NORTHAMPTON – For 79 minutes, the Northampton and Amherst girls soccer teams played a physical, scoreless game, with keepers Annalise Oravec and Neena Chinappa trading save after save.
With the clock winding down and a tie looking imminent, Amherst finally broke through.
Ivorie Arguin carried the ball up the field in the dying seconds of the contest as Oravec charged out to try and cut her off. Oravec went down, but the ball bounced past her, rolling slowly toward the goal line. As Northampton’s defenders rushed to try and clear it, Madeline Hockman raced to the net and booted it the extra few inches it needed to give Amherst the first and only goal of the game in a 1-0 victory on Monday night at David Wright Stadium.
“I was definitely really anxious to score and I think the entire team as a whole was really anxious. I’m gonna be honest, I did no work on that last one, Ivorie did most of the work on that,” Hockman said. “I just put myself in a place to finish the ball and just tapped it in.”
Northampton had one last corner kick to try and tie it after Hockman’s goal, but couldn’t find the equalizer. The Hurricanes’ win spoiled Northampton’s senior night, but the Blue Devils (7-7) played to a closer margin than the last time the two teams clashed, a 5-3 Amherst win.
Northampton keeper Oravec made six saves in the win and Chinappa stopped four shots for Amherst (9-4-1) in the shutout.
The Battle of the Bridge was a physical one, with both teams trading chances back and forth. Rain earlier in the afternoon and early evening made the field slick, with players slipping and sliding back and forth if their cleats couldn’t get traction.
Despite the loss, Oravec was the player of the game for both teams, as the freshman made jaw-dropping save after jaw-dropping save. Oravec made a game-preserving save with 10 minutes in the first half when a high Amherst shot flew almost out of Oravec’s reach, but the keeper jumped up and managed to hit it with both hands, then turned around and ran back as it carried on behind her, punching it to the left and out of harm’s way.
She made another huge stop in the second half with 12 minutes left, hitting the ball twice to force it wide.
“She was solid, our back line played very well, too. We’ve working on a lot of pressure cover and balance with them and they showed very well,” Northampton coach Vanessa Butynski said. “Anna played fantastic. A lot of really reactive athletic saves but then also being smart and playing appropriate balls as well. She helped us keep us in that game.”
Gateway 2, Pioneer 1 — Anna Sakaske and Kaitlyn Maynard each scored a goal in the Gators’ win over the Panthers.
Sakaske also added an assist on Maynard’s goal. Jayliana Rivera made 12 saves in goal for Gateway.
Smith Voc 8, Putnam 0 — A goal-scoring barrage propelled the Vikings over the Beavers in an 8-0 rout on Monday.
Erin Miller (two), Caitlin Willard (two), Avonna Wickles, Monique Fredette, Gracie Thompson, and Kate Wolcott were the goal scorers for Smith Voc. Maggie Lauder (two saves) and Daelin Murdock (one save) split time in goal.
South Hadley 4, Pope Francis 0 — Two goals in each half boosted the Tigers to a win over the Cardinals. Allison Fleury’s three-point game (two goals, one assist) led South Hadley offensively, while Lauren Marjanski added a goal and an assist and Cara Dean tallied an assist.
Drew Alley was phenomenal in goal with 13 saves on 13 shots, working hard to earn the shutout victory.
Hampshire 7, Easthampton 0 — Aidan Miklasiewicz scored two goals and added one assist to give him 116 career points, making him all-time leading scorer at Hampshire Regional High School.
“Aidan scored a goal – a game winning goal – in the first game he ever played for me as a seventh grader and has not stopped scoring since then,” Raiders head coach Dan Moynahan said. “The most impressive part of Aidan’s milestone has been his consistency over his career. Aidan has always had a knack for finding the back of the net; he is a consummate goal scorer.”
Smith Voc 4, Franklin Tech 0 — Niko Ndrue tallied twice in the Vikings’ shutout victory.
Chase Thayer and Cam Ball each scored a goal, while Zack Yakovlev, Jacob Maloney, and Caleb Boufard picked up assists for Smith Voc.
Amherst 3, Westfield 1 — Alioun Sarr netted two goals, and Patrick Staudenmayer assisted on a pair of tallies to help the Hurricanes pick up a much-needed 3-1 independent victory on Monday.
Insaf Fazal also found the back of the net for Amherst, and Victor Nunes Saravia added an assist. Skyler Ferro stopped three shots in net for the ’Canes.
Smith Academy 7, Sci Tech 0 — A six-pack of goals from Cajun Benson lifted the Falcons to a lopsided victory in their regular season finale on Monday.
Benson helped Smith take a 3-0 halftime lead. Grayson Zima also scored his first varsity goal for the Falcons, while Cameron Graves and Ben Hudzik each recorded three assists. Jake Wilcox didn’t have to make a save to pitch the shutout in net for Smith, which finished 10-2-4 overall.
Granby 2, Greenfield 2 — Tristan Moe scored both Granby goals, but the Rams shared the points with the Green Wave on Monday.
Riley Goodhind notched an assist for Granby (8-1-5), and goalie Daniel Santiago made two saves. Greenfield’s Clivens Carter Michel scored both goals for his side.
Holyoke 1, SICS 1 — Ryan Kenned y scored with an assist from Arthur Mazzu for the Purple Knights. Goalie Landon Koziara had a big night in net, stopping 15 shots.
PV Christian 3, PVCICS 0 — Despite holding a 28-7 edge in shots, the Dragobs were unable to find the back of the net in a 3-0 loss on Monday. PVCICS keepers Damian Loinaz and Richard Ang each made one save.
Amherst 3, Westfield 1 — The ‘Canes avenged a loss earlier this season to the Bombers with a strong four-set win on Monday. Set scores were 25-15, 12-25, 26-24, 25-19.
Five different players recorded at least five kills, including Ruby Austin (seven), Shannon Klaes (six), Lauren Joy (six), Kiko Bhowmik (six), and Sophie Kawall (five). Austin had five aces, Liza Beigel dug up 21 balls, and Abigail Como facilitated 29 assists in the win.
Belchertown 3, PV Christian 1 — The Orioles shook off a close third-set loss and recorded a 25-15, 25-19, 24-26, 25-12 victory on Monday.
Chrissy Santiago’s 10 kills were tops for Belchertown, and Ava Shea added six kills. Vivian Ross (21 assists) and Paige Magner (six digs, three aces) were other top contributors in the win.
Franklin Tech 3, Smith Voc 0 — Jennifer Bouchard recorded three kills and Maggie Smith led the defense with seven digs for the Vikings in a 25-20, 25-11, 25-16 loss on Monday.
Jaelyn Kulas (block, four digs, two kills), Roma Bentrewicz (seven assists, three kills), and Brooke Wolcott (five digs, kill) also contributed for Smith Vocational.
Frontier 3, Longmeadow 2 — The Redhawks prevailed in a five-set thriller 25-14, 18-25, 25-23, 7-25, 17-15 to avenge their earlier loss to the Lancers.
Caroline Deane’s 19 kills and 14 digs paced Frontier, while Allie Pearce added 33 assists and 12 digs. Gabby Adams and Olivia Machon tallied three aces apiece in the win.
Northampton 150, Amherst 226 — Four players shot 40 or better yet again for the Blue Devils, which improved to a perfect 15-0 with just one match remaining in the regular season.
Galen Fowles was match medalist with a 36 at Northampton Country Club on Monday, followed by Reilly Fowles (37), Jack Carpenter (37) and Ben O’Connor (40). Northampton goes for an undefeated season Tuesday against Belchertown.
Amherst’s four scorers were Nate Ziomek (52), Ben Scott (53), Oliver Hansell (59) and Owen Howard (62).
Frontier 169, Greenfield 175 — Ryan Cetto continued to play well for the Redhawks, earning medalist honors with a round of 36 in the team win at Cherry Hill Golf Course in Amherst.
Cam Skiffington shot 43 for Frontier, which also received scoring performances from Gabe Solodky (44) and Cade Allenby (46).
South Hadley 166, Southwick 179 — Another balanced effort helped the Tigers to a victory on Monday, led by Caiden Drohan’s 40.
Ryan MacGregor (41), John Viola (42) and Bennett Allen (43) also aided the cause for South Hadley in the win.
Hopkins 159, Ware 197 — Four of the top five scores belonged to the Golden Hawks, led by James Burke’s 36.
Ryley Regan was next with a 39, followed by Liam Flynn (42) and Jack Dyjach (42).
Hampshire 162, Palmer 174
Hampshire 162, Chicopee 253 — Brayden Fennessey set the pace with a low round of 37, helping the Raiders to a tri-match sweep on Monday.
Owen Lech (41), Cole Boissonneault (41) and Pryden Messier (43) were the other scorers for Hampshire Regional, which stayed undefeated in Suburban West action.
Smith Academy 1, Turners 0 — A timely goal from Sophia Jagodzinski, and some clutch goalkeeping powered the Falcons to a Valley League victory on Monday night in Turners Falls.
Jagodzinski netted the lone goal of the evening with an assist from Cat Kokoski, and goalie Madison Didonna-Renner stopped all nine shots she face — including a penalty stroke.
Belchertown 2, Tantasqua 1 — Isabella Cebula and Lila Roy both found the back of the net, and the Orioles captured an impressive independent win via a 2-1 decision on Monday.
Belchertown’s Laura Cote and Rachel Baltazar picked up assists in the win.
Amherst 3, Palmer 0 — Zoey Candito, Mia Shaw and Jo Becker all tallied for the Hurricanes in a 3-0 victory on Monday.
Fran Sloan, Anne Haugsjaahabink and Aria Haupt were credited with assists.
Girls soccer
St. Mary’s 3, Holyoke 1 — The Purple Knights outshot the Saints 17-5, but ultimately fell as they could only put one of those attempts in the back of the net.
Emma Shoup scored on a pass from Kyra Lippman in the first half.
Hopkins 1, Smith Academy 0 — Sadie Cyr’s early goal was all the Golden Hawks needed to beat the Falcons for the second time this year. Cyr’s score was unassisted.
Smith Academy goalie Madison Zononi recorded eight saves, while Hopkins keeper Cassidy Fyden earned a shutout victory with four saves of her own.
Smith Academy 1, Mount Everett 0 — Caitlin Graves netted the game’s only goal to give the Falcons a bounce-back shutout victory on Sunday. Emma Moynihan recorded the assist.
Madison Zononi was stellar in net with 10 stops on 10 shots for Smith Academy.
South Hadley 4, Ludlow 0 — Lauren Marjanski recorded a hat trick and an assist in a four-point effort to lead the Tigers to a shutout win.
Allison Fleury added a goal and an assist while Gianni Roy and Margo Watkins each tallied an assist as well. Drew Alley (four) and Maddie Soderbaum (two) combined for six saves in goal for South Hadley.
Boys soccer
Smith Academy 1, Hopkins 0 — A first-half penalty kick from Ben Hudzik in the 39th minute was the difference in the second meeting this season between the two rivals. Smith Academy coming out on top behind three saves from Jake Wilcox.
Logan Bye grabbed six shots out of seven in goal for Hopkins.
Northbridge 1, South Hadley 0 — Noah Carillon’s six saves were not enough for the Tigers to earn an out-of-region victory over the weekend.
South Hadley’s offense struggled to get going, and a Northbridge goal from Lucas Babski was the difference in the Tigers loss.
Turners Falls 2, Holyoke 1 — Nayan Tabin netted the lone Purple Knights goal with Christian Piedra tallying the assist.
Landon Koziara (four saves) and Eric Salinas (one save) combined for five stops in goal for Holyoke.
Field hockey
Frontier 1, Greenfield 0 — The Redhawks were dominant in Saturday’s win over the Green Wave despite scoring only one goal. Frontier tallied 11 shots to Greenfield’s zero.
Macy DeMaio scored on an assist from Ashley Taylor to finally get by Greenfield goalie Ainslee Flynn, who was terrific in goal with 11 saves.
Smith Academy 2, Northampton 2 — Smith Academy’s Cat Kokoski scored an unassisted goal with five minutes left in the fourth quarter to knot things up at two apiece, the game’s eventual final score.
Roslyn Kaufman and Haly Doucette-Kaplan were the goal scorers for the Blue Devils, while Doucette-Kaplan added an assist. Sophia Jagodzinski also scored on a Shae Moulton assist for the Falcons. Smith Academy’s Madison Didonna Renner had 16 saves in goal.