WMass boys soccer: Matt Feltovic, Drew Crutch lead Hopkins past Granby into Class D final

HADLEY — This season did no go they way it was expected for Hopkins boys soccer players Matt Feltovic and Drew Crutch.

Feltovic, a senior captain, entered the season as the Golden Hawks primary goalie before transitioning out into the field. Crutch, a freshman, hoped to score more than just two goals during the regular season.

On Thursday, both players came through to keep No. 2 Hopkins’ postseason dreams alive in the Western Mass. Class D semifinals against No. 3 Granby. Feltovic scored the team’s first goal while Crutch finished with a hat trick to give the Golden Hawks the 5-0 win over the Rams and send the squad to the finals.

“It just means everything,” Feltovic said. “We’ve been trying to work at this for years and it’s just really coming together.”

After starting as the team’s goalie as a junior, Feltovic prepared for another season in net. Some injuries to the team, plus a strong backup in Jacob Laramie, allowed him to find a new position midway through the year.

“We got someone who was better (in goal) and I had to kind of come into a new role,” Feltovic said. “I wanted to be willing to that and grow into it.”

About eight minutes into the game, he pushed his way with the ball through Granby’s defense. As he broke into the top of the box, Feltovic ripped a shot high enough out of the reach of Rams goalie Oliver Helbok.

“It was a huge uplift for the whole team,” Hopkins head coach John Fillio said. “He’s a team player. We rally around him. For him to come into a game like this and hit a shot was fantastic to see, and we just rode the high.”

The Golden Hawks scored twice more in the half. Around the 27 minute mark, Senior captain Jason Campbell crossed a long pass to the left side of the box to junior Wyatt Soriano, who took one touch on the ball and scored to put Hopkins up 2-0.

Crutch scored his first goal 20 minutes later. He followed a pass from junior Henry Dizek into the box. He quickly made a move and popped a shot into the top right corner for the score and 3-0 lead.

Granby opened the game with back-to-back corners in the first 10 minutes. While the Rams forcer Laramie to make 11 saves in the game, they struggled to find the higher percentage shots.

“It wasn’t our day,” Granby head coach Todd Dorman said. “Didn’t connect on passes. We had some chances in the first few minutes, but weren’t able to capitalize.”

Crutch scored his second goal two minutes into the second half. He headed a pass from Dizek in for the goal. It was his second time in two games scoring off a header. He scored the game-winning goal in double-overtime against PVCA on Tuesday.

“It was the same exact goal,” Crutch said. “It hyped everyone up. That goal showed out to me again and I put my head on it again.”

Asked if headers are his specialty, Crutch responded, “I’ll say by now they are.”

He scored his third and final goal with about 17 minutes to go from an assist by Soriano. In just one game, Crutch doubled his season goal total.

“For a freshman, he’s become really mature and a big part our offense,” Fillio said. “As a young player, it’s just going to build confidence for him and he’s going to grow from here.”

Hopkins heads to the Western Mass. Class D final where it hopes to take home the title for the first time since 2013. Now 7-7-4, the team is treading near the qualifying mark for the state tournament.

But for now, all eyes are locked in for the next game.

“It just feel amazing to help my team make the Western Mass final first time in years,” Crutch said. “It’s just the best feeling in the world.”