H.S. Roundup: South Hadley newcomers stand out in playoff rematch

HATFIELD — For those who were at last year’s Western Mass. Class B field hockey semifinal between Smith Academy and South Hadley, Wednesday’s rematch brought more anticipation for a season opener than most years.

Smith Academy head coach Karlie Baranoski hoped for redemption after the Falcons let a fourth quarter lead slip away in a 2-1 loss to the Tigers in the playoffs. Meanwhile the Tigers wanted to pick up from where they left off in 2025.

With key players returning on both sides, the effects from that game remained.

But it was the performance of two players in their first varsity game that sparked South Hadley to the 4-0 victory at Smith Academy on a rainy afternoon.

Two eighth graders, Kiera Pecia, and Kenslie LaBarre, new to the rivalry, stepped up on both ends of the field for the Tigers. Pecia scored the team’s first goal of the season while LaBarre stopped every shot in front of her in net.

“They both came out and did their job,” South Hadley head coach Nicole Casolari said. “I couldn’t hesitate on that opportunity to put them in the game.”

After getting a corner at the buzzer in the first quarter, South Hadley drew another foul to get a second opportunity. The Tigers got the ball toward the net and Pecia found herself in the right place to get a shot up close and put her team up 1-0 heading into the second quarter.

It was a sigh of relief for the young player who was excited heading into her first varsity field hockey game.

“My teammates and coach told me to play like how I always play,” Pecia said. “I was a little nervous at first, but (after the goal) I was fine.”

“She’s awesome,” junior Ella Haber said. “A lot of emotions after she scored. We were all very excited.”

The score remained the same until midway through the third quarter when junior Nora Vaughn snuck behind the Falcon’s defense and received a pass as she broke to the circle and beat the goalie to extend the lead.

Later in the quarter, South Hadley began to pull away as Haber notched her first goal of the season.

Smith Academy responded by upping the pressure on offense, hoping to generate more shots on net. With the few the Falcons got off, LaBarre managed to block or kick away.

Junior Sam Harrison put the finishing touches on the game with a goal in the fourth quarter.

While teams often are figuring out what works and doesn’t work in the first game of the season, the Tigers’ performance serves as a high bar for a team looking return to the Class B finals after losing to Southwick last year.

“We all played really well. I’m proud of all of us,” Haber said. “It was a team effort and my teammates did a really good job.”

Wednesday also represented first game for Smith Academy since the team lost its equipment shed in August. A lightning strike burned down the shed with more than $2,000 in equipment inside.

While most team’s aren’t used to seeing their equipment lost in an instant, Baranoski said the event has brought the team and Hatfield community together. Through donations, Smith Academy has recovered most of what was lost within a week.

“If anything, it was motivator for this team to remember that it’s not always about the equipment, it’s about the people on the team who make it successful,” she said.

She added that the lightning was “a new beginning” for the Falcons.

Facing a plethora of shots from South Hadley, junior goalie Chloe Avery made 14 saves, reaching 100 for her career at Smith.

The two teams will see each other again on Oct. 2 at South Hadley. In the near term, the Falcons head to Southwick next Tuesday while the Tigers travel to Mohawk Trail on Friday.

Field Hockey

Belchertown 6, Amherst 0 — The Orioles came out firing in their first game of the season. Kian Roy had a hand in almost every goal, scoring twice and adding three assists.

Shannon Fuller (two goals) and Jocelyn Mcmanon (one goal, two assists) also tallied multiple points in the game.

Addi DiBoax scored a goal as well for Belchertown. Gianna Zenon picked up an assist.

Kayla Kim made 19 saves for Amherst in the loss.

Golf

Easthampton 167, Monson 186 — Three golfers shot 43 or better for Easthampton at Quabog Country Club. Amelia Gruber was the low-scorer after shooting a 38 for the Eagles.

Tanner Kmetz shot a 39, beating Monson’s top performer by three strokes. Jacob Murret (43) and Brady McGinn-Stevens (47) also scored for Easthampton.

Smith Vocational 166, Turner Falls 195 — Pat Dabrowski shot a 39 to lead the Vikings to a comfortable win at Wyckoff Country Club in Holyoke on Wednesday.

Nate Lindahl (41), Keller McMahon (43), and Jayson Clark all scored for Smith Voc on the day.

Hampshire 163, Belchertown 170 — Hampshire pulled out a nailbiter at Cold Spring Country Club.

Belchertown’s Luke Heroux and Hampshire’s Brayden Fennessy each shot par (36) on the day.

Kameron Locke shot a 41 for the Raiders while Wes Adamski, Colby Cabrini, and Cole Boissonneault were tied at 43. The Raiders improve to 3-1 on the year.

Wesley Hill (42), Gavin Couchron (45), and Andrew Wright (47) scored for the Orioles.

Boys soccer

Easthampton 3, Holyoke 1 — The Eagles are off to a 2-0 start to the year after a solid win over Holyoke. Lucas Federov-Defalco scored twice in the game. Evan Davis’ second half goal proved to be the game-winner. Lewin Coady made 10 saves in net for Easthampton.

Isiah Frazer scored the lone goal for Holyoke off an assist by Nayan Tabin.

Franklin Tech 3, Smith Vocational 2 — The Vikings fell in the their season opener in a tight matchup against Franklin Tech.

Josh Cole scored the Vikings first goal, then got the assist on a goal from Henry Sadler.

Volleyball

Chicopee 3, Holyoke 2 — Down two sets to zero, the Knights won back-to-back sets before losing 15-12 in the final set against Chicopee.

Kelcy Brunelle led Holyoke with 17 kills while adding two blocks and two assists. Nemesis Torres Sanchez tallied 16 digs on defense and slammed three kills of her own. Tatiana Gonzalez totaled 26 assist in the match. Addison Rodriguez led the team with three aces.

Ludlow 3, Belchertown 2 — The Orioles fell to 0-2 after a five-set loss to Ludlow.

Junior Cassidy MacLean led Belchertown with 15 kills, adding a block and three digs on defense. Senior Kaiya Cavanaugh (26) and junior Alexa Raymer (12) each reached double-figure dig counts.

Olivia Skora, a junior, filled up the stat sheet. She tallied 25 assists, seven digs, three aces, and two kills on the night.

Monument Mountain 3, Granby 0 — The Rams were swept in the Berkshires in their opening match of the season.

Late Tuesday scores

Boys cross country

Northampton 18, Chicopee Comp 40; Northampton 15, Agawam 45; Northampton 20, Chicopee 39 — The Blue Devils dominated in their first cross country meet of the season by beating all three teams they faced on Tuesday. Henry Daggett (second, 18:03), Charlie Sidoti (third, 18:04), and Owen Daggett (fourth, 18:11) all placed in the top five.

Liam Hoogendyk (sixth, 18:42) broke 19 minutes, while Kai Carduner (eighth, 19:39) and Eli Wool (ninth, 20:16) rounded out the top 10 for the Blue Devils.

Girls cross country

Northampton 19, Chicopee Comp. 42; Northampton 16, Chicopee 47; Northampton 17, Agawam 40 — Three Blue Devils finished within 22 seconds of each other to take the top three spots in their first meet of the season.

Northampton’s Katie Munson won the four team meet with a time of 23:00. She was followed by teammates Simona Lobdell Loveless (second, 23:13) and Mairead O’Neil (third, 23:22).

Miriam Poe (sixth, 25:06) and Olive Chang (tenth, 26:32) also picked up top 10 finishes for the Northampton.

Boys soccer

Westfield Tech 9, Smith Academy 1 — The Falcons took a tough loss to open their season. Boden Crevier scored the team’s lone goal on an assist by Nate Maloney.

Callen Payne made 15 saves for Smith Academy.

Girls soccer

Hopkins Academy 4, Ware 3 — Morgan Augustin started her season strong by scoring three goals in the Golden Hawks opening win. Teammate Avelynn Augustin assisted on each goal. Ephie Vissas also notched a goal.

Three players for Ware found the back of the net. Thanishka Cordero, Emily Koczur, and Moly McGrail each tallied a goal for the Indians. Emily Jones recorded seven saves in the loss.

Belchertown 3, East Longmeadow 2 — Morghan Litz scored and added an assist in Belchertown’s win over East Longmeadow. After leading 2-1 at halftime, the Orioles added a second half goal to secure the win.

Aubrey Klingensmith and Gabby Slovack also scored for Belchertown. Ava Stelmokas made five saves in net.

Volleyball

Springfield Central 3, Belchertown 1 — The Orioles came close to forcing a fifth set, but a 27-25 loss in the fourth set ended the team’s hope for a win to open the season. Belchertown won the second set 25-19 to tie the match 1-1 before dropping the next two sets.

Cassidy MacLean led Belchertown with six kills and was tied for the team lead with two blocks. Olivia Skora had 18 assists to go along with two kills and 10 digs. Kaiya Cavanaugh had 28 digs on defense.