LUDLOW — The Northampton girls soccer team is not short on experience nor goalscorers. Multiple key seniors have been playing on varsity for the Blue Devils for four seasons, while four upperclassmen had multiple goals to their names heading into the team’s second matchup at Ludlow.
But on Monday, Northampton saw a different duo find the back of the net.
Rather than their typical scorers, it was a senior who netted her first goal of the season and a freshman who got the job done for the Blue Devils.
Senior captain Olivia Busone scored her first goal of the season to break a scoreless tie in the second half, while freshman Isla Claps netted a pair to lead the squad to a 3-0 win for their second win over Ludlow this season.
“It’s very important to have that variety and diversity (of scoring),” Northampton head coach Vanessa Butynski said. “If you have one it’s pretty easy to defend. We have a very experienced team and we have a lot of options that can put the ball in the back of the net.”
The Lions came into the game familiar with Northampton’s attack and packed the box to prevent passes going through the middle. The Blue Devils struggled to get any clean looks at the net.
“We weren’t able to get our normal connection rate,” Butynski said. “Our speed of play was a little slow. We took too many touches and kind of forced things. I think we did it to ourselves.”
After halftime, Butynski moved Busone from midfield to the front line to inject some energy on offense.
“That infectious work rate that she has kind of shifted to the entire team and that ripple effect caused everyone to step up,” Butynski said. “She’s a workhouse. I could put her anywhere and she would do fantastic.”
Thirteen minutes into the half, senior Willow Claps brought the ball up the left side of the field, almost to the endline. Her crossing pass managed to make it into the center of the box where Busone gave the ball a quick tap to the back corner.
“She’s a very strong player. She’s going to get the ball back to the middle,” Busone said. “So I was like, ‘get ready for the ball and be ready to shoot,’ because I knew she would pass it and cross it to us.”
Once a relied upon goalscorer–scored more than 20 goals her freshman year– Busone moved to the defensive midfield position this season when the team needed someone to fill the role.
“It’s great because I get to help my team in a different way,” Busone said. “But I got to go back to what I used to do for a second.”
With under 20 minutes left in the game, the younger Claps had the ball inside the box. A Ludlow defender deflected her initial shot back to her. Her second attempt resulted in a low shot that rolled to the bottom corner of the net to put Northampton up 2-0.
But the freshman was not done. Less than a minute later, she quickly brought the ball up the right side of the field. Seemingly with almost no angle, she found the space to get a clean shot off that punched into the top left corner of the goal, extending the Blue Devils’ lead.
“I just took that shot. I didn’t really know what was going to happen,” Isla Claps said. “I sort of just went for it.”
Most high school ninth graders are not known commodities when they show up to tryouts in the fall, but Claps is one of the few exceptions. She received a waiver to play on Northampton’s junior varsity team as an eighth grader last season.
Plus, her older sister, Willow, has been a four-year starter for the Blue Devils, making Isla a familiar face to her teammates and coaches.
“I’m so happy I can be on a team with all these girls,” Isla Claps said. “With my sister being a senior, it’s always special to have that sister bond with her here.”
And now she is a major contributor to a team that is 8-0-1.
“We come to everything super ready with a good mindset where we can all have fun but still have a focused mindset,” Isla Claps said. “That really helps us out and holds us together.”
Busone is among the seniors who have been on the varsity team since 2023. Each year, the squad has ventured further into the playoffs, going from a first round exit as freshmen to the state quarterfinals last year. Before this year, the group discussed making it even deeper into the postseason as one of its goals.
“It’s my last year,” Busone said. “This year we’re going to go further and we’re going to win.”
Granby 1, Amherst 0 — The Rams remain undefeated after beating the Hurricanes for the second time this season. Amherst played a much strong game this time around, holding Granby to just the one goal.
McKenna Zumbruski scored the lone goal in the game off a pass from Margo Healy. Meredith Bartosz stopped nine shots in the shutout.
Aliya Morales-Fernandez made 10 saves for Amherst.
Holyoke 7, Central 3 — The Purple Knights snatched their second straight win thanks to another incredible performance from Kyra Lippman.
Holyoke’s star factored into all seven goals, with six goals and one assist against the Golden Eagles. Lippman’s third goal of the contest counted as the 100th of her career.
Lippman has now scored 13 goals in the past two games.
Belchertown 3, Westfield 2 — The Orioles scored three goals for the second time in as many games in the victory over the Bombers.
Morghan Litz snagged a pair of strikes, while Lia Pikul picked up two helpers for Belchertown. Aubrey Klingensmith had the O’s other goal.
Belchertown goalie Ava Stelmokas made five saves.
Hampshire 5, Monson 0 — Claire Pickard’s hat trick propelled the Raiders to their third consecutive win.
Addie Miklasiewicz dished out two assists as Hampshire’s only other player with multiple points. Katelyn Krause and Maggie Lashway scored for the Raiders as well.
Hampshire’s goalkeeper duo of Karaghan Rogalski and Emilia Berrena earned their second clean sheet in a row.
Boys soccer
Smith Voc. 10, Ware 0 — The Vikings had themselves a game, finding the back of the net 10 times against Ware. Jaxie Parshal scored four times and added an assist as the high point-getter on the day.
Josh Cole scored twice and Henry Sadler had three assists on a day when five players tallied two or more points. Ty Sattler and Jakoby Blair-Fredette had one goal and one assist each.
Joel Charbonneau and Zach Rimany rounded out the scoring for Smith Voc. Andrew Theroux added an assist.
Easthampton 2, Mt. Greylock 2 — The Eagles fought hard in a tie against Mt. Greylock. All four goals were scored in the first half.
Luc Tetreault tied the game at one on a pass from Evan Davis. The Eagles briefly took the lead a minute later when Tetreault found Henry Thibodeau for the goal.
Lewin Coady made five saves.
PVCICS 1, McCann 1 — The Dragons played a strong game against an undefeated McCann Tech team.
In the 27th minute, Aiden Kailola scored the game tying goal from an assist by Henry Tuttle.
PVCICS goal keeper Wyatt Humphrey made 5 saves.
South Hadley 1, Central 1 — Hunter Keller found twine for the Tigers in the draw with the Golden Eagles.
South Hadley goalie Xzavies Rosario registered five saves.
Field hockey
Amherst 2, Northampton 0 — Two goals from Chiara Biagi lifted the Hurricanes past the Blue Devils.
Northampton goalie Abby Xu concluded with seven saves in the loss, while Amherst keeper Kayla Kim notched the shutout with three saves.
West Springfield 4, Hampshire 0 — The Terriers were too much for the Raiders in the defeat.
Hampshire goalies Grace Layman (four saves) and Sarah Zajac (five saves) were busy in this one.
Girls volleyball
Renaissance 3, Smith Voc 0 — The Vikings could not break through against the Phoenix once again, falling for the second time this season.
Set scores were 20-25, 21-25, 18-25.
Golf
Easthampton 173, Chicopee 256 — The Eagles were no match for the Pacers at Chicopee Country Club.
Tanner Kmetz earned medalist honors with a 42 for Easthampton, while Angelo Torchia (43), Jacob Murrett (44) and Maeve Lorring (44) rounded out its team score.
The Eagles remain undefeated at 11-0.
Belchertown 157, Amherst 181 — The Orioles’ duo of Andrew Wright and Luke Heroux both shot two-over par 38 in their win over the ‘Canes at Cold Spring Country Club.
Wesley Hill (40) and William Mitus (41) factored into Belchertown’s total score too.
Amherst’s Graham Van Geissen challenged for medalist honors, shooting a 39.
Franklin Tech 165, Hopkins 185 — The Golden Hawks couldn’t keep pace with the Eagles in the loss at Westover Golf Course.
Siddharth Parmar served as Hopkins’ low scorer, carding a 44.
Weekend results
Boys soccer
Belchertown 1, West Springfield 1 — The Orioles battled the reigning Div. 2 state champs to a tie on Saturday.
Lucas Haluch evened the game for Belchertown with a second-half strike.
Mt. Greylock 2, Hampshire 1 — Vynce Carr scored for the Raiders in their loss to the Mounties on Friday.
Isaiah Isa made five saves in net for Hampshire.
Girls soccer
South Hadley 1, Granby 1 — The Tigers and Rams played to a draw on Saturday, with both teams scoring in the second half.
Jenna Sabourin slotted in South Hadley’s goal, while Kalli White tallied Granby’s marker.
Goalies Olivia Athas (four saves) and Meredith Bartosz (11 saves) were active.
Belchertown 3, Ludlow 0 — Aubrey Klingensmith pocketed another hat trick for the Orioles in their shutout against the Lions on Saturday.
Ava Stelmokas needed to make just two saves for the clean sheet for Belchertown.
Hampshire 8, Monument Mtn. 0 — Three-point games from Shayne Moynahan (hat trick) and Morgan Lawler (three assists) powered the Raiders to victory on Saturday.
Hampshire’s Sammi Moreau (twice) Addie Miklasiewicz, Katie Krause and Audrina Whittaker also scored for Hampshire.
Karaghan Rogalski and Emilia Berrena combined for the four-save shutout.
Girls volleyball
SICS 3, Holyoke 1 — The Purple Knights let a 1-0 set advantage slip in the loss to the Bulldogs on Friday.
Set scores were 25-15, 22-25, 19-25, 14-25.
Kelcy Brunelle (15 kills), Tatiana Gonzalez (14 assists) and Nemesis Torres Sanchez (10 digs) led Holyoke.
