HADLEY — Riley Intrator, wearing a black mask, swooped in right when the Smith Academy boys soccer team needed him most.
The junior striker put away two goals Thursday against Hopkins Academy to help deliver the Falcons a 3-1 win in the Western Massachusetts Class D boys soccer semifinal. Smith Academy, the No. 3 seed, will face No. 8 Mount Everett for the championship at 2:15 p.m. Sunday at Pope Francis. The Falcons haven’t played for a title since 2013 and haven’t won since 2004.
“It feels amazing to beat a rival who’s a very good team,” Intrator said. “Very hard fought game, very fun game to play in.”
The second-seeded Golden Hawks grabbed it by the throat in the first seven minutes, generating corner after corner and putting the ball in dangerous positions. But none of those opportunities found the back of the net despite how deep Smith Academy was pinned back.
“Little luck, I guess. We just kept playing,” Smith Academy coach Jason Duncan said. ” We didn’t fold.”
In the eighth minute, one of the Falcons clearances dealt them a much better hand. Intrator brought the ball down and dribbled toward goal, ultimately earning a corner. Cameron Zononi lofted the ball into the box, and Roger Grondin Jr. directed it across the goal into the back corner of the net for a 1-0 Falcons lead.
“Getting that lead diffuses some of the tension, some of the nervousness. It’s different playing ahead than it is from behind,” Duncan said.
Intrator doubled the lead eight minutes later. Hopkins Academy’s back line misplayed a pass, leaving it in no man’s land between two defenders. Intrator snatched it and burst through the opening between them. As the Golden Hawks gave chase, he worked into a clear position and slammed a shot into the back of the net.
“The defense, which is a very good defense, had a miscue and I pounced on it,” Intrator said.
Smith Academy carried that 2-0 lead into halftime. Then Hopkins Academy opened the second half with another burst of possession and pressure. That one produced results. Patrick Fitzgibbons brought the ball down in the box with a sublime touch and calmly sent it to the far post to cut the Falcons lead to 2-1 two minutes after halftime.
“We knew we needed one, and we knew the next one was big coming into the second half,” he said.
The goal refocused Smith Academy. An already physical game saw even more bumps, shoves and tackles.
“That was a snap back to reality,” Intrator said. “We couldn’t let up more than one.”
The offside flag kept the Falcons ahead. Hopkins Academy earned a free kick in the 53rd minute well outside the penalty box. Gordie Cooke floated it to the edge of the box, where Andrew Ciaglo headed it along. Alex Pichizaca popped it into the air, and Fitzgibbons drove a header into the goal. Hopkins Academy erupted in celebration, but Fitzgibbons held his head in his hands. He saw the official’s hand up for offsides. The referees explained that though Fitzgibbons wasn’t offsides on the initial kick or header, he moved into an offside position before Pichizaca’s chip.
“Really unfortunate. It’s really a heartbreaker considering it’s one of the best games we played all year,” Fitzgibbons said.
Intrator didn’t give the Golden Hawks another opportunity to tie it. Smith Academy earned its own free kick with 20 minutes remaining. Logan Graves went for goal, blasting the shot low and to the right. Hopkins Academy keeper Ryder Gallo O’Connell kept it out diving to the ground but couldn’t control the rebound. Intrator arrived before he could compose himself or one of the Golden Hawks defenders could clear it. He slid and tucked the ball into the opposite corner for a decisive 3-1 lead.
“I was gonna do anything I could to get that ball in the back of the net,” Intrator said.
Hopkins Academy refused to surrender the final 20 minutes. The Golden Hawks maintained possession and kept pressuring. They hit the post twice but couldn’t find a goal to turn the final few minutes to chaos.
“It’s a funny game. Sometimes you can play extremely well and just have Lady Luck bite you a little bit,” Hopkins Academy coach Justin Campbell said.
The defeat doesn’t end the Golden Hawks season, however. Hopkins Academy is ranked seventh in the Division 5 state power rankings and should comfortably host at least one state tournament game.
“We were in the (postgame) huddle, we knew we had bigger things ahead of us,” Fitzgibbons said. “We do have some time, and that’s going to be time for us to bounce back.”
Smith Academy will turn its attention to a Mount Everett team that shocked top-seeded Granby in the quarterfinals then bested Ware 3-0 in the semifinals.
“I know nothing about Mount Everett. Berkshire teams tend to play a quality schedule,” Duncan said. “I expect their record to not be actually reflective of the quality of their soccer.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.