SPRINGFIELD – For the first 20 minutes of the second half, it seemed inevitable that the go-ahead goal was coming for the Frontier boys soccer team.
The third-seeded Redhawks were dominating possession and creating offensive chances against No. 2 Pope Francis in the semifinal round of the Western Mass. Class C Tournament. That’s been the case at times throughout the season for Frontier, but head coach Evan Horton said there’s been no guarantee that offensive pressure has correlated to goals.
“We’ve had those games where we’re chipping away, chipping away, and it never really comes,” offered Horton.
Enter Brady Burch.
The senior forward cashed in for the Hawks, and sent them through to the Western Mass. final in the process. Chanhee Son delivered a cross midway through the second half, and Burch buried it, scoring the only goal of the game to lift Frontier to a 1-0 victory.
“Give Brady Burch a couple inches and he’s going to put the ball in the net,” said Horton.
Frontier’s defense, buoyed by a standout performance on the outside from junior Jack Storm, shutting down a dangerous Pope Francis attack. Goalie Owen Babb made eight saves, but wasn’t seriously threatened for the majority of the afternoon. Horton also lauded the senior center back duo of Ngawang Deter and Matt Sicard for their efforts.
“We’ve been trying to get that four back line working together all year,” Horton said. “There’s nine guys that have played together on our back line this season in some way shape or form. We felt that moving [Deter] back to center back would make a difference. With him and Matt playing together, they’re both seniors, we can rotate guys on the outside to complement them.”
Saturday’s win will likely bolster Frontier’s state power ranking, as the Cardinals were the No. 1 team in the most recent Division 4 release. The Redhawks were No. 5, but may have a look at sneaking into a top four seed.
“I think the biggest thing for us is it was us doing the things we’ve tried all season to do,” said Horton of the win. “We’ve just been a step off the whole season when you look at the games we’ve tied and lost. This is our 17th game and this is the first game we’ve really put a Frontier effort in for 80 minutes. And this is what it can get you, knock off the No. 1 team in [Division 4]. Pope Francis is a really, really good team. They’ve got a lot of weapons. We knew it was going to take a massive effort for us to win.”
Now Frontier will try and win a sectional title, as it will play either No. 1 Springfield International or No. 5 Mount Greylock on Wednesday at 5 p.m. in a game to be played at Minnechaug Regional High School in Wilbraham. The other semifinal is slated for Sunday at 1 p.m.
Class C semis
Pope Francis 8, Mahar 0 — On the road in Springfield, the No. 6 Senators were unable to spring a second straight upset in what was likely a season-ending 8-0 loss to No. 2 Pope Francis on Saturday in the Class C semifinals.
Mahar (5-13) was No. 34 in the most recent MIAA Division 4 Power Rankings, and would need to move up two spots by next week’s bracket release to crack the top 32.