Area boys soccer teams are back in action as the 2026 season is humming right along with a handful of teams out to great starts, while others look to kick into gear as October nears.
Northampton is mowing down the competition with a 6-0 record while Hampshire (3-0-2) and Gateway (2-0-3) are the other local teams yet to have suffered a defeat as of Wednesday afternoon.
Six Hampshire County programs made the MIAA state tournament last season, however no area squads secured Western Mass. crowns in 2025.
Here’s a closer look at the nearby boys soccer teams:
Amherst
The Hurricanes were unbeaten through four games to start the 2026 campaign, however a shutout loss to Northampton on Sept. 17 seems to have halted Amherst’s momentum, which now sits at 2-2-2.
During the 2025 season, the ‘Canes dropped eight of its final 11 contests and hope to avoid a similar scenario this fall.
Head coach Jordan McCarthy has 10 seniors scattered throughout his varsity roster, with Eliam De Los Reyes and Fernando Aguila serving as team captains.
Alex Pobezinskiy has been a bright spot on offense so far for Amherst.
Belchertown
The Orioles haven’t gotten going yet this season, still searching for their first win with five games in the books.
Losing Tim Haley to graduation was always going to be difficult to overcome, yet head coach Zach Siano noted Ryan Lacroix, Henry Mueller and Jacob Gladu are players to watch for Belchertown.
“The team finished third in the highly competitive Smith League (top boys soccer league) for the 2025 campaign,” Siano said. “We are hoping to build on that modest success and parlay it into returning to the form with reclaiming a Western Mass. crown that has eluded us after winning four consecutive titles, along with a return trip to the Final Four.”
The Orioles fell in the Western Mass. semifinals and in the Round of 16 of the MIAA Division 3 state tournament a year ago.
Easthampton
Head coach Andrew Lawrence will strive to lead his squad back into the MIAA Div. 4 state tournament after missing out in 2025 with a 6-9-2 record.
The Eagles are loaded with upperclassmen and Lawrence expects Luc Tetreault, Lucas Federov-Defalco, Noah Terry-Loughnane, Liam Scott-Smith, Jude Pratt-Miranda and Ivan Skazka to be impact players this season.
Easthampton is 2-3 so far in 2026.
Gateway
The Gators will have a great opportunity to surpass last season’s eight-win mark, despite only playing 12 games this fall.
Gateway will lean heavily on goalkeeper Zachary Hess, one of the most experienced goalies in the area, to backbone the team.
Jacob Maynard, Boone Briggs and Weston Anderson will also be integral pieces for head coach Andrew McCaul’s group.
Gateway advanced to the MIAA Div. 5 state tournament Round of 32 with a preliminary round win over MATCH Charter last season.
Granby
The 2025 season was an underwhelming one for the Rams as they failed to qualify for the state tournament with a 5-10-3 record.
Head coach Todd Dorman has Granby playing well to open the 2026 season though as it sits at 3-2, despite losing some experienced pieces to graduation from last year’s team.
Goalkeeper Daniel Santiago tops that list, however Brandon Carillion will make up the gap on the attack as the Rams’ most polished player with four years of varsity experience.
Granby lost in the quarterfinal round of the Western Mass. tournament to Monson last year.
Hampshire
The Raiders were a tough out in 2025, concluding with a 8-8-2 record and a preliminary round win in the MIAA Div. 4 state tournament and look to take the next step this season.
Riley Florek, Eli Fern and Jack Cameron having been lighting it up on offense to this point for Hampshire, while goalkeeper Isaiah Isa hasn’t allowed more than two goals in a game so far.
Josh Wietecha is the Raiders’ head coach once again.
Holyoke
The Purple Knights have found themselves among the teams looking to turn things around as they’ve only snagged one win in five games to open the 2026 campaign.
Holyoke reached double-digit wins a year ago (11) and earned a berth into the MIAA Div. 3 state tournament after winning just two games the year prior.
Head coach Cameron Rivest has an intriguing mix of experience and youth on this year’s team and highlighted Xevier Davila, Isaiah Frazer, Nayan Tabin, Senly Lovesone Noel, Patrick Smith O’Connor and Lyderson Albert as players to keep an eye on.
Hopkins
The Golden Hawks had a respectable season in 2025 at 7-9-3, following a mass exodus of seniors to graduation the year before.
Despite that, head coach John Fillio has his sights set on the team’s first state tournament appearance since taking over the program in 2024.
Fillio revealed Nate Rickles, Owen Cain, Wyatt Soriano and Jason Campbell will be the Hawks’ players to watch this season.
Northampton
This could be a season to remember for the Blue Devils, who look like a well-oiled machine through six games this season.
Northampton already avenged its MIAA Div. 2 state semifinal loss to West Springfield earlier this week, and likely have similar aspirations for its upcoming game against Longmeadow, who got the better of the Blue Devils in last fall’s Western Mass. championship.
Will Senn-McNally, Sam Busone and Madden Hatoum headline Northampton’s 14-player senior class, while Zane Poehler looks to be an everyday contributor as a junior.
The Blue Devils haven’t skipped a beat since former assistant Matt Card took over for Cliff Holt as head coach this season.
PVCICS
The Dragons will look to field a competitive team this fall after earning just three wins last season.
Sebastian Blanchard Nieves and Sean Wallace will serve as PVCICS’ top players, per head coach Michael Locher.
The Dragons are currently 1-4.
Smith Academy
It’ll be a rebuilding year for the Falcons this fall, who have just two upperclassmen on their 18-player roster.
“It’s going to take a team effort this year with many new players as well as returning players assuming increased roles on the team,” head coach Jason Duncan, who won his 200th career game in 2025, said.
Smith Academy went 8-9-1 last year and lost in the Western Mass. semifinals. The Falcons have not won through five games in 2026.
“This will be the youngest varsity soccer team we’ve had during my tenure as coach,” Duncan said.
South Hadley
Following a surprise run to last season’s MIAA Div. 4 Round of 16, the Tigers seem to have carried some of that momentum over to this season as they’ve opened with a 3-1 record.
Goalkeeper Xzavies Rosario looks sharp to start for South Hadley while Peter Barone has already registered a hat trick.
Smith Voc
The Vikings are three-time defending league champs, but have stumbled out the chute to start this season with a 1-3-1 record.
Josh Cole will be relied on to pace Smith Voc up front while Jacob Maloney and Henry Sadler will strive fortify its depth.
Smith Voc head coach Ryan Della Penna will integrate nine freshmen into his lineup this fall.
