HADLEY — At times ruthlessly efficient, the Hopkins Academy boys soccer team ended its Western Massachusetts Division 4 quarterfinal against Hampden Charter long before the final whistle blew at 80 minutes.
The top-seeded Golden Hawks won 12-0 on Monday.
Hopkins (16-2-1) will face No. 4 Drury (12-7) after the Blue Devils beat No. 5 Westfield Tech, 3-2. The semifinals is Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Holyoke High School.
Ben Andersen put Hopkins on the board six minutes into the game on an assist by Mik Gnobo. He had a wide open side of the net after a cross near the 6-yard box.
Gnobo struck again with a goal in the 14th minute assisted by Mark Peirce. He took a through ball from Peirce from the top of the 18-yard box, poked the ball ahead to himself and finished to the bottom-left side of the net.
“You can’t panic,” Gnobo said. “You gotta relax first and just kick it in.”
No. 9 Hampden Charter (11-7-2) allowed an own goal in the 16th minute after the Wolves’ keeper didn’t catch a backward pass in the air because he was worried about a hand ball.
Jupiter Felter put Hopkins up 4-0 in the 18th minute unassisted.
“We wanted to get on them early and right away get control of the game,” Hopkins coach CJ Holt said.
The Golden Hawks switched their formation from a one-forward system to two forwards early in the game to be more attack-minded, and the goals kept coming.
Gage Spanknebel made it 5-0 in the 30th minute from Andersen, drilling a low shot one step inside the penalty box.
Four minutes later, he scored unassisted to make it 6-0. Spanknebel located the ball inside the penalty box after Hampden Charter’s goalie mishandled it, held off a defender on his back and flicked it into the net falling down.
Dougie Pierce put Hopkins up 7-0 in the 39th minute after he dribbled past a defender with a back heel to himself and a spin move, and hit the ball with his left foot.
“Honestly my mind went to blank,” Pierce said. “I don’t think about it, I just do it.”
John Earle helped Hopkins start the second half just as strong. He intercepted a goal kick and slammed the ball back into the net in the 42nd minute.
Andersen scored his second goal five minutes later on an assist from Uan O’Brien for a 9-0 lead.
The wind picked up in the 51st minute, sending corn husks spiraling through the air and the plastic bench coverings flying. The referees briefly stopped the game to let the wind subside.
“That was super crazy, it was like a mini tornado,” Pierce said.
Gnobo scored his second goal in the 56th minute unassisted.
At 10-0 the game was decided, so Holt pulled most of his starters and let his reserves and younger players finish the match.
Eric Belton found the net in the 65th minute on a pass from Noah Scanlon-Dean. It was Bolton’s first career point. The bench exploded in cheers.
“It’s always good for those guys, they’re excited to be a part of it,” Holt said. “We were able to create some great scoring chances with those boys out there.”
As the clock wound down, Holt’s seniors begged him to finish the game. It was their last game on Hopkins’ field since the semifinals will be played at a neutral site. He acquiesced with 5 minutes left.
“It was important for them. I gave into that even though I would have liked to keep them where they’re safe off the pitch,” Holt said.
Andersen inadvertently completed a hat trick in the 77th minute when he scored directly off a corner kick. Hampden Charter’s goalie fumbled the ball after catching the cross, and it dribbled across the goal line.
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com.