Girls soccer: Lauren Marjanski nets hat trick, South Hadley blanks Wahconah in Class B quarters (PHOTOS)

SOUTH HADLEY – Lauren Marjanski is a dangerous weapon on the soccer field.

The No. 2 South Hadley girls soccer senior netted the game’s first three goals en route to a 5-0 win over No. 7 Wahconah in the Western Mass. Class B quarterfinals.

Marjanski displayed her entire skill set on Thursday night. She used her blazing speed to out-run Warriors defenders, her strength to work herself into position to strike, and her finesse and technique to fake out anyone in her way. Rich Marjanski has been the coach at South Hadley for seven years and hasn’t seen anyone quite like Lauren.

“Just watching her as a coach, some of the goals she has are highlight films,” Rich Marjanski said. “I sit there the following day and play it on my TV because it’s just amazing some of the stuff that she does and where she strikes the ball from. She doesn’t miss too many on the run, she strikes the ball great when she’s moving. She’s probably the best striker to ever come out of South Hadley.”

Thursday marked Marjanski’s fifth hat trick of the season – her first since Oct. 14 against Ludlow. Her career goal total now stands at 98 (she eclipsed 100 points earlier this season), including 29 in 2023. Getting back on track after a few “bad games” to her standards – where she still tallied at least a point in each one – was vital as the Tigers prepare for a deep postseason run.

“It felt good tonight,” Lauren Marjanski said. “I haven’t gotten a hat trick in a few games, so now we’re back on it and ready to go for the rest of playoffs.”

Wahconah and South Hadley had already met twice this season, with the Tigers winning both matchups by a combined score of 10-1. The Warriors hung around in the first half and only trailed 1-0 (courtesy a Marjanski goal) heading into halftime. South Hadley had 18 shots in the first 40 minutes, but only seven were on goal. Rich Marjanski challenged his team to put the ball on net and make Wahconah goalie Edriana Collins and the Warriors defense work extra hard.

The message was well received. Lauren Marjanski added two second-half goals – both assisted by Allison Fleury – in the first five minutes of the half and South Hadley took full control of the game.

“We weren’t putting the ball on the frame,” Rich Marjanski said. “The message in the second half was put the ball between the pipes, especially in the back of the net. It was a great start to the second half. We were shooting it low, shooting it on net. It was good to see they made adjustments.”

Lauren Marjanski soon took a seat for the rest of the night as the game was fully under the Tigers’ control. Even when she went out, South Hadley’s offense continued to produce. Cianna Gurek and Rachel Yabra each added goals on assists from Emma Levreault and Abby Gelinas. The Tigers received contributions from players well-beyond their starting 11, which makes them very difficult to defend.

“The good thing that we’re trying to build up is making sure kids are ready to come off the bench, because you never know what could happen,” Rich Marjanski said. “Some kids are taking minutes away from the starters, and it’s a great thing to have. The depth of our team showed today, which was very good to see.”

Wahconah struggled to move the ball past South Hadley’s aggressive back line led by Gianna Roy. The few times the Warriors did inch toward goal, keeper Drew Alley gobbled everything up with four saves on four shots. The Tigers defense was tremendous as a unit and served as the facilitators of the offense. Several times the ball was played back to them to work it up the field through the midfield and to the offense. 

“They did a good job stepping in front of the ball and keeping it in our half,” Lauren Marjanski said. “They help us on offense with how they connect with us and the midfield.”

Maddie Soderbaum and Katherine McArdle lead what is a very talented South Hadley midfield. The midfield controlled the pace and tempo of the game for the entire 80 minutes, rarely turned the ball over much, and sent a handful of perfect through balls up to the offense. With the defense and midfield working together like they did, it creates a ton of scoring opportunities for the offense.

“When they get going, and they get the one-touch passes going, it’s so fun to watch in the middle,” Rich Marjanski said. “That’s mostly where we try to play the ball, in the middle. So it’s great that we win the middle. There were a lot of people in the middle at first, so we widened it out, and that created a lot of room for them to work.”

Yes, Lauren Marjanski makes a lot of plays happen on her own, but some of the credit also goes to the midfield for giving her the ball in the right place at the right time. Their efforts don’t go unnoticed.

“They work really hard and I really appreciate it,” Lauren Marjasnki said. “They don’t get a lot of credit because they don’t score that much, but they do most of the work and do a good job of finding me in the right spots.”

South Hadley will likely play on Monday against a familiar foe in Belchertown in the Class B semifinals. The Tigers and Orioles played in the sectional championship in both 2021 and 2022, with each program winning one. This year’s bracket is also stacked with No. 1 Pope Francis and No. 4 Hampshire (winner of that game heads to the finals to await winner of South Hadley/Belchertown). Lauren Marjanski knows that her team needs to start faster against the Orioles and whoever else they may face moving forward.

“We definitely have to improve on some things and come out a lot stronger,” she said. “Belchertown is a great team. We played them already this year, and it was a close game. I feel like we’re prepared right now and ready to take [Belchertown] on.”