SPRINGIELD – The Northampton boys soccer team had victory within its grasp against Longmeadow in the Western Mass. Class A championship game on Wednesday night.
But no matter what the Blue Devils did, the resilient Lancers simply would not go away.
After multiple dramatic comebacks, second-seeded Longmeadow bested the top-seeded Blue Devils, 5-4 (3-1 PKs), under the lights at Berte Field. A chance at the program’s first sectional title since 2002 slipped away.
Northampton had a 3-1 lead with 17 minutes, 9 seconds left in the game. By the 44th minute, the Lancers had knotted the game.
Then, a goal by Armany Rodriguez gave Northampton a 4-3 lead. With just seconds remaining, Longmeadow tied the game to send it to overtime.
After the game, the Blue Devils were left to wonder how it got away from them. Emotions were certainly high for Northampton in the postgame huddle.
“If I knew, we wouldn’t have tears over here,” Northampton coach CJ Holt said. “We would have a trophy.
Longmeadow utilized several long throws from the sideline to create multiple scoring opportunities.
“They have this long throw that just gave us fits today,” Holt said. “We’ve dealt with them in the past. Long throws. It never came in on such a line. We had trouble adjusting. That’s something we’ll work on. It’s a tough one to take.”
Longmeadow got the better of Northampton in the penalty shootout. After the game, the Blue Devils sat in silence for several minutes. The sounds of Longmeadow’s celebration echoing throughout the field.
Northampton has a quick turnaround for the MIAA statewide soccer tournament. The Blue Devils (13-1-4) are currently ranked No. 2 in the latest power rankings.
“We have a day of rest tomorrow,” Holt said. “We will get back together on Friday. See what the state rankings look like and what the brackets look like on Saturday. Just start planning for that next opponent. That’s all we can do.”
Alex Hensch opened the scoring for Longmeadow in the 22nd minute. Northampton tied the game just a few minutes later. On a free kick from beyond 40-yards, Johnny Nields-Duffy launched a shot that founds its way into the net.
The teams went into the intermission tied.
In the 60th minute, a perfectly placed corner kick by Nields-Duffy found the head of Rodriguez to make the score 2-1. With 17:29 remaining in the game, Sam Busone drew a call in the penalty area among several defenders. Owen MacLachlan buried the penalty kick to give Northampton a 3-1 lead.
Alex Hensch later scored for Longmeadow in the 63rd minute. A long throw in from Drew Hensch bounced in front of the net, allowing Alex Hensch to find the twine.
Another throw in later allowed Ryan Orszulak to find the net. Drew Hensch was again responsible for the throw in that reached the penalty area. After the two goals, Longmeadow tied the game, 3-3.
Rodriguez got his second goal of the game on another header in the 75th minute. Orszulak scored again, with less than a minute remaining in the game.
Another major obstacle to Northampton’s victory was Longmeadow keeper Aidan Chrabascz, who made several dynamic saves to keep his team in the game. Chrabascz stopped a Northampton penalty kick in the first overtime.
