WMass girls soccer: Belchertown blows out Frontier in Class B quarterfinals

BELCHERTOWN — The Belchertown girls soccer team took a big first step toward making its fifth Western Mass. final in six seasons on Tuesday.

Five players scored for the No. 1 Orioles in a dominate performance against No. 8 Frontier in the Class B quarterfinals. Belchertown fired over 20 shots on net in the 5-0 win.

“We have a very talented team that understands the game and we can play at a high level,” Belchertown coach Kyle Thibeault said. “It makes it easy to transition out of plays and try to control the pace of the game.”

The Orioles put Frontier goalie Jazzy Hayes to the test with three shots on net in the first minute of the game. The senior stopped each shot during the early offensive charge.

Belchertown sophomore Eleanor Mazzaferro broke through with a shot from about 25 yards from the net about 20 minutes into the game. After a crossing pass from Gabriella Slovack, Mazzaferro had the space to hit a looping shot that was just high enough to miss Hayes’ swat attempt.

With under 10 minutes to go in the half, sophomore Lainey Holt pushed through the Redhawks back line to get in the box and put a close shot on net.

Hayes managed to hit the ball away, but Hannah Fillion secured the rebound and scored on the second chance to put Belchertown up 2-0. It was the sophomore’s first goal of the season.

“She’s created a lot and been a player on the wing,” Thibeault said. “I know that was kind of eating away at her a little bit. Hopefully she’s found her rhythm and more will come.”

The Orioles added one more goal before the break. During the final two minutes, Emma Litz was tripped in the box, she then cashed in on the penalty kick.

Two minutes after the break, Mazzaferro lifted pass near the right corner into the box, finding Lia Pukal who finished the play for the goal. Five minutes later, senior Morghan Litz recorded her 10th assist of the season after Adelina Gualberto took the pass and launched a deep shot to the back of the net.

Despite the five goals, Hayes made multiple difficult saves. She saved shots on second chance opportunities. She finished with over 20 saves.

“Jazzy is a fierce competitor,” Frontier coach Lauren Sullivan said. “She’s not afraid of any balls that come here way. She had some great saves.”

With Belchertown’s offensive production spread out, it was tough for Frontier to focus their attention on just one or two players.

“We pass the ball very well,” Litz said. “Whenever anyone has a wide open opportunity, they take it. We’re always there for crosses, just giving other people opportunities to score.”

This is Litz’s fourth appearance in the Western Mass. tournament. She saw the Oriole raise the title in 2024, and fall short in 2023 and 2025 to South Hadley. With one last run at a championship, the captain knows it will take the team’s best to win.

“We go into it as locked-in as we can,” Litz said. “Make sure that we are playing to our full potential and giving all we can out there.”

The Orioles improve to 11-5-1 on the season. It’s the third time in the last five year they recorded double-digit wins. They host No. 4 Mt. Greylock on Friday in the semifinals.