WMass girls soccer: Margo Healy’s big day leads Granby to third straight Class D title (VIDEO)

CHICOPEE — Every practice, the Granby girls soccer team worked to perfect their corner kick plays. As the Rams marched through an undefeated regular season, the group was always communicated of where they needed to improve and set out the following practice to make the fix.

That work came to fruition during the Western Mass. Class D championship on Sunday. Margo Healy scored two goals off corner kicks for the Rams (16-0-3) in the first half against Hopkins (15-3-1) to lead the Rams to the 3-1 win for the programs third straight title.

“We’re really happy for this group,” Granby head coach Bob Weaver said. “There’s a group of seniors that have been with us since eighth grade. We got some really talented young girls that just mesh really well. They’ve done everything we’ve asked of them.”

Though just a freshman, Healy played the part of experienced upperclassman, stepping up in a big game, scoring in a variety of ways.

Halfway through the opening 40 minutes, the Rams ran a set play off the corner that began with a short pass to Bri-Anne Kraus, also a freshman. She then crossed a pass into the box, finding the head of Healy, who directed the ball into the net.

“Last year I really wanted to score in the Western Mass (tournament) but I didn’t get it done,” Healy said. “Getting the two early is really nice.”

Later in the half, another Granby corner kick found its way into the box. Again it was a freshman connection that led to a goal. This time Sophia Wright sent a header to Healy who snuck the shot in for the 2-0 lead.

“I’ll give Margo a huge amount of credit,” Weaver said. “She took huge strides this year. She’s talented with and without the ball. She knows how to get into those locations to finish. I can’t tell you how many head balls for goal she has this year.”

Hopkins briefly found some life in the second half. In a desperate need to get a shot on net, junior Morgan Augustin launched a shot that looked to be from the 30-yard line mark on the field. The ball stayed on a line and was perfectly place in the top right corner.

“Everyone really started to believe that they’re a beatable team, that we could do something with the game,” Hopkins Academy head coach Vincent Catania said. “I think that goal, even for our momentum going into the postseason, we’ll carry because it gave us a little bit of belief that we might’ve lost after the first two goals.”

The 2-1 score held for less than two minutes. For the third time on the afternoon, Healy had her named called, only this time it was for an assist. She passed to senior Kalli White who finished an open shot in the box to extend the lead back to two.

The Rams and Hawks have met in the last three Class D title games. Granby won on penalty kicks in 2024 and won 2-0 last year. After a heartbreaking loss in the state semifinals, the team has been focused on perfecting itself for another run in the postseason.

“We always want to win. It’s a great mentality to have after an undefeated season. We have that energy, ‘win the next one, win the next one,'” Healy said. “We want to go all the way to states.”