UMass soccer: Minutemen continue Cinderella NCAA tourney run with 1-0 win over Virginia in Sweet 16

Three up, three down for the UMass men’s soccer team in the NCAA Division I tournament.The Minutemen’s Cinderella season continued as they defeated No. 11-ranked Virginia 1-0 in the Sweet 16 for their third win of the big dance.UMass (13-3-5) applied...

UMass football: Minutemen offense puts up season-high in points but UConn holds on for 47-42 win in finale

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — Oh, so close.That has certainly been the theme for this year’s UMass football team. And it was again, one final time on Saturday afternoon at McGuirk Alumni Stadium as the Minutemen fell 47-42 to UConn – which played spoiler to UMass’ senior...

Chad Chatlos of TurnkeyZRG talks UMass football head coaching search: “If you get it right, this is a five, six, seven, eight-year type decision”

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — With Saturday’s game against UConn at McGuirk Alumni Stadium concluding the 2024 UMass football season, all eyes – if they weren’t already – now turn to the Minutemen’s head-coaching vacancy.And helping UMass Director of Athletics Ryan...

UMass hockey: Minutemen take care of business in 3-1 win over Army

By RYAN AMES

AMHERST – The UMass hockey team used a pair of second-period power play goals to propel past Army in its 3-1 win on Friday at the Mullins Center.Cole O'Hara and Daniel Jencko each notched man-advantage strikes less than five minutes apart during the...

UMass soccer: Minutemen looking to keep magical run alive in Sweet 16 against Virginia

By RYAN AMES

The UMass men's soccer team will look to keep its impressive postseason run going when it matches up against No. 11 Virginia during the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Division 1 tournament Saturday in Charlottesville, Va.The Minutemen (12-3-5) took down...

The Real Score with Steve McKelvey: How soon before the sports betting bloom is off the “rose”

The recent death of Pete Rose, baseball’s inveterate gambler, provided opportunity for an unofficial referendum on his penalty (a lifetime ban from the game) and exclusion from the Hall of Fame in light of Major League Baseball’s current embrace of...

UMass football: Minutemen have one last shot to get first win over FBS program in finale against UConn

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — Although the UMass football team didn’t win either of its last two contests, it put together arguably its best eight consecutive quarters all season long. The Minutemen dropped a crushing 35-34 overtime game to Liberty two weeks ago before...

Thanksgiving football: Noah Hambley, South Hadley hold off Holyoke’s comeback bid for 16-14 victory

By RYAN AMES

SOUTH HADLEY – It’s a three-peat.The South Hadley football team hung on to beat Holyoke, 16-14, in Thursday’s clash on Thanksgiving Day, to earn bragging rights and the ‘Battle of the Bridge’ trophy for a third straight season.The Tigers led 16-0 at...

Thanksgiving football: Easthampton snaps 9-year drought, beats Northampton for first time ever on Thanksgiving 18-8 (PHOTOS)

By GARRETT COTE

NORTHAMPTON — The past decade has felt like an entire lifetime for the Easthampton football team, each crushing Thanksgiving Day loss to rival Northampton making the food slowly lose its appeal.But after nine straight losses to the Blue Devils in the...

UMass hockey: Minutemen welcome Army for Black Friday matinee

By RYAN AMES

The UMass hockey team only has one game on the docket this week as it’ll welcome Army to the Mullins Center for a Black Friday matinee.The Minutemen (6-6-2) are coming off an up-and-down weekend – first with a win against Harvard before a loss to...

Thanksgiving football: Smith Vocational knocks off Franklin Tech for the first time since 2018 following 16-8 OT win

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

EASTHAMPTON — It was true late November football in New England at Mountain View School on Thursday. Smith Vocational hosted Franklin Tech for the sixth Turkey Day showdown between the two rivals, and with driving rain coming down throughout the...

Thanksgiving football: Fourth-quarter TD lifts Pathfinder past Belchertown, 20-14

By JEFF LAJOIE

PALMER – A season of close calls and near-misses thwarted the Belchertown football team.Thursday’s Thanksgiving game against Pathfinder was essentially a microcosm of the Orioles’ 2024 campaign.The host Pioneers completed just two passes all day, but...

UMass basketball: Second half spurt helps Minutemen take down Harvard, halt 5-game losing streak

By GARRETT COTE

It may not have been the prettiest of games by the UMass men’s basketball team, which headed into halftime tied with Harvard 24-24 as neither team playing exactly inspired. But the Minutemen woke up in the second half and dominated the glass en route...

Thanksgiving football: Northampton looks to extend unbeaten Turkey Day streak against hungry Easthampton

By GARRETT COTE

NORTHAMPTON — There wasn’t a more thrilling Thanksgiving Day game across western Massachusetts in 2023 than the battle between Northampton and Easthampton at Mountain View School in Easthampton.The Blue Devils entered winless on the season, and the...

Thanksgiving Football: South Hadley, Holyoke renew their own ‘Battle of the Bridge’ rivalry

By RYAN AMES

The seventh installment of Thanksgiving-Day football between South Hadley and Holyoke has arrived.The Tigers and Purple Knights will square off in their own ‘Battle of the Bridge’ on Turkey Day at South Hadley’s Turf Field at 10 a.m.South Hadley has...

Thanksgiving football: Belchertown looks to put winless season in the rearview with rivalry game against Pathfinder

By GARRETT COTE

A season ago, the Belchertown football team was 8-3 and earned a spot in the MIAA Division 5 state tournament. The Orioles crushed rival Pathfinder in their annual Thanksgiving Day game, 61-14, to cap off one of their better seasons in recent...

Thanksgiving Football: Rising programs Franklin Tech, Smith Vocational gear up for 6th Turkey Day showdown

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

While Thanksgiving football games are largely diminishing around the state, there’s one new Turkey Day rivalry that’s growing each year. Franklin Tech and Smith Vocational began playing on Thanksgiving in 2018 and since that time, both programs are on...

UMass AD Ryan Bamford speaks on football coach Don Brown’s firing: “We just didn’t feel like we were able to turn the corner competitively”

By GARRETT COTE

AMHERST — Perhaps the passionate followers of the UMass football team weren’t necessarily surprised when news hit last week that Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford had fired former Minutemen head coach Don Brown after a 6-28 record with the team; it...

College soccer: Alec Hughes, Alex Geczy power UMass men past Penn, into Sweet 16

Hanging on for dear life with a one-goal lead in the second round of the NCAA Division I men’s soccer tournament, UMass turned to senior goalie Alex Geczy to make clutch save after clutch save against Penn, the sixth-ranked team in the country.Each...

UMass hockey: Vermont continues to be a thorn as Catamounts edge Minutemen 3-2

By RYAN AMES

AMHERST – The No. 20 UMass hockey team dropped its third and final game against Vermont this season, falling  3-2 on Sunday afternoon at Mullins Center.Nick VanTassell put the Minutemen ahead halfway through the first period, 1-0, but the Catamounts...