H.S. Soccer: Northampton Blue Devils advance to Final Four with 2-0 win over Agawam

LUDLOW — The No. 2 Northampton boys soccer team defeated No. 26 Agawam 2-0 in Friday night’s MIAA Division 2 state tournament Round of 8 matchup.

Fourteen minutes into the first half, Bishop Loughrey controlled the ball for the Blue Devils up the left side, looking for an opportunity to cross. His long pass headed right out front of the goal, where Jasper Cantor was there to put an easy finish into the back of the net to open the scoring.

Getting the first goal of the match was huge for Northampton’s momentum, never letting off the gas pedal. The Blue Devils kept constant pressure on the Brownies’ backline, maintaining possession in the offensive end for the majority of the match.

“We were very fortunate to unlock it early and get that first goal,” Blue Devils’ head coach CJ Holt said. “The first goal in games like this goes so far, to just kind of calm the nerves.”

Northampton’s game plan coming in was to make Agawam’s goalkeeper uncomfortable. Scoring chances came consistently throughout the 80 minutes, but time and time again the Brownies stayed alive.

That was, until there were 14 minutes left on the clock.

Attacking a loose ball just outside the box, Tate Norsen was pushed in the back by a defender, drawing a free kick in a prime scoring position.

Cantor ran up to take the free kick, looking for his second goal of the night. Despite the initial shot being saved, Sam Busone made sure to follow the play, corralling the rebound and depositing it across the goal line.

The big insurance goal allowed the Blue Devils to play more defensive, milking the rest of the clock and punching their ticket to the Final Four against a stingy opponent.

Friday night was the third time the two teams met this season, with Northampton victorious in each prior bout. Even with two wins in the past, the Blue Devils knew this match would be difficult.

“It’s hard to beat a team three times,” Holt said. “It’s always more difficult to beat a team the third time, to kind of unlock them, because they know you so well. Our guys knew that coming in, and we were ready for whatever [the Brownies] presented to us in terms of challenges.”

In each of the three matches throughout the year, Northampton held Agawam scoreless, priding itself on stout defense.

Multiple clean sheets is quite an accomplishment, and one that took the buy in of all 11 players on the pitch.

Armany Rodriguez and Rhys MacLachlan held things down on the back line at centerback, putting together another solid game of defense to limit the Brownies to very few scoring chances Friday night.

“We’re that confident in them, that they can communicate and organize enough that we don’t have to pay special attention to any one player or one thing a team’s doing,” Holt said of the duo. “They’ve played every minute of every game… Those two boys deserve a lot of credit for tonight and all the other shout-outs for sure.”

With the victory, the Blue Devils are moving on to the Final Four. They’ll take on No. 11 West Springfield in the next round, a team they tied, 1-1, earlier this season.

As another familiar foe comes up next on the schedule, Northampton is set on making the most of the opportunity.

“[West Springfield’s] got a very good team,” Holt said. “… We’ll be ready for the challenge. These guys are really up for it, and we’re looking forward to getting another shot at them.”

The Final Four matchup will be played on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at Ludlow High School, kicking off at 6 p.m.

“I’m just really super focused on just five wins, and we’ve won three,” Holt said. “We have two more for a state title. So that’s been our focus.”