SOUTH DEERFIELD — The third time was indeed the charm for the South Hadley boys soccer team in its 1-0 overtime win against Frontier in the Round of 32 of the MIAA Division 4 tournament on Wednesday night.
The Tigers went winless against the Red Hawks in two meetings during the regular season (0-1-1), but an Anthony Adams free-kick goal two minutes into the extra frame sent No. 23 South Hadley past No. 10 Frontier, its Holley league peer, in stunning fashion.
“I definitely knew that that was my shot,” Adams said. “I assumed that that was probably going to be the best one I was going to have in the extra time, just tried to take advantage of it. Scored a similar one against Pope [Francis], first round of the Western Mass. [tournament], so definitely knew it was possible.”
The Tigers were awarded a free kick adjacent to the left sideline about 20 yards away from the Red Hawks net after a South Hadley attacker was taken down racing to a through ball.
In a similar position on the pitch to a corner, Adams stepped into the shot and smoked the ball through everyone in its path, while also keeping it shoulder height the entire way toward the mesh, as the Tigers made their best chance of the match count.
“He’s a senior captain, he takes a lot of kicks and when he keeps the ball down, it’s kind of dangerous, he hits it hard,” South Hadley head coach Mike Gauthier said. “The conditions were great for keeping the ball low. Tough break for their keeper because it was kind of a screen-shot there.”
Frontier held the majority of scoring chances in the game, especially in the second half, with multiple free kicks and scoring bids after briefly getting behind the Tigers backline during a couple of instances, but Noah Carillon (13 saves) was stellar for South Hadley in the net, stopping each chance.
“Our goalie Noah Carillon has been a huge part of our season so far,” Adams said. “Our defense has definitely been a strong part ever since the year after our state championship, my freshman year. It’s kind of been what we’ve built our team around and I credit these guys. They show up every day, we work hard, we win every 50-50 ball, go for every tackle and it’s something that our team has definitely lucked out on.”
The Tigers won the Div. 4 state championship in 2022.
The Red Hawks’ rang the cross-bar with eight minutes left in the second half following several surges from the hosts, which wound up being their most pivotal missed opportunity.
“South Hadley’s been in a lot of close games the whole season,” Frontier (9-4-6) head coach Evan Horton said. “Even games they’ve lost, it hasn’t been by a lot. We knew that they struggle to score, but they always stick around and we knew that as the game went on, if it stayed 0-0, this is where it could head. We had one or two where we were right on the doorstep, which I think makes it all the harder to take, that you were that close a couple of times.
“What I told the guys was that’s the game that we love and sometimes really good teams put everything out there and they still don’t come through, so I think both teams gave everything they had tonight,” Horton added.
Because both squads were so familiar with each other, each coach expected a hard-fought battle, however Gauthier felt the familiarity benefitted his Tigers team on Wednesday.
“These guys are really happy to have the opportunity to play Frontier again, as tough as they are, we know them,” Gauthier said. “We know what to expect from them, we know how solid they are and you mistake some mistakes and you’re in trouble. We were fortunate and it’s our turn.”
South Hadley’s OT win counted as its first victory over Frontier in seven games.
The Tigers (7-8-5) will travel to No. 7 Abington in the Round of 16.
Kickoff is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m.
Pope Francis 3, Belchertown 0 — For the second year in a row, the Cardinals ended the Orioles season in the Div. 3 tournament.
Belchertown’s Round of 32 defeat brought its final record to 7-8-4.
Ayer-Shirley 3, Hampshire 1 — The Raiders’ magic ran out against the No. 4 Panthers, falling in the Round of 32.
Hampshire beat the higher-seeded Excel Academy Charter on Monday, to advance to Wednesday’s match at Ayer-Shirley.
The Raiders went 9-9-2 this fall.
New Mission 3, Gateway 0 — Three self-inflicted mistakes resulted in New Mission overpowering Gateway in their Round of 32 matchup.
Eli Chepurenko missed this game due to injury, proving to be a big difference on the defensive end for the Gators.
Andrew Chepurenko and Bow Briggs stood out, battling and doing everything they could in their last games at Gateway, while Zack Hess had 9 saves for the Gators (9-6-1) in net.
Girls soccer
Hampshire Regional 3, West Bridgewater 2 (OT) — The No. 7 Raiders narrowly escaped with a win during its tight Round of 32 contest with Wildcats.
Hampshire’s Claire Pickard, Addie Miklasiewicz, Lila Watkins all scored, while Maggie Lashway picked up an assist.
Raiders goalie Karaghan Rogalski finished with seven saves.
Hampshire will host No. 10 Southwick in the Round of 16 on Friday at 5:30.
Hopkins Academy 5, Bristol County Agricultural 0 — Morgan Augustin led the way for the Golden Hawks, scoring two goals to move past the Round of 32.
Bridget Benoit, Zoey Wojtowicz and Alayna Bailey all each had a goal of their own in the dominant victory.
Ephie Vissas finished with two assists, while Lilyana Ribeiro tallied one. Haven Jones made one save on the only opportunity she saw in net.
Smith Voc 6, McCann Tech 0 — With a substantial win, the Vikings advance to the Round of 16 for the first time in program history and will play the winner of Old Colony/ St. John Paul II.
Monique Fredette had a game-high three goals for Smith Voc, adding on an assist.
Isabella Letourneau, Erin Miller and Kate Wolcott netted the remaining three goals, while Caydence Hussey, Savannah Fredette, Miller and Wolcott each had an assist.
Julianis Suarez had three saves for the Vikings, and Bella Lefevre had nine saves for McCann Tech.
South Hadley 2, Maynard 0 — The Tigers took care of business in their Round of 32 matchup on Wednesday, getting an early lead and not looking back.
Kiana Ramos and Kelcey Zraunig were the two goalscorers for South Hadley, with assists from Ally Fleury and Hannah Haesaert.
Olivia Athas had five saves for the Tigers in the victory.
Hull 9, Smith Academy 1 — Smith Academy fell to third-seeded Hull in the Round of 32 Wednesday night.
Emily Pearl had the lone goal in the contest for the Falcons, off a rebound from an Anna Scagel shot in the second half.
Vivian Higuera had 29 saves in goal for Smith Academy (8-10-2).
Tahanto Regional 4, Frontier 1 — The Red Hawks recorded one goal in its Round of 32 defeat on the road.
Frontier concluded the season 8-8-4.