SOUTH DEERFIELD — The Frontier boys soccer team picked the right time to put it all together on the offensive end of the field.
The No. 5 Redhawks opened the MIAA Div. 4 state tournament with a 3-0 win against Manchester Essex and in the Round of 16, Frontier put five goals on the scoreboard to beat Lynn Vocational, 5-1.
The Redhawks’ current rhythm carried into Sunday’s quarterfinal matchup against No. 20 Assabet Valley. Frontier scored five minutes into the game and tacked four more on, dominating the evening for nearly the entire 80 minutes to roll into the semifinals with a 5-1 victory.
“I’m very happy with the way we responded tonight,” Frontier coach Evan Horton said. “We got the ball to the guys who were clicking. You saw their confidence continue to go up. That comes from the fact that we kept hitting our guys who were playing at a high level; Chanhee [Son], Brady [Burch], Devin [Niles], Fernando [Saravia], Aidan Valderrama, Nico Fasulo, those guys keep elevating.”
After facing Hampshire Regional in the semifinals a season ago, it’ll be another familiar Western Mass. opponent across the field during Tuesday’s semifinal. Frontier will face fellow Moriarty League member South Hadley, the top seed in the Div. 4 bracket. Kickoff for the semifinals is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at West Springfield High School.
The two teams tied 2-2 in their first meeting of the season while the Tigers won the second matchup, 2-0.
“They beat us earlier this year so there’s a little revenge we want,” Frontier senior Brady Burch said. “We’ll go in strong and hopefully we can win it.”
It didn’t take long for Burch to light up the scoreboard on Sunday. Chanhee Son got the ball in the middle of the field in the seventh minute and dished a pass to Burch in the box. He turned past an Aztec defender and drilled the ball into the net to give Frontier the early lead.
The Redhawks played a near-perfect 40 minutes in the first half. Frontier made it a 2-0 game in the 28th minute on a corner, as Saravia sent it into Burch, who blasted it home to double the Redhawks lead.
The momentum shifted in the final minute of the half, however. Frontier nearly took a 3-0 lead into the break with Saravia getting behind the Assabet defense, but his shot dinged off the post.
The Aztecs countered and sent a long ball up to Dias Gustavo, who corralled it with just Redhawk keeper Owen Babb ahead of him. Gustavo buried the shot into the left corner of the goal on the final play of the half, cutting the Frontier lead to 2-1.
“We played well all around,” Burch said. “Our defense and offense were great. We made one mistake that led to a goal but it is what it is.”
That was the last big play the Frontier defense allowed, as the back line prevented any dangerous scoring chances the rest of the way.
“The back line played amazing,” Horton said. “They knew it was going to be long ball after long ball tonight. They made one mistake in the back but the other 79 minutes and 30 seconds, we didn’t give up many dangerous plays. We’re playing the right kind of soccer at the right time.”
While momentum might have flipped after the late goal, the Redhawks made sure to regain its two-goal lead early in the second half to take the life out of the Aztecs. Frontier’s third goal came in the 50th minute, once again on a corner. Saravia sent this one in and it was right on the money to Devin Niles, who rocketed the shot into the net to give the Redhawks a two-goal cushion.
After dishing out two assists, Saravia decided to get on the scoreboard himself. Valderrama took the ball up the right wing and fired a cross in to the senior, who finished the shot to make it a 4-1 game in the 61st minute.
“I hit the post twice so I was a bit anxious,” Saravia said. “I was waiting for a goal to come in. I got one at the last minute thankfully.”
Frontier closed out the scoring in the 75th minute. As Assabet pushed up, the Redhawks got the ball back and countered, with Burch sneaking behind the defense and putting the shot into the goal, making it a 5-1 game and finishing off Burch’s hat trick.
“They were all good balls to me,” Burch said. “They were pretty easy finishes.”
The win makes it six in a row for Frontier, which has allowed just two goals in those six victories. Horton said he can’t ask for much more from his team since the postseason started, with the Redhawks playing their best under the bright lights.
“The confidence is there,” Horton said.“We haven’t had a lot of adversity. As we go forward, we’re going to have games that aren’t going to go as well for us. How we respond will be a testament to where we’re at. I don’t know what more I can ask of these guys.”
Now the only thing standing in the way of a second consecutive state finals appearance is South Hadley, with both squads knowing each other inside and out.
“We should want South Hadley,” Horton said. “It’s a great testament to our league. I have a ton of respect for them. They’re a good team. There’s not a lot of scouting to be done. They know how we’re going to play and we know how they’re going to play. It’ll come down to who plays better for 80 minutes.”