NORTHAMPTON — It’s not very often you can say a team that went 15-3-3 and made it to the MIAA Division 2 Round of 16 is going to be better the following season, but that may very well be the case with the Northampton girls soccer team.
In 2024, the Blue Devils outscored their opponents 88-4 over their first 13 games before getting into the daunting part of their schedule, as they dominated everyone in front of them to start the year. Five seniors are gone from that team, but head coach Vanessa Butynski (10th season) returns a plethora of play makers who are ready to take an even bigger step now playing a much tougher schedule in 2025.
Northampton kicked off its season with an impressive 2-1 win over Belchertown earlier this week, and showed why it has the potential to be one of the best teams in western Massachusetts this fall.
“We just want to take it one day at a time, one game at a time,” Butynski said. “I expect them every half to come out better and better. But really, I’m looking for a possession style game. We have such a dynamic force up top and a great team behind them. We’re looking to start to be more soccer smart and savvy so we can control the tempo of the game.”
The Blue Devils have one of the best one-two punches around in forward Willow Claps and midfielder Olivia Busone. The two combined to score over 50 goals as sophomores, and are even better as juniors in 2025. Hattie Lewis and Alysha Parshall-Matylas are terrific defenders while Allie Sullivan is a strong outside midfielder.
Pretty much any position you look, the Blue Devils have a great player there.
“That up top combination of Willow and Livi is super dynamic,” Butynski said. “If the defense watches one, the other one gets free. They play beautifully off each other there. Our center mids are going to be our workhorses. They might not stand out, but they’re the bread and butter of the team on that back line. Honestly, we’ve got a really solid starting 11.”
Included in that 11 is goalie Anna Oravec. The junior has taken strides as a keeper in each season she’s been on varsity, but this year in particular she’s improved as a leader.
Coaches will tell you how important it is for the goalie to be the most vocal on the field. Oravec has started to get that part down, and it’s only helped Northampton improve in each aspect of the game.
“What’s positive about Anna is that her attitude and her demeanor this year, she’s really showed up,” Butynski said. “She’s taken her own this year. Very positive when speaking and directing back there. She’s fantastic. She’s going to keep us in games, she’s going to win us games. She’s going to allow us to play free.”
Northampton (1-0) travels to Ludlow on Friday night at 6 p.m. looking to make it 2-0 to start the year.
Orioles to be competitive again
As seems to always be the case with head coach Kyle Thibeault’s teams, Belchertown is going to be right in the mix once again as not only one of Hampshire County’s top units, but one of the best in western Massachusetts.
In 2024, the Orioles breezed through the Class B tournament by outscoring their opponents 9-1 en route to a sectional championship. Their season ended in the Division 3 Round of 16 as they posted a 12-6-5 record playing one of the most difficult regular season schedules in the area.
This year, Thibeault has new faces at the forefront of his core, but his expectations remain the same. Senior midfielder Alexa Karabetsos, senior forward Morghan Litz and junior defender Isabella Vozzella are standouts at each level that will lead Belchertown this season. The main question mark is who will step in to fill the large shoes of goalie Jill DeBarge, who graduated last spring. Ava Stelmokas and Linnea Anderson, both freshmen, are the two in line to do so.
“We’re kind of a mix of both young players and veterans,” Thibeault said. “I have a solid group coming back, but we lost some bigger pieces from last year’s team. With this team, we have the ability to build off what we’ve done in years past and really just compete. The games we play are 1-0, 2-1 or 3-2, we’re always competing with the larger-school teams and holding our own. That’s what it’s all about.”
Year of challenges ahead for Hopkins
There’s no doubt the Golden Hawks have plenty of talent on their roster, but with seven starters gone from last year’s team — one that went 17-2-2, won a league title and lost in the Western Mass. Class D title game in penalty kicks — and with them jumping into a stronger league in 2025, some obstacles await head coach Vincent Catania’s group in his fourth season.
Hopkins has a strong independent schedule as well that should bode well for its Division 5 state tournament ranking when the time comes. Alayna Bailey, Cassandra Dion, Ephie Vissas, Morgan Augustin and Olivia Earle are all players Catania expects to have big years in 2025.
“This year will bring challenges, but I am confident in our team’s ability to adapt, grow and rise to the challenges we are faced with,” Catania said. “Our focus is on learning quickly, staying resilient and rising as one.”
Marjanski back to lead Tigers
South Hadley head coach Rich Marjanski is back for his ninth season on the sidelines, and he’ll be looking to add to his impressive list of accomplishments with a talented team this fall.
Senior captains Allison Fleury and Gwen Marion play two different roles, the former a goal-scoring weapon while the latter holds down the defense, but both are extremely important to South Hadley’s success. Sophomores Hannah Haesaert and Olivia Athas are back after impact freshmen seasons with eyes on loftier campaigns in 2025. Haesaert came in second on the team in points (18) and Athas made 135 saves in goal.
The Tigers fell to Belchertown in the Class B final and lost to Hamilton-Wenham in the Division 4 state quarterfinals. With a team filled with chemistry, Marjanski and South Hadley are hoping to get back to the top of Western Mass. — where they were in 2022.
Fraser takes over Falcons program
After stops coaching the Pioneer Valley Regional boys and Amherst girls, Don Fraser is the new head man at Smith Academy, as he steps in to take over a young team that has six middle schoolers and four freshmen. Caitlin Graves scored 63 goals across the 2023 and 2024 seasons, so replacing her is going to be a tall task, but Fraser said the team’s cohesion is “unusually strong for this early in the season.”
Senior Anna Scagel is primed for a breakout season offensively after playing center back for four years while freshman keeper Vivian Higuera possesses a poise beyond her years, according to Fraser. Senior Emma Tisdell returns to the lineup after missing last year, and the team is thrilled to have her back as she brings loads of energy and is one of the best leaders on the team.
Smith Academy kicks its season off on Friday at home against Mahar.
Hampshire hoping for bounce-back year
For the first time since the new tournament format, the Raiders failed to win a postseason game in 2024. Hampshire lost 2-1 to Monument Mountain in the Class B quarterfinals and traveled to Bellingham High School for a Division 4 Round of 32 tilt that it also lost 2-1. But head coach Steve Croft is back for his ninth season and is optimistic the Raiders can get back to their winning ways in 2025.
Senior defender Lila Watkins, junior midfielder Addie Miklasiewicz and senior forward Libby Puttick give Hampshire depth at each level and will prove to be a three-headed monster for the Raiders this year. Also returning is last year’s leading point scorer Shayne Moynahan, who is sure to be another weapon as one of Croft’s captains this fall.
Hampshire is in the Central League after spending the last several seasons in the Kurty/Fielding League.
Vikings, Redhawks, Rams coming off terrific 2024 seasons
Granby won the Class D crown, Smith Vocational went 16-4 and won the Tri-County League title, and Frontier picked up 14 wins and a Pioneer League North title. All three teams are back for more in 2025.
The Redhawks have an impressive freshman class that includes Mara Allium, Calli Gifford, Sadie Nichols and Maggie Nichols and head coach Lauren Sullivan (second season) expects them to contribute immediately as they complement senior Maddie Fagan, who is six points away from 100 for her career, senior Addy Morrey and juniors Jazzy Hayes and Skyler Steele.
The Rams have Kalli White and Brenna Moreno, which means they’re always going to have a chance in games due to their goal-scoring prowess as both enter their junior seasons. White already netted a hat trick in Granby’s first game while Moreno added two goals and an assist. Goalie Meredith Bartosz has been a staple for the Rams in the past and will be once again if they want to return to the Class D title game.
The Vikings lost star Caitlin Willard, but senior Monique Fredette should help fill the void coming off a season where she recorded over 25 points. Fredette scored three goals in Smith Voc’s opener. Seniors Natalie Gaudette, Katelynn Hennessy and Sophie Prukalski provide veteran leadership and junior Julianis Suarez will be an X-factor for the Vikings up front.
Holyoke, Easthampton, Amherst young and hungry
Neither the Purple Knights, Eagles or Hurricanes have more than three seniors on their rosters, so they will all be focused on improving as the year progresses to set themselves up for future success beyond 2025 — although they still have some standout players to be in the mix this season.
Amherst is guided by first-year head coach JW Benoit, who expects Maeve Fitzgerald, Beatrice Eggemeier and Lucia Jacoby to play large roles this fall. Benoit’s goals for the season are simple: be competitive in every game. The ‘Canes have a strong nucleus of players returning to be able to do just that.
Easthampton has Samone Young as its lone senior, as Brian Miller’s squad holds nine freshmen, five sophomores and five juniors. Last year, Easthampton went 13-5-2 and fell to South Hadley in the Class B quarterfinal round. Young, Arie Kuchyt and Liv O’Neil-Garvey are returning players to watch.
Holyoke’s Kyra Lippman (junior) is back after a stellar 32-goal, 18-assist campaign that gave her 50 points in 2024 alone. Leilany Figueroa is another impressive junior that put up 11 goals and 10 assists last season while classmate Grace Bechard is another key contributor in the lineup for head coach Kellen Matthews (third season). Holyoke has a solid core of players to compete in 2025.
