TURNERS FALLS — In a battle of unbeaten teams, one quarter can make all the difference.
That was the case Tuesday in the Powertown, as visiting Greenfield opened the game with two goals in the first quarter and never looked back en route to a 5-2 victory over Turners Falls.
“We talk about starting strong every game we start,” Green Wave coach Erin Thayer said. “We can’t play flat. We have to play our game from the start. That hasn’t always been the case this season. We started out a little flat today but they picked it up and we communicated and spaced the field after the first couple of minutes and that made the difference.”
Following the two-goal first quarter, the Thunder defense dug in, keeping Greenfield off the scoreboard the remainder of the half. They matched goals the rest of the way before Katie Haselton scored with three seconds to play off a cross-crease pass by Madyson Kucheski.
“I think we played really well,” Turners coach Becky Zukowski said. “It’s probably the closest we’ve kept it with Greenfield the last few years. I just wanted them to go out and play strong after those first two goals and the second two quarters we tied them. They played hard and I’m happy with the way they played.”
Amber Taylor got the scoring going for the Green Wave, taking a pass from Haselton and shooting on goal. The initial shot was stopped by Thunder goalie Haleigh Greene, but Taylor didn’t give up on it, burying the rebound to put Greenfield up 1-0.
With 3:28 to play in the first, Haselton drove down the middle into the circle and found the back of the cage to make it a 2-0 game.
Greenfield (5-0) played an aggressive game, keeping five attacking players up at all times and putting pressure on Tess Rancourt as the lone defender back. The junior stood tall, making multiple key stops to prevent Turners breakaways.
“She’s great,” Thayer said of Rancourt. “She’s done that all season. She’s super strong, it’s why I don’t take her out. She does more than just stop the balls. The leadership skills she has back there are irreplaceable.”
Following a Thunder penalty in the third quarter, the Wave had a chance to stretch the lead to 3-0 on a stroke. Haselton took it, rifling a shot high to the right, but Greene came away with a blocker save, one of 14 she had during the game.
“I was trying to zone everybody out, keep my eye on the ball and read her body language,” Greene said. “Most people go to the right. The hip goes where the stick goes so I was trying to read the whole body language to see where she was going.”
Greenfield eventually did stretch it to a three-goal lead off a drive from Kaylah Eggsware, who got past the Turners defense for a score, but the big lead didn’t last long as Brynn Tela moved deep into the Green Wave zone and dished to a wide open Taylor Murphy for a tally to make it a 3-1 game.
With the Thunder (5-1) threatening in the fourth quarter, Taylor halted the comeback effort for Greenfield. She fired a missile into the left corner of the cage for her second goal of the contest.
Just as Turners did in the third quarter, it found a quick answer, as Tela got an open breakaway and capitalized on it, finding the back of the cage to make it a 4-2 game. Haselton closed the scoring just before the final whistle.
Mohawk Trail 1, FC Tech 0 — Paige King broke a scoreless game with the eventual game-winning goal late in the third quarter, and visiting Mohawk Trail snagged a 1-0 victory over Franklin Tech in a well-played game Tuesday in Turners Falls.
“I’m really proud of the way they played today,” Franklin Tech coach Rian Lovett offered of her team. “It definitely feels like we’re making strides in the right direction.”
Locked in a scoreless game, King took a feed from Abby Sinistore and buried the lone tally with just 43 seconds remaining in the third period. Goalkeeper Kordaryl Kendall made six saves to pitch the shutout for the Warriors, while Franklin Tech goalie Kyleigh Baleno recorded 15 saves in a strong outing.
Mahar goes 1-2-3
Stephen Gaj led a trio of Mahar runners by taking the individual victory on Tuesday, crossing the line first with a time of 22 minutes, 27 seconds, to help the Senators defeat rival Athol.
Daniel Kidwell was the runner-up for Mahar with a time of 22:32, while Jeff LaPlante followed in third place with a time of 23:09.
Athol’s Brent Boudreau was the fourth overall finisher with a time of 24:07, while teammates Antonio Carbone (sixth, 23:56) and Lily King (10th, 30:12) also scored top 10 finishes for the Red Raiders.
Mike Gemelli crossed fifth overall for the Senators (24:07), with teammates Jeff Kidwell (seventh, 24:25), Delaney Parker (eighth, 27:14) and Marshall Ames (ninth, 29:36) not far behind in the co-ed meet.
Warriors edge Green Wave
Dennis Simmons won another race, and visiting Mohawk Trail needed just about every point it could muster en route to a tight 26-29 victory over Greenfield on Tuesday at Highland Park.
Simmons was the winner with a time of 17:49, and fellow Warrior Sean O’Dea was the runner-up in 18:29. Vincent Gauthier took fourth place to give Mohawk Trail another top-end performance (19:50).
Greenfield received a third-place finish from Andy Bostrom (18:59), and the Green Wave had four straight runners across as Iggy Passiglia (fifth, 20:49), Emanuel Rosca (sixth, 21:34), Jackson Costa (seventh, 22:04) and Theo Popusoi (eighth, 22:05) all ran well.
Mohawk Trail’s Ellie Pinkham won the girls race, posting a time of 22:14 to help the Warriors to a 23-38 win over Greenfield.
Erica Szewczyk took fourth place in the victory (23:17), followed by teammates Caitlin Upton (fifth, 24:14), Savannah Upton (sixth, 24:55) and Cleome Gardner (seventh, 25:06).
Greenfield’s Kandice Lu ran a personal best 22:42 en route to a runner-up showing. It was a day of bests for the Green Wave, as teammate Shane Subeldia (third, 23:14) and Ava Fortin (eighth, 25:08) also had their best times on the course.
Frontier sweeps Hopkins
Angelina Egland won a tight race with Hopkins Academy’s Sylvie DiBartolomeo, crossing the line first in 19:02 to lift Frontier to a 19-42 victory over the Golden Hawks on Tuesday in South Deerfield.
DiBartolomeo was the runner-up in 19:17, but the Red Hawks had the next five runners across the line to cruise to the team victory. Abigail Howard was third overall (20:02), followed by Olivia Deane (fourth, 20:03), Leah Gump (fifth, 20:10), Ayla Starr (sixth, 20:12) and Lucia Doulette (seventh, 21:12).
“I thought Angelina ran a really great race. Sylvie is a really good runner so it was fun to watch that out front,” Frontier coach Bob Smith said.
On the boys side, Dan Fellows and Aleks Carey finished within one second of each other to help Frontier sweep Hopkins, 15-50. Fellows was declared the winner with a time of 17:32, while Carey was next in 17:33. Jack Carey took third place (18:03), with Aden Gray (fourth, 18:05) and Amory Maxey (fifth, 18:20) also running well for the Red Hawks.
Franklin Tech 22 ½, Turners Falls 1½ — Five players fired sub-50 rounds, and that balance was more than enough to lead Franklin Tech to a convincing victory over crosstown foe Turners Falls in a battle for the Powertown on Tuesday at Thomas Memorial Golf & Country Club.
Anthony Zager was the match medalist out of the No. 1 spot, shooting 41 to earn 2½ points in a tight contest with Turners’ Joey Mosca. The Thunder freshman shot 42 and snagged all of his team’s points on the afternoon.
Brady Booska continued to play well for the Eagles in the No. 2 spot, as he shot 42 and swept four points. Alex Sulda shot 44 at No. 3 while Rob Wood and Ryan Artus each posted rounds of 49 to aid Franklin Tech.
Turners’ Vinnie Carme shot 52 in the No. 2 slot, while teammate Taylor Greene followed with a 57 at No. 3.