The field hockey season is underway in the Pioneer Valley and several local squads have lofty aspirations on the turf this fall.
Belchertown, Smith Academy and South Hadley will look to return to the MIAA state tournament while Amherst, Northampton and Hampshire will attempt to build momentum after rebuilding seasons in 2025.
Holyoke, which went winless last season, will join forces with Smith Academy in a co-op program.
Here’s more info on each of the active Hampshire County teams:
Amherst
The Hurricanes nearly reached a .500 winning percentage after going 7-8-3 in 2025.
Sarah Bugbee is back as Amherst’s head coach for the fifth season, which returns plenty of experience with a roster featuring mostly underclassmen last year.
Amherst hasn’t gotten out of the gates the best this season at 0-2-1, but ample time remains to turn things around.
Belchertown
Expect big things from the Orioles this season as they have the talent to make a deep postseason run.
Headlining Belchertown’s roster is junior midfielder Kina Roy, who has more than 60 career points, senior midfielder Addi DiBona, who will continue her field hockey career at Springfield College after graduation and senior goalie Lila Roy, who was stellar during the 2025 season.
Belchertown went 13-2-3 last season, but a loss in the Western Mass. Class B final as well as a one-goal defeat in the Round of 32 in the MIAA Division 3 state tournament put a damper on an otherwise flawless 2025 campaign.
Head coach Dina Brunetti returns for her fourth year at the helm and has the Orioles flying early on, opening the 2026 season at 2-0.
“We are hoping to come in toward the top of our league and really hoping for a shot at Class B Western Mass.,” Brunetti said.
Hampshire
The Raiders will rely on their senior class heavily this season with the hopes of attaining a winning record.
Senior captains Neely Rondeau and Lily Connor are players to watch, per head coach Susannah Bastek.
Hampshire finished at 7-10-1 a year ago and just missed a MIAA state tournament berth.
“This is [Hampshire’s] seventh year as an MIAA team,” Bastek said. “We have four returning seniors who are captaining the team. We are very hopeful we will be competitive in our league and play consistently across the season. The players are excited to compete!”
Northampton
The Blue Devils are striving to take the next step as a program this fall following a couple of seasons where wins have been hard to come by.
Northampton has a huge roster of 18 players, with senior Ella Nykorchuk and sophomore Stella Ruberti expected to be impact players.
“Ella is a humble player who leaves an indelible mark on any game with impressive elimination and tackle skills,” Blue Devils head coach Meshia Begin said. “She’ll be an important player in the center midfield position and will contribute to our defensive and attacking corners this season.
“[Stella’s] ready to make an impact on the squad with high energy and work rate,” Begin added.
Northampton is winless through two games so far this season, but those results included a 1-0 loss and a 0-0 tie.
“Northampton is looking to create noise in the Valley league and make gains in our winning percentage with the strength of our team chemistry and game IQ,” Begin said.
Smith Academy
Similar to Belchertown, not much went wrong for the Falcons last regular season as it ran through the competition, before stumbling in the postseason for an earlier-than-expected end to their season.
Smith Academy went 14-2-2 in 2025, but fell in the Western Mass. Class B semifinals, then the Round of 32 of the MIAA Division 4 state tournament by a goal.
The Falcons bring back three of their star players in Bella Gavron, Chole Avery and Shae Moulton. Gavron and Moulton both already have 50 career points while Avery is likely to surpass 100 career saves as Smith Academy’s goalie.
Karlie Baranoski (previously Guimond) has the pieces in place to collect some hardware in her second season as the Falcons’ head coach.
South Hadley
In their first season back as a varsity program in two years in 2025, the Tigers put together an impressive 11-6 record, good enough to qualify for the MIAA Division 4 state tournament.
South Hadley has the potential to be even better this fall as it returns virtually its entire roster from a year ago.
The Tigers already look dangerous in 2026 as they have outscored opponents, 6-0, through two games.
