SOUTH DEERFIELD — The Frontier field hockey team has found its offensive groove at the right time of the season.
That continued on Monday in its MIAA Div. 4 Round of 16 matchup against Greenfield.
It was the fourth meeting of the season between the No. 8 Redhawks and No. 9 Green Wave. Frontier didn’t score in either regular season contest, and was shut out in the first half of the Western Mass. Class C title game just last week.
The Redhawks got their offense going in the second half of that title game against Greenfield, scoring twice to come out victorious. That strong play on the Green Wave zone of the field continued into the state tournament, as Frontier scored early in the first quarter Monday and tacked on a goal in the third period to move on to the Round of Eight with a 2-0 victory.
The Redhawks will face the winner of Tuesday’s game between No. 1 Uxbridge and No. 17 Nantucket in the quarterfinal round at a date and time to be determined.
“I’m so excited for the girls,” Frontier coach Missy Mahar said. “They’ve worked so hard all season. To see their growth from the end of August until now and how they’ve worked together as a team, I’m grateful to be their coach and share this opportunity with them.”
Greenfield coach Erin Thayer said she was proud of the effort and fight her squad showed all season.
“We came in spurts today,” Thayer said. “There’s been so much against us all season. Having 13 varsity players all season, we’ve been small. It’s hard to play in tough games and we don’t have any fresh legs. When we played them last week we were down a starter and we have three girls with the flu today. It feels like it’s been one thing after the other going in the wrong direction for us.
“I can’t be prouder of them,” she continued. “I can’t imagine there’s another team in the state with 13 girls who have fought at the varsity level and had the success we’ve had this season. I’m really proud of them.”
The Redhawks opened up the scoring early on Monday, forcing the Green Wave to play from behind for the majority of the afternoon. Frontier’s Ashley Taylor dribbled the ball into the circle and dished it across to Madison McKemmie, who was sitting directly in front of the cage. McKemmie received the pass and smashed a shot past Greenfield keeper Ainslee Flynn to give the Redhawks a 1-0 lead in the opening minutes of the contest.
As Monday’s state tournament showdown was the fourth game of the season between the two rivals, both teams were extremely familiar with what the other wanted to do. That made getting the first goal all the more important, according to Mahar.
“Both teams play each other well and there’s no secrets at this point,” Mahar said. “It’s all about shutting down their heavy hitters and our team did that well today. It’s about execution. In order to move on we had to put the ball in the net so we had to stay on the offensive and not be on our heels. We brought the intensity. We’ve been talking about that in the postseason in general; we want to create those second opportunities in the circle and we were able to do that.”
Scoring opportunities were few and far between for both sides. Frontier tallied two shots on goal in the first half while its defense held Greenfield without a shot in the opening 30 minutes of action.
That carried into the second half, with both defenses standing tall and not allowing the opposition to generate scoring chances.
When the Redhawks did get a scoring opportunity early in the second half, they made sure to capitalize. Harper Modestow controlled the ball into the circle and passed it across the crease to Hailey Hutkoski, who buried it to give Frontier a 2-0 lead in the opening minutes of the second half.
It was one of five shots the Redhawks were able to put on goal in the second half.
“We were able to capitalize on our opportunities,” Mahar said. “We had some key turnovers that could have been costly. I was happy to see the girls stayed resilient and stayed composed. They were able to hold it down when Greenfield gained the momentum and was in our circle. They stayed composed and we made plays to counter attack. I’m pleased with our effort today.”
The fourth quarter was dominated by the Green Wave, but Greenfield was unable to turn its scoring chances into goals. The Green Wave earned five penalty corners in the final period and put their lone shot on goal in the frame, but Frontier goalie Ella Flanders made the save to keep the shutout intact.
While having its season come to an end is disappointing, Thayer said she feels the program has a lot of up-and-coming talent that will have it competing for years to come.
“We have a bright future ahead of us,” Thayer said. “My young kids have really come on strong during the second half of the season and figured things out. I’m excited about what’s coming in the future.”