NORTHAMPTON — Matt Card could not have asked for an easier transition into his first season as the head boys soccer coach at Northampton.
He stood on the sidelines last season as an assistant coach when the then-undefeated No. 2 Blue Devils fell in the Division II semifinals to West Springfield. Instead of having a rebuild season, he entered the year with a veteran team that features 14 seniors and six juniors
“I know this group quite well,” Card said. “Last year’s coach (C.J. Holt) set up a really great program.”
Knowing the heartbreak Northampton suffered last season, it comes as no surprise to Card to see his team on the attack this early in the season. After a 5-0 win to open the year, the Blue Devils followed with another dominate 6-2 win over Minnechaug on Thursday.
Will Senn-McNally or Zane Poehler had a hand in almost every Blue Devil goal in front of a lively home crowd combining for four goals and three assists.
Senior Owen MacLachlan scored the opening goal after a misplay by the Minnechaug goalie allowed him to get the ball in front of the net for an easy shot.
A few minutes later Senn-McNally broke away from his defender and received a leading pass into the offensive zone. He then sent a pass across the goalie back to Poehler who finished to put Northampton up 2-0.
“He’s a player that kicked on from last season,” Card said. “He’s great on the ball, but with finishing, I think he’s been working on it and it showed.”
The Falcons responded with back-to-back goals of their own to tie the game at two apiece.
“We were getting a little panicked,” Card said. “Just told them (at halftime) to regain their composure. We knew what we had to do.”
With less than nine minutes left in the half, Senn-McNally put his team ahead on a header off a pass from David Muszynski. It was his first two goals of the night. He also tallied two assists.
“We play a lot of crosses,” Senn-McNally said. “I wanted to find space for myself and find that back post. Their goalie wasn’t coming out for much so I knew there was going to be a lot of space.”
A senior caption who was a key contributor on last year’s team, Senn-McNally knows the team cannot rest on its laurels if it wants another deep playoff run.
“We want to play our game throughout the whole (season),” he said. “We can’t feed into what other teams want us to do.”
It was all Northampton in the second half. On a corner kick, Poehler found Armany Rodrgieuz in front of the net for a header. Poehler then scored his second goal of the game a few minutes later on a pass from Senn-McNally to put the team up 5-2.
Freshman Owen Miklau picked up his first assist of the season by finding Senn-McNally for the final goal of the game.
Goalies Madden Hatoum and Matthew Walko, both seniors, each played a half in net for Northampton. The duo combined to save three shots.
The West Springfield loss has been the “big talk” over the summer for the Blue Devils, Card explained. After being so close to a championship, his team does not plan to take any game off.
“We have clear goals that we want to achieve this year and they’re all focused,” he said.
Senn-McNally was more blunt about those goals.
“We’re coming for it all,” he said.
Northampton looks to make it three straigt wins when it heads to Agawam on Monday.
Northampton’s Owen MacLachlan, left, controls the ball during a soccer game against Minnechaug at Northampton High School, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II / Staff Photo 
Northampton’s Sam Busone (25) controls the ball during a soccer game against Minnechaug at Northampton High School, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II / Staff Photo 
Northampton’s Armany Rodriguez controls the ball during a soccer game against Minnechaug at Northampton High School, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II / Staff Photo 
Northampton’s Zane Poehler (21) attempts to move the ball past Minnechaug’s Eli Childers, left, during a soccer game at Northampton High School, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II / Staff Photo 
Northampton’s Will Senn-McNally celebrates after scoring a goal during a soccer game against Minnechaug at Northampton High School, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II / Staff Photo 
Northampton’s David Muszynski, center, looks to pass the ball during a soccer game against Minnechaug at Northampton High School, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II / Staff Photo 
Northampton’s Owen MacLachlan looks to gain control of the ball during a soccer game against Minnechaug at Northampton High School, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II / Staff Photo 
Northampton Head Coach Matt Card talks to the team during half time of a soccer game against Minnechaug at Northampton High School, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II / Staff Photo 
Northampton’s Armany Rodriguez (3) and Minnechaug’s Gavin Goldcick, back, compete for the ball during a soccer game at Northampton High School, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II / Staff Photo 
Northampton’s Armany Rodriguez looks to gain control of the ball during a soccer game against Minnechaug at Northampton High School, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II / Staff Photo 
Northampton’s Sam Busone, left, controls the ball during a soccer game against Minnechaug at Northampton High School, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. DANIEL JACOBI II / Staff Photo
Field Hockey
Frontier 3, Agawam 0 — The Brownies struggled to generate any offense on Thursday as Frontier goalie Brooke Charest recorded her 100th save in the shutout.
Addie Harrington scored and notched an assist to lead the Redhawks offense.
Goalkeeper Stella Christopher made 14 saves for Agawam.
Golf
Hampshire 174, Mohawk Trail 186 — The Raiders improve to 4-1 after a win at the Country Club of Greenfield.
Brayden Fennessy had a strong outing with a final score of 39.
Nico Johnson posted a sub-45 round with a 44. Cole Boissonneault (45) and Kameron Locke (46) also carded for Hampshire.
Boys soccer
Drury 2, PVCICS 1 — The Dragons held Drury scoreless into the second half before giving up two quick goals. Sean Wallace got PVCICS on the board after connecting on a penalty kick.
Simon Doherty-Girard made four saves for the Dragons, who drop to 0-2.
Agawam 2, Amherst 2 — The Hurricanes and Brownies picked up their first tie of the season.
Agawam’s Aidan Monaghan scored two goals while his counterpart Fernando Aguila matched him with a pair of his own goals for Amherst.
Joey Papadakis made five saves for the Brownies. Tobin Kaplan stopped four shots for Amherst.
Girls soccer
Hopkins 2, Chicopee 1 — Morgan Augustin and Bridget Benoit each found the back of the net to lead the Hawks to their second win of the season.
Hannah Guggino-Laramie made five saves for Hopkins.
Smith Vocational 3, Hoosac Valley 0 — The Vikings did their damage early, scoring three first half goals at Hoosac Valley.
Isabella Letourneau scored the opening goal on a pass by Kate Wolcott. Letourneau then extended the lead with her second goal later in the half. Erin Miller chipped in with a goal as well.
Smith used two goalies in the game. Julianis Suarez saw little action in the first half before passing the gloves to Evelyn Wanczyk, who made one save in the second half.
Volleyball
Easthampton 3, Putnam 2 — The Eagles won their opening match of the year in a tough battle against Putnam. In the final set, Easthampton secured the win by two points, 15-13.
Camilla Corsello led the attack with nine kills. Kaylin Dumas added five of her own to go along with four digs and three aces.
Summer Routhier dominated from behind the service line, generating 10 aces.
Brooke Skowron contributed on both sides of the ball, leading the team in assists and digs, tallying 19 and 11 respectively.
Late Wednesday scores
Boys soccer
Hampshire 4, Hopkins 0 — The Raiders came strong in their first game of the season. Vynce Carr scored two goals in the first half. After halftime, he added an assist on a goal by Patrick Schmidt.
Schmidt scored his second goal later in the second half. Eli Fern and Jack Cameron each notched an assist on the day. Isaiah Isa made three saves for the Raiders.
South Hadley 7, Chicopee Comp 1 — The Tigers came out firing against Chicopee Comp on Wednesday. Junior Peter Barone recorded a hat-trick for South Hadley.
Alex Linnehan had a multi-goal game as well with a pair of scores. Brandon Bregu and Martin Dixon added a goal apiece.
The Tigers got assists from Chris Sotiropoulos, Ryan Trudel, and Danny Beaulieu.
Goalie Xzavies Rosario made three saves on the night for South Hadley.
Volleyball
Renaissance 3, Smith Vocational 1 — The Vikings dropped a close four set match to Renaissance. After winning the second set, Smith dropped the final two sets by scores 25-21 and 25-23.
Irelyn Marcoux led the team with 15 kills and had 20 blocks. Hecmarie Diaz-Lopez was busy on defense with 33 digs. Leah Franklin tallied 12 assists and 13 digs.
