Boys soccer: Jasper Cantor tallies hat trick in undefeated Northampton’s dominant win over Minnechaug

NORTHAMPTON — The 2025 Northampton boys soccer team is the real deal.

If that much wasn’t already clear through six games, all of which the Blue Devils have won (by a combined score of 17-4), it certainly became obvious on Wednesday night under the lights on their rain-filled home field.

Jasper Cantor netted a hat trick in the first half and Northampton never looked back en route to a 6-1 win over Minnechaug, improving its record to 7-0 on the year.

“We’ve been making a huge emphasis on protecting home soil,” Blue Devils head coach CJ Holt said. “The boys know that at home games, we cannot turn our switch off. We have to stay focused and hungry from the first whistle to the last whistle. They’ve done a great job answering the bell so far.”

Despite the wet surface and slick ball, Northampton had no trouble controlling possession and working it up the field with quick and precise passing. The Blue Devils threatened in their attacking third nearly the entire first half, and they scored five times as a result.

Sam Busone began the scoring, finishing one off a feed from Cantor, who then scored the next three unanswered. Cantor’s first came on a penalty kick. He tracked down a punt from Northampton goalie Salem Gregory and went the distance for another goal shortly after. Finally, he rebounded a Tate Norsen penalty kick and buried one in the bottom left corner of the goal to make it 4-0.

Charlie Ames followed suit with a nifty goal in traffic to cap off an electric first half for the hosts. Through a half dozen contests, the Blue Devils hadn’t scored more than four goals in a single game. They tallied five in one half on Wednesday.

Busone scored his second goal late in the second half, assisted by Zane Poehler, to put the nail in the coffin. Between Cantor, Busone and Derek Rivers, who didn’t even suit up due to a sore knee, Holt says it’s the most talented front line he’s ever coached.

Will Senn-McNally is another talented option, Zane Poehler is productive off the bench and Owen MacLachlan can come up from his defensive position to make plays offensively as well. Everywhere you look, Northampton has an elite option who can strike when his number is called.

That’s bad news for opposing defenses.

“I’ve told these guys, if I was a defender and we were the next game up on the schedule, I wouldn’t sleep much the night before.”

northampton head coach cj holt

“I’ve told these guys, if I was a defender and we were the next game up on the schedule, I wouldn’t sleep much the night before,” Holt said. “I’ve coached for a long time, and I’ve never had a front three like this. These guys bring pace, technical ability, a hunger and a passion. They’re so much better together than they are as individuals. We’re putting the emphasis on getting the assists. Because the goals are going to come. We have a lot of toys up front, a lot of guys that can step in and contribute.”

Juniors Rhys MacLachlan and Armany Rodriguez man the center back positions for Northampton and have done a fantastic job in front of goalie Salem Gregory all season long. Through seven games, the Blue Devils are giving up an impressive 0.71 goals per contest. They have no weaknesses in any of their three levels.

A season ago, Northampton had an eerily similar start to its campaign. The Blue Devils went their first eight games without a loss and opened as the No. 1 team in Division 2 in the MIAA’s first power rankings. Well, fast forward to 2025, and ‘Hamp is in familiar territory — going seven bouts without a defeat with the power rankings set to be released on Friday.

However last year things didn’t end how the Blue Devils hoped. They watched a two-goal lead in the Western Mass. Class A quarterfinals slip away in a 3-2 loss to Longmeadow, and they fell 2-1 to Milton in the Division 2 Round of 32 in a game they had countless chances to score.

This year’s group is determined to get back in those same positions and right their wrongs. Holt has his team laser focused.

“It’s just what’s in front of us, one day at a time,” Holt said. “We learned from last year. It didn’t go the way we wanted it to. A couple of tough losses in Western Mass. and states. We’ve learned those lessons. The boys have definitely responded to my challenge of showing they learned from it. It’s one thing to think you’ve learned and to talk about it, but [I want them] to go out there and actually show that we’re wired differently and we’re focused.”

Up next for Northampton is a game each member of the team — even including Holt — likely had circled on their calendars. The Blue Devils have a quarterfinal rematch with Longmeadow on Friday night at 7 p.m. The Lancers are 5-1-1 with their only loss coming to St. John’s Prep of Danvers.

Northampton has passed every test to date, but this one will be its biggest one yet.