Div. 4 girls soccer: One more to go as South Hadley readies for Sutton in Saturday’s state championship game

SOUTH HADLEY – And then there was one.

Only the South Hadley girls soccer team remains in Hampshire County as the No. 1 seed as Division 4 kicks off its MIAA state championship game at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday at Doyle Field in Leominster. 

The Tigers will clash with No. 2 Sutton in a battle of heavyweights in the early morning.

South Hadley head coach Rich Marjanski attended Sutton’s semifinal game against No. 6 Littleton on Wednesday night. Based on his first impression, the Suzies and Tigers are nearly identical in terms of style of play.

“They’re very, very good,” Marjanski said of Sutton. “It’s one versus two, so it’s a great match-up with the two best teams going for it all. They’re really possession-oriented, and they’ve got some good strikers up top. It’s just a matter of who’s gonna make the play, or who’s gonna make the mistake. We match up very well, we’re similar to them. They have some scorers, we have some scorers, so it should be very interesting.”

How South Hadley booked its trip to the 2023 state title game against No. 4 Lynnfield will long be remembered in the program and school’s history. The Tigers won a 4-3 (4-1 in penalty kicks) see-saw battle with the Pioneers on Tuesday night that didn’t feature a dull moment in the 100-plus minutes of action. They led 3-2 in the final minutes before surrendering a goal that sent the game to overtime.

The round before that, a 6-3 quarterfinal victory over West Bridgewater in which South Hadley trailed 2-0, also tested the top seed’s toughness. Having played in two consecutive high-pressure games – one where the Tigers were holding on to a slim lead and one where they clawed from behind – should give South Hadley an edge heading into Saturday.

“There was a couple games that I think really helped us this tournament,” Marjanski said. “West Bridgewater was a good test, and just the resiliency of the girls to come back and get some goals. And obviously in the last game (against Lynnfield), we took a lead on them, then they came back. I think the girls felt the pressure and it’s gonna pay off for them on Saturday.”

Similar to the Tigers, Sutton holsters a juggernaut of an offense. The Suzies have a handful of goal-scorers capable of striking at any moment, headlined by sophomore Ava Magnuson, who scored two goals in Sutton’s semifinal win over No. 6 Littleton.

Stopping Magnuson starts with commanding possession of the ball in the midfield. If South Hadley can control the middle, it should be able to restrict the amount of touches Magnuson gets.

“They have a goal scorer on their team, she’s very fast,” Marjanski said of Magnuson. “She creates a lot of opportunities for them, so we have to make sure we know where she is. We’re also gonna have to win the middle. Most of the play happens in the middle, so we have to be on top of things there and move as a team.”

Corner kicks have haunted South Hadley’s defense this season. So while shutting down Magnuson and the offense is a priority, limiting scoring opportunities off corner kicks is just as important.

Two of Lynnfield’s three goals in the semifinals came off corner kicks and failed clearance attempts from the defense. Marjanski has carved out practice time this week to ensure those woes are eliminated come Saturday.

“We’re gonna make sure that we’re really solid with that going forward,” Marjasnki said. “One, defensively, we’re gonna try to not give them the opportunity to even take any corners. Two, if they do take a corner kick, we need to be in the right position and we need to find our marks and use our head to get the ball out. Don’t assume your teammate is gonna get it, run to the ball and clear it out.”

At this stage in the season, there isn’t much a coach can tell their team that the club doesn’t already know. Marjanski even said it himself; less coaching is required when playing this late into the tournament.

That includes trying anything new to scheme senior superstar Lauren Marjanski open on offense. She has totaled a staggering 53 points this season. Teams this postseason, most likely Sutton on Saturday, have sent multiple defenders to try and frustrate her while prohibiting her from taking over the game. But time and time again, she finds ways to break free and break open games.

Lauren Marjanski has scored seven goals over the past two games, four against West Bridgewater and three against Lynnfield.

“You just gotta let the girls play. We can make adjustments, and the girls can make adjustments, but it’s really a matter of feeling them out,” Rich Marjanski said. “The girls have played great competition all year. Now, one game left, it’s just go out and play.”

The biggest message he’s had for his team is to shoot the ball at will. In a game where nerves are at an all-time high, putting shots on goal to test the opposing team’s goalie isn’t a bad idea.

“It only takes one shot sometimes in these games to win it, so we need to shoot the ball,” Rich Marjanski said. “Whenever we get a look, don’t think about it, don’t take that extra touch, just shoot the ball on net.”

One thing is for sure, however. The goalie wearing all black with bright purple cleats for South Hadley won’t have many – if any – nerves. South Hadley backstop Drew Alley has stepped up in every single significant moment in her career, with Tuesday being the latest example. Alley stopped two of three Lynnfield penalty kicks before finishing her own PK to solidify the Tigers’ semifinal win.

Her head coach is aware of the advantage he has with Alley in the box.

“She’s the x-factor in this game,” Rich Marjanski said. “She is so athletic and has a great eye for the ball. You don’t see many keepers like that. I’ve been watching a lot of games in D-4, D-3, and some Division 2 games as well, and she’s by far the best goalie I’ve seen out there. Her instincts, you can’t really find that around many teams.”

Because Lauren Marjanski is Rich’s daughter, he has coached her and this senior class since they were running around in their youth days a decade ago. There’s no question what the impact of winning a state championship would have on Rich and this team.

Nobody on the South Hadley roster has ever made it this far in the state tournament, yet from the time they were those wide-eyed youngsters all the way up until now, they’ve had the unique ability to bring their best stuff when the lights are the brightest.

One more game. Eighty (or more) minutes. This Tigers team has wanted to bring home some hardware for so long, and that chance is finally here.

“This is what the girls have strived for since they little kids,” Marjanski said. “A lot of these kids I’ve been coaching since they were eight years old. They’ve always had a knack for winning, and they actually play very well in the big games. I’m hoping they can instill that in the younger kids on our team and just go out, have fun, and try to bring a championship back to South Hadley. Getting in there is half the battle, but winning it, that would be the cherry on top for everybody – the town, the community, and everybody around.”