SOUTH HADLEY — The No. 3 South Hadley girls soccer team was eliminated from the MIAA Division 4 state tournament by No. 6 Littleton in crushing fashion Thursday night, losing 2-1 in overtime, in a Round of 8 thriller.
With time dwindling down to less than five minutes left in the second half, South Hadley trailed 1-0, looking for an equalizer with its season on the line.
Sofie Quinn controlled the ball, backed up on the left sideline, finding Cara Dean up the middle. Dean saw Hannah Haesaert sprinting along her right, sending a through ball her way.
Haesaert tracked down the loose ball, but was quickly pushed to the ground in the back by a defender. With the foul coming inside the 18-yard box, South Hadley was given a penalty kick.
With the weight of the season on the line, Haesaert ran up to the ball, aiming for the bottom right corner of the net. She watched as Littleton’s keeper dove the wrong direction, tying the game and eventually sending it to overtime.
“We were getting forward, and we were putting a lot of pressure on their center backs and their goalie,” South Hadley head coach Rich Marjanski said. “And so we were able to capitalize on that, go to overtime, and then, as soon as you get to sudden death, anything can happen.”
In overtime, South Hadley continued to control the majority of the possession, earning a corner kick with just under eight minutes left in the extra period.
Ally Fleury took the kick from the left corner, sending a powerful kick toward the net that was just inches from being an ‘Olimpico’ goal.
In what turned out to be the final game of their high school careers, South Hadley’s seniors, led by Fleury, played their hearts out, with emotions high after the final whistle.
“[The seniors] put in a huge amount of time into the program and really brought it out towards the end of the year, this year,” Marjanski said. “I’m super, super proud to be their coach. They rose to every challenge that I put in front of them.”
Fleury’s overtime corner was one of many throughout the night for South Hadley, coming close many times, but ultimately unable to capitalize on any of the opportunities.
About nine minutes into the first half, South Hadley had its best scoring chance of the night. On a free kick from just outside the box, Haesaert sent a hard shot at the net that smacked off the crossbar, and was followed up by a header that went into the arms of the Littleton keeper.
Mikayla Weaver had multiple close chances of her own, beginning the game with an early breakaway, but just dribbled the ball a little bit too far in front of herself, losing possession. Halfway through the second half, the junior found herself open in the middle, shooting just wide of the left post.
“This is the time of the year when you’ve got to finish, and you can’t leave those chances out there,” Marjanski said. “And so when you’ve got them, you’ve just got to capitalize them. So when you see them go wide, and you see him go over or left, you just think of like, how many more chances you’re gonna get.”
When scoring chances came for Littleton on Thursday, it made sure to cash in. South Hadley had the ball in the offensive end for most of the game, leaving very few opportunities to score on the opposing side.
Littleton’s overtime winner came on a rush up the left sideline, crossing the ball over to the right and sending a pass back to the middle for a one-timer into the twine.
The first goal of the night for Littleton occurred with 14:13 left in the second half. A deep shot from well outside the box was placed perfectly in the top of the net to make the score 1-0.
With Littleton making the most of its two best chances, a state semifinals date with Southwick, is next .
South Hadley may have come just inches away from taking home the victory and moving on, but the 2025 season will still be looked back on fondly.
“This is probably one of the hardest schedules that I’ve ever played in,” Marjanski said. “For the seniors to step up and win a Western Mass. championship, after going 8-7-1, and then rolling that into the state playoffs, I couldn’t ask for anything more from them.”
The Tigers finished the year with a 13-8-1 record.
South Hadley’s Allison Fleury (6) charges upfield against Littleton in the second half of the MIAA Division 4 girls soccer state quarterfinal game Thursday night in South Hadley. DAN LITTLE/For the Gazette 
South Hadley’s Cara Dean (12) charges upfield against Littleton in the first half of the MIAA Division 4 girls soccer state quarterfinal game Thursday night in South Hadley. DAN LITTLE/For the Gazette 
South Hadley players react after their 2-1 overtime loss to Littleton in the MIAA Division 4 girls soccer state quarterfinal game Thursday night in South Hadley. DAN LITTLE/For the Gazette
Div. 2
King Philip Regional 2, Northampton 0 — The Blue Devils were held off the scoreboard in their Round of 8 defeat in Wrentham.
Northampton, the 14th seed, wrapped up its 2025 season with a 13-5-3 record.
