H.S. Roundup: Southwick squeaks past Hampshire Regional girls soccer in Div. 4 action

WESTHAMPTON — The Hampshire Regional girls soccer team suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Southwick in the MIAA Division 4 tournament Round of 16 at Dorunda Field on Friday night.

Down by a goal with time dwindling down in the second half, the Raiders searched for an equalizer to force overtime.

Addie Miklasiewicz sent a pass up the right side, finding Lila Watkins in stride. The senior sent a cross to the middle of the field, finding an open teammate. Maggie Lashway was the recipient of the pass, letting a shot fly that was kept out of the net by a diving save.

“Our program, like I’ve always said, I don’t care what the score is, we’re gonna battle,” Hampshire head coach Steve Croft said. “We’re gonna battle to the end, and we push some numbers up, and we created some opportunities, that one in particular. And sometimes they don’t go in.”

Friday’s matchup between the two teams was the fourth time they’ve matched up against each other this season. Hampshire won the first two matchups, with a tie in the third.

Each team was very familiar with one another and it showed throughout the course of the game on Friday night. It was a competitive contest, with physicality on both ends.

“We knew what they had, they knew what we had,” Croft said. “So in terms of preparation, we see each other a lot, so, yeah, I think that definitely played a factor.”

The weather helped create a gritty atmosphere, with cold temperatures and strong wind gusts throughout as well as rain coming down for most of the second half.

Libby Puttick scored the lone goal of the game for the Raiders, finding the back of the net nearly nine minutes into the first half.

Southwick created the scoring chance for Hampshire, passing the ball back toward its own net. The pass went further than expected, leaving the ball in open space for Puttick to sprint up on a breakaway, which she finished in the top right corner.

The loss for the Raiders is their first since the second game of the season against Granby more than two months ago on Friday, Sept. 5.

Emotions were high after the final whistle as many tears were being shed as the team huddled together to reflect on the year.

The Raiders ended the season with a 10-3-7 record, falling just short of the Round of 8.

“The message to the team was, I’m just proud of them, proud of the way they worked,” Croft said. “First league championship in 12 years, we accomplished so much, and thanking the seniors for their service to the program and dedication.”

Volleyball

Smith Voc 3, Madison Park Tech 2 — The seventh-seeded Vikings are headed to the Division 5 state semifinals after their back-and-forth victory against the previously-undefeated Cardinals on Friday.

Results of the first four sets alternated, to set up the fifth and final set, which Smith Voc won by a score of 15-10. The first four set scores came in at 17-25, 25-20, 17-25 and 25-23.

Irelyn Marcoux (two aces, block, assist, 26 digs and six kills) and Leah Franklin (six aces, seven blocks, five digs and eight kills) led the Vikings in their Round of 8 win.

Smith Voc will meet Pioneer Valley Christian Academy, the No. 3 seed, next.

Boys soccer

Abington 1, South Hadley 0 — The No. 23 Tigers’ run in the Div. 4 tournament came to a close after the No. 7 Green Wave took the Round of 16 matchup in penalty kicks.

South Hadley’s Noah Carillon managed nine saves in the defeat.

The loss brought the Tigers’ 2025 record to 7-9-5.

Girls soccer

Nashoba Valley Tech 1, Hopkins 0 — The Golden Hawks were clipped on its home field in the Round of 16 defeat in the Div. 5 tournament.

Hopkins, the six seed, concluded its season 14-5-2.

Non-playoff football results (Nov. 7)

Palmer 21, Belchertown 7

Greenfield 38, Smith Voc 32