H.S. boys soccer: Northampton continues to roll, shuts out reigning state champion West Springfield

NORTHAMPTON — Senior Sam Busone felt that he and the rest of the Northampton boys soccer team had a lot to prove heading into Tuesday’s home matchup against West Springfield, the defending MIAA Division 2 state champions.

He and his fellow seniors had yet to beat the Terriers in four matches dating back to their freshman year. The Terriers won the latest round, 1-0, in last year’s MIAA Division 2 semifinals. Busone thought the Blue Devils were the better team on paper but the game came down to, “us not showing that we wanted to win as much.”

Northampton did not forget that loss and dominated the early part of their schedule by going 5-0 while outscoring opponents 21-4.

“Our team gained a couple players coming up from JV,” Busone said. “We’ve build quite a bit of chemistry and we just have good players at every position.”

The Blue Devils made a statement early on Tuesday with two goals in the first 16 minutes of the game. While West Springfield made a push to get some shots in the second half, Northampton got the redemption it wanted with the 3-0 victory.

“To end our season last year, like all that hurt,” senior Will Senn-McNally said. “We just used it for fuel for this game and we came out with good results.”

About 11 minutes into the first half, Senn-McNally made a push up the left side of the field, holding possession while trying to get around his defender. Once he got deep into the offensive zone, he made a crossing pass into the box as senior Zane Poehler crashed toward the net and hit the ball across the goal line for the 1-0 lead.

Just a couple minutes later, Busone made a run up the left sideline as well with the ball. Like McNally, he made a crossing pass into the box, this time the pass was unexpectedly stopped by a West Springfield defender, causing goalie Mason Hamel to leap too early. With a loose ball in the front of the net, Owen MacLachan tapped the ball to the back corner.

For a team that previously allowed more than one goal all season just once, West Springfield found itself in an usual deficit.

“Once we put two in the net, they were on the back foot the whole time chasing goals,” Busone said. “All we had to do was play simple. They would lunge and we would move around them every time.”

The Terriers appeared to get on the scoreboard in the first half. West Springfield got the ball past goalkeeper Madden Hatoum, but the goal was quickly waved off due to the play being offside.

Northampton stayed aggressive throughout the half, kicking seven shots on net.

“We are able to move the ball really well, and then if you add the speed on top of that it’s a great addition to our wheelhouse,” Northampton head coach Matt Card said.

West Springfield raised the pressure in the second half, forcing the Blue Devils to get the ball up the field quicker. While Northampton did not dominate possession like it did in the first half, it continued to generate multiple scoring opportunities.

Senn-McNally added the final goal off a throw-in off to the side of the box. Bishop Loughrey’s toss lobbed high in front of the net. Senn-McNally heard the goalie come for the ball and his header connected just right to land it on target in the back of the net.

Knowing they couldn’t give West Springfield a chance to get back in the game, Card emphasized staying on the attack for the entire game.

“Two-nil is a very dangerous score in (soccer) so wanted to get that next goal and keep playing the way we were,” Card said.

Now with a 6-0 record, Northampton is one game away from tying last fall’s seven-game winning-streak to open the season. While the focus shifts to Thursday’s game at Pittsfield, the team’s confidence continues to grow.

“I think right now, we are one of the best teams in Western Mass.,” Busone said. “I think we’re going to keep this going.”