Field Hockey: Frontier not caught looking ahead

WEST SPRINGFIELD — One day before arguably its biggest game of the season, Frontier Regional School showed no signs of looking ahead on Monday.

Olivia Vecellio netted a pair of goals, and the visiting Red Hawks handled their business in a tidy 4-0 victory over West Springfield in an independent field hockey game on the turf at Clark Field. The win cleared the way for today’s showdown with rival Greenfield, with first place in the Valley League on the line in South Deerfield at 4 p.m.

Frontier, which improved to 10-2 overall with Monday’s win, sits at 5-0 in the league. Greenfield is just one-half game behind with a 5-1 mark in league play, 8-4-1 overall. Frontier won the first meeting of the season, 2-1.

“They’re excited,” offered Frontier coach Missy Mahar of her team leading into today’s big tilt. “We focused on (West Springfield) first, but they’re ready to go now. Any time you play Greenfield, it’s always a great game and a great rivalry.”

In Monday’s win, Frontier dominated a West Springfield team playing for its postseason life. The Terriers are now 4-8-1 and need nine out of a possible 10 points over their final five games to get into the Big Dance.

Things didn’t start particularly promising for the Hawks. Just 4:14 into the first half, the visitors were awarded a penalty stroke. Vecellio stepped to the line, and her shot was knocked down by West Side goalkeeper Andromeda Fleury with her blocker.

“Those things happen,” began Mahar. “Liv is one of our best at strokes so for something like that to happen, you need to be resilient as a team and bounce back right away.”

Vecellio made amends later in the opening half, as she struck for the game’s first tally with one of her trademark blasts from distance. The senior fired a shot from 15 yards out, slamming the ball into the back of the cage with 8:35 remaining to give Frontier a 1-0 advantage.

The Hawks doubled their lead just before halftime thanks to the red-hot Lila Roche. The freshman scored yet again, continuing her torrid middle part of the season (goals in four of the last five games) when she tipped a shot from Vecellio past Fleury for a 2-0 lead into halftime.

“She’s also an ice hockey player so she’s been using those stick-work skills to her advantage,” Mahar said of Roche.

After missing a penalty stroke in the first half, Vecellio got another crack at it after intermission. Frontier earned its second stroke of the game with 11:16 remaining in regulation, and this time, the Bryant-bound standout buried a no-doubter. Her blast up high was all but unstoppable, extending her team’s lead to a comfortable 3-0 margin.

“She got that second opportunity and I had full confidence that she’d score,” Mahar said of Vecellio.

Devyn Prusak closed out the scoring with 5:37 left for Frontier, tipping in a ball with an assist from Lily Spencer to account for the 4-0 final.

Spencer and Grace Wesoloski dominated play in the midfield for Frontier, and the defensive unit of Cassidy Bardwell, Chelsea Camp and Maddy Fifield limited West Springfield scoring opportunities in the shutout. The Terriers were outshot by a 15-2 margin, with Frontier keepers Skyla Burniske and Mandy Fuller combining between the pipes to snag the win.

Mahar said a point of emphasis for her team on Monday was ball control, especially playing on turf. In last week’s win over Westfield, the Hawks sent 16 balls over the opposing end line, a number that didn’t sit well with the veteran coach.

“Those are just wasted opportunities,” she said. “We can’t have that, especially when we play on turf. I think it can play to our benefit and we have the ability to pass well on turf, but we need to work at going side-to-side instead of just whacking the ball down the field. If we can focus on that style of play, I think we’ll be in good shape come tournament time.”

It’s a big week overall for Frontier. In addition to today’s game with Greenfield, the Red Hawks also have a big Valley League matchup with South Hadley on Thursday.

Frontier 4, West Side 0

Goals: (F) Vecellio 2, Roche, Prusak.

Assists: (F) Vecellio, Spencer.

Shots: Frontier 15. West Side 2.

Saves: (F) Burniske 2, Fuller 0. (WS) Fleury 11.

Corners: Frontier 6. West Side 7.