they’ve had plenty of reps against in the next round. Frontier will host the winner of No. 9 Greenfield and No. 24 Carver in the Round of 16 — those teams meet in Greenfield on Saturday.
If the Green Wave can avoid the upset, it would set up the fourth meeting of the season between the two rivals. The two regular season games ended in 0-0 ties, while Frontier won the Class C title game, 2-1.
“What are the chances we ended up on the same side of the bracket?” Mahar offered. “There’s no secrets with our two teams. The only disappointing thing is one Western Mass. team will have to lose. We aren’t always well represented in these state tournaments.”
No matter the opponent, the Redhawks like where they’re at as the state tournament progresses.
“We’re feeling good,” Roche said. “We’ll stay on this high and focus on the next game. It’s always fun playing Greenfield if it’s them.”