The Pioneer field hockey team is into the Round of 16.
The Panthers made it three Franklin County schools in the final 16 of the MIAA Division 4 Field Hockey Tournament on Sunday, as No. 12 Pioneer tallied a pair of second-half goals to earn a 2-0 victory over No. 20 Littleton in the Round of 32 in Northfield.
The Panthers will travel to No. 5 Lynnfield in the Round of 16 on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.
Pioneer didn’t get on the board until the third quarter, when Sofia Walker staked the hosts to a 1-0 lead with an assist from Avery Sargent.
Lauryn Kalinoski tacked on the insurance marker in the fourth quarter, making it a 2-0 game with a goal from Walker.
Kelly Baird saved the one shot on goal by Littleton to earn the shutout.
Greenfield 3, Carver 1 – Tied 1-1 into the fourth quarter, the 9th-seeded Green Wave sprung to life.
McKenzie Boswell finished off a nice pass from MacKenzie Paulin for the go-ahead goal with 10:34 remaining, and Josie Cloutier added some insurance less than two minutes later to lift Greenfield past No. 24 Carver, 3-1, in a Div. 4 Round of 32 contest on Saturday in Greenfield.
Lillia Kachelmeyer had give the Wave a 1-0 halftime with a goal, but Carver tied it late in the third. Greenfield coach Erin Thayer said she stressed staying focused heading into the final period.
“Take a deep breath, play our game, and just go put the ball in the net,” she said of the message. “It was more about keeping our heads, finishing this game, and doing what we know how to do. They came out pretty quickly and did it.”
The win sets up a fourth meeting of the season with rival Frontier, as the 8th-seeded Redhawks will host the Round of 16 contest on Monday at 2:30 p.m. in South Deerfield. It’s the first time ever the two programs will play four times in one season.
“We know each other so there’s nothing to hide there,” Thayer said. “I think we’re pretty evenly-matched teams, so it could come down to lots of different small things.”
Ainslee Flynn made four saves in the Greenfield net. The Wave held a 16-5 edge in the shots on goal department.
Div. 5 Round of 32
Douglas 3, Mohawk Trail 0 – On the road in the Round of 32, the 25th-seeded Warriors saw their stellar season come to an end on Saturday.
No. 8 Douglas captured a 25-14, 25-16, 25-13 sweep, securing a spot in the Round of 16. It will host No. 9 Lee in the next round.
Palmer King’s six kills were tops for Mohawk Trail, to go with six aces and two digs. Sophia Goodnow, Riley Giard and Hannah Plesnar put down two kills apiece, while Maddie Lamorie dished out seven assists.
MIAA Div. 4 Round of 32
Frontier 3, Manchester Essex 0 — A pair of goals from Brady Burch helped propel the fifth-seeded Redhawks to a comfortable 3-0 victory over No. 28 Manchester Essex on Sunday in South Deerfield.
Frontier will host No. 12 Lynn Vocational in the Round of 16 on Thursday at 5 p.m.
Devin Niles also tallied for the Redhawks, which led 2-0 at halftime. Niles assisted on Burch’s first goal, which got the hosts on the board in the 23rd minute.
Goalie Owen Babb stopped all five shots he faced.
MIAA Div. 5 Round of 32
Hull 4, Frontier 2 – The 24th-seeded Redhawks scored first on Sunday night, but No. 9 Hull responded with three unanswered goals to capture a 4-2 win in the Round of 32.
Hull advanced to play at No. 8 Mount Greylock in the Round of 16 on Wednesday.
FC Tech 44, Bartlett 28
Trailing 22-0 after one quarter, it seemed like the Franklin Tech football team was in for a long Friday night.
But the Eagles never went away, and ultimately rallied for a wild 44-28 victory over Cen tral Mass. foe Bartlett in a non-playoff contest played Friday night in Webster.
Josiah Little rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown for Tech, while quarterback Gabe Tomasi threw for a pair of TDs (four total TDs) and finished with 70 yards on nine completions. Junior William Ainsworth caught two touchdowns on the night, while Landen Hardy returned an interception 82 yards for a score that put the visitors on top for the first time all night at 30-22.
Tomasi’s 41 yard touchdown run put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter, and he scored a defensive touchdown to seal the deal when he returned an interception 50 yards for a score.
Brody Williams, Hardy, Vincent Renaud, Zaydrien Alamed, Nathaniel Fuess, Camryn Laster, and Madix Whitman were all over the field making big defensive plays the whole game.
“We are extremely proud of the way that this group battled tonight,” Franklin Tech coach Joe Gamache said. “We have a lot of guys stepping up and filling big roles and they truly battled tonight. Coming off of emotional losses the past two weeks and falling behind 22-0 on a long road trip, they showed a tremendous amount of heart, character, and determination and truly earned this win.”
Franklin Tech is the number No. 5 seed in the MVADA Vocational Playoffs and will travel to number No. 4 Pathfinder for a quarterfinal matchup on Friday night.