SOUTH DEERFIELD — It wasn’t your typical six versus seven seed matchup on Saturday at Frontier.
The Redhawks, the No. 6 seed and defending Western Mass. Class C champions, played host to seventh-seeded Belchertown, the defending Class B champions, on Saturday in the Western Mass. Class B semifinals after both teams won their quarterfinal matchups by a combined score of 9-1.
It became evident early on that the first goal of the contest was going to be crucial, and it played out exactly that way. Chances were hard to come by, and at the conclusion of the second half, neither team was able to put a shot into the back of the net which led to overtime.
After 80 minutes of scoreless action, it took Frontier just one minute into overtime to blast one home.
The Redhawks, on the counterattack, got the ball up to Rosco Palmer. Palmer sucked in the Orioles defense and dished a pass to a streaking Nico Fasulo on the right wing. The senior made one touch and rocketed the shot into goal, just making it beyond the outstretched hands of Belchertown goalie Jack Mandeville, to send Frontier to the sectional finals with a 1-0 victory.
The Redhawks (17-1) will face No. 1 Hampshire in the championship game on Tuesday at West Springfield High School.
“I was just looking for chances,” Fasulo said. “I knew it was going to come down to one goal and one good chance. It was two good teams that were going to put away the first chance they got. When I saw that ball rolling, I saw it had spin and would be a tough ball to deal with. I played it safe and I knew it would come down to the touch. I just tried to play it far away from the defender and from there, it’s just what I always do.”
Frontier coach Evan Horton said he was hoping to get that one opportunity to go ahead, knowing chances were few and far between.
Getting the ball on the foot of Fasulo with a chance to win the game was all he could ask for.
“We got one streak,” Horton said. “We were finally able open Nico up. We were hoping that if we got that one shot, he’d be able to put it away. That’s what he’s done all season and there it is.
“It was just going to be about who made that special play,” Horton added. “We were lucky Nico did it. That’s a kid who you want the ball on his feet on the 18. I wouldn’t want it with anyone else. I’m happy for him and it’s a huge moment for him. He’s been working so hard to get back from his injury from a few years ago.”
For Belchertown (9-6-3), the loss means it won’t be able to win a third straight Class B title, but Orioles coach Zach Siano noted that their season isn’t over just yet.
“We looked at this as a coin flip game,” Siano said. “It’s always a battle with Frontier no matter who’s the higher seed or who has the better team. We know how hard they’re going to work. We felt it was going to come down to one rogue play. I kept barking at our forwards to keep running at their back line because if a mistake happens, we’re walking it in. There were a lot of balls that their back line cleaned up well.
“One quick counter and one quasi-mistake and here we are on the wrong side of things. This goes in as a draw for the state tournament. We’re both looking to make a run there. Sadly for the five seniors this is the first time feeling a Western Mass. defeat. They’ll learn from it and grow from it. It’s an odd feeling but they have another tournament to look forward to.”
Belchertown had its best chance of the game midway through the first half.
A miscommunication on the Frontier defense saw the ball get passed back to goalie Owen Babb, but the ball was picked off by Oriole Ian McDonald.
With nobody to beat, McDonald got the ball on the 18 and tried to shoot it into the net, but Babb raced forward and got his foot on the shot to deflect it out of bounds and prevent an early goal.
The Redhawks nearly won the game in regulation late. Palmer got the ball on his foot inside the 18 in the 64th minute, made a quick dribble and fired a shot on goal that deflected off the crossbar.
“With about 20 minutes left I said whoever scores the first goal, that’s it,” Horton said. “The game was too physical, too back-and-forth. We had them for a while, they had us for a while. Both teams defended really well. We had some scary moments and we held through. They had some scary moments and held through.”
Babb and Mandeville each made five stops in goal.
The win was the first time Horton had topped Belchertown, a Western Mass. power, only adding confidence to the Redhawks as they push for a second straight Western Mass. title.
“It’s the monkey that’s been on my back since I started here,” Horton said. “Zach had gotten the best of us every year. They’ve really owned us and it’s credit to him. He’s one of the premier coaches in Western Mass. I have nothing but respect for him. It doesn’t matter who’s injured or what they have, Zach will coach them to where they need to go. They’re a fantastic team and we’re happy to have gotten to play them before states.”