It wasn’t the way the Frontier boys soccer team hoped the Western Mass. tournament would go, but the Redhawks have a great opportunity to avenge it in the Division 4 state tournament.
Frontier drew Easthampton in the opening round of the Western Mass. tournament — a team it had already played three times in the regular season — and lost 2-1.
The Redhawks (12-2-4) earned the No. 4 seed in the state tournament, drawing a first-round bye and awaiting the winner of No. 29 Abington and No. 36 Sturgis East in the Round of 32 on Saturday.
“When the power rankings were out last week, our path was three Western Mass. schools,” Frontier coach Evan Horton said. “Now, our path is teams from around the state. The whole point of the state tournament was to play teams you haven’t played before and the guys are really excited about that. We have to play who we play but we’re excited to test ourselves against schools from the East.”
Hampshire is the top team in Div. 4 while Easthampton earned the No. 2 seed. Western Mass. is well represented in the field with area schools holding six of the top 10 seeds.
“At some point, if we can win some games, we’ll have to play Hampshire or Easthampton,” Horton said. “Having six of the top 10 teams says a lot about the competition level out here. The rankings showed we played in a competitive league and it gives our league some credence.”
After starting the season strong, the Redhawks faltered late. Part of that was due to injury and Frontier is starting to get healthy at the right time of year.
Horton is hoping they can put everything together and make a run in the tournament.
“We have some things we need to work on,” Horton said. “Our record the last three weeks of the season isn’t great. We had a phenomenal September but our October fell below our expectations. We’re starting to get healthy. My biggest problem is figuring out what my starting lineup is going to be. I could put a different lineup out there every day and be comfortable with it which is a good problem to have. We’ll see what we can do on Saturday.”
Joining Frontier in the Div. 4 field is Mahar, who is seeded No. 27. The Senators (4-12) are hosting No. 38 St. Mary’s in the preliminary round at the Woodward Complex on Thursday, with the winner traveling to West Bridgewater in the Round of 32.
Franklin Tech is the lone Recorder Area school in the Div. 5 field, seeded No. 42. The Eagles (10-8) travel to Plymouth to face No. 23 Rising Tide on Thursday.
Mahar is the lone Recorder Area team to make the Div. 4 field and will have a chance to build off a strong finish to the regular season.
The Senators (8-9-1) are seeded No. 24 and will have a bye before taking on No. 9 Leicester on the road in the Round of 32.
Frontier and Greenfield made it into the Div. 5 field and will both be playing on Thursday in the preliminary round. The No. 21 Redhawks (8-7-3) are hosting No. 44 Nashoba Valley Tech while the No. 35 Green Wave (9-8-1) have a short trip to Hatfield to take on No. 30 Smith Academy on Thursday.
Greenfield played the Falcons twice in the regular season, with Smith Academy taking the first game, 4-2, but the Green Wave winning the second matchup, 2-1.
If you’re a fan of the Frontier volleyball team and were hoping to follow them on their postseason run, you won’t have to travel much.
The Redhawks locked up the No. 2 seed in the MIAA State Div. 5 tournament, and with the higher seed hosting games throughout, Frontier has a shot to play multiple games at Goodnow Gymnasium on its quest for another state championship.
After winning the Western Mass. Class C tournament — their 16th consecutive sectional title — rather handedly, the Redhawks (17-4) have their eyes set on putting up their 11th state title banner. Hopedale is the No. 1 seed in the 43 team field.
Frontier has a first round bye and will await the winner between No. 31 Ware and No. 34 Lenox for its Round of 32 matchup.
Three other Recorder Area schools are in the Div. 5 field. Following a run to the Western Mass. Class D semifinals, Turners Falls (16-2) was awarded the No. 22 seed and will host Salem Academy Charter on Wednesday in the preliminary round at 6 p.m.
Mohawk Trail and Franklin Tech on the other hand made it into the tournament but will be on the road. The No. 37 Warriors (10-7) travel to Hyannis to take on No. 28 Saint John Paul II at 4:30 on Wednesday while the No. 40 Eagles (10-9) also travel to Hyannis on Wednesday, playing No. 25 Sturgis Charter West at 4 p.m.
The Western Mass. Class B champions will be on the road to open the Div. 4 state tournament.
Greenfield was seeded No. 20 and received a bye in the preliminary round. The Green Wave (10-7) travel to No. 13 St. Mary’s Lynn in the Round of 32, the game taking place on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Frontier is the top seeded Recorder Area school at No. 15. The Redhawks (10-6-1) have a bye before hosting No. 18 Hopedale on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Both teams who made it to the Western Mass. Class C title game are also in the Div. 4 state tournament field. No. 34 Franklin Tech (13-1-4) heads to play No. 31 Westport on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. while No. 35 Pioneer (8-3-5) takes on No. 30 Narragansett on the road at 5 p.m. on Thursday.