GRANBY - Friday was another in a long line of impressive days for Smith Academy sports this fall.

Both the boys and girls soccer teams were awarded the No. 1 seed in their Division 3 tournaments, which begin on Saturday.

The field hockey team, also a No. 1 seed in its Division 2 tournament, opened the postseason with a win on Thursday and the golf team was second at the western Massachusetts Division 3 championship on Oct. 26.

"It's been really nice to see all the success of the team sports in the fall," boys soccer coach Jason Duncan said. "It's been a really good season at Smith. There's a good sense of success at the school in all aspects right now."

The soccer and field hockey teams each won their respective league championships and the golf team took second in its regular-season play.

The girls soccer team used the field hockey program as an example.

"I think it's a tribute to Sherry (Webb) and the field hockey program," girls soccer coach Matt McCloghry said. "They set the standard. You see how they work, you see what a championship team is."

Boys tournament McGrath South battle-tested

The Smith Academy (13-2-3) boys team returns to the postseason for the first time since winning the sectional title in 2004.

"The last two seasons we missed it by two and then one point," said Duncan, who is in his third year leading the Falcons. "We waited until the last week of the season against the top teams in the league to try to make tournament. We didn't put ourselves in that position this year. Returning our entire starting defense and most of our midfield certainly didn't hurt either."

The key was the defense, led by sweeper Chris Sulda along with stopper Graydon Rickert and outside backs Cory Mortimer and Joey O'Connell.

"Chris Sulda is a very good sweeper. He could play anywhere on the field. If I put him up front, we'd have a better offense. If I put him at outside midfield we'd have a better midfield," Duncan said. "He doesn't get beat. He's been steady all season.

"The whole defense has been steady," he added. "They play very well as a unit. They take it personally. They don't want to get scored on. This is their second year playing together as a foursome and they cover each other pretty well."

Matt LaRose led the team's offense with 10 goals and four assists, while Chris LaRose (four goals, four assists), Mat Sulda (five, three) and Steven Golonka (six, one) all contributed on the attack.

The Falcons are not the only McGrath South team among the top Division 3 teams.

Hopkins Academy, which tied Smith for first in the league, is the No. 5 seed after an 11-2-5 season in which it outscored its opponents 40-12.

Gateway Regional, which was third in the McGrath South and just one point out of first place, is the No. 4 seed at 10-2-4 overall.

Playing in such a competitive league "won't hurt. We're certainly battled tested," Hopkins coach Justin Campbell said. "The new league alignments helped us to be tested against good Division 3 tournament teams during the year.

"All three (teams) are capable of winning it. It's about who executes better," Campbell added. "Everyone will be well prepared for each other because we know each other so well."

If Hopkins beats No. 12 Sabis (7-10-1) in the first round at 2 p.m. Sunday in Hadley, the Golden Hawks would head to Huntington to play at Gateway in the quarterfinals at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Former McGrath South team Granby, which won the McGrath North this year at 11-4-3, is the No. 2 seed in Division 3.

In Division 1, Churchill-Moriarty winner Northampton (9-6-3) took the No. 4 seed behind three Smith Division teams - No. 1 Ludlow (14-0-3), No. 2 Minnechaug (12-3-3) and No. 3 East Longmeadow (9-4-4).

Amherst Regional (7-7-2) is the No. 6 seed in Division 1.

In Division 2, local teams Hampshire Regional (No. 4, 9-3-4), Belchertown (No. 5, 7-3-6) and Easthampton (No. 6, 12-5-1) are bunched together in the bracket.

Girls tournament Falcons, Red Raiders No. 1

At the start of the season the Smith Academy girls soccer team would have been hard-pressed to top last year's achievements.

Well, they did.

The Falcons set a school record for wins when they finished the regular season 15-1-2. The team also allowed the fewest goals in a season, breaking last year's total of 15 by two.

Smith Academy earned a higher postseason seed too as the Falcons are No. 1 in Division 3. Last year the team was second.

"They were absolutely thrilled," McCloghry said. "It's a nice legacy to hang on to, to be the first team to earn a No. 1 seed."

The Falcons will face the winner of Saturday's first-round game between No. 8 Lee (10-6-2) and No. 9 Pathfinder (9-7-2). That quarterfinal game will be at 2 p.m. Monday in Hatfield.

Smith Academy defeated Pathfinder twice this season by a combined score of 5-0. Lee won the Division 3 title in 2006 and 2007.

"You never know what will happen," McCloghry said. "The ball bounces funny ways in November."

The Hampshire Regional girls soccer team earned the No. 1 seed in Division 2.

The Red Raiders (12-1-3) will host a quarterfinal game at 5 p.m. Tuesday. They will play the winner of Sunday's first-round game at 2 p.m. between host No. 8 Belchertown (9-7-2) and No. 9 Hoosac Valley (8-9-1).

Hampshire enters the postseason with the best defense in western Massachusetts. The unit of Sarah Sypek, Ashlee Moussette, Lauren McGrath and goalkeeper Nicki Stasz has allowed a regular-season best five goals.

The team began the season with 12 straight shutouts and went almost 1,000 minutes without allowing a goal.

In Division 3, Granby (13-2-3) won the Pioneer League and is seeded third. The Rams host a quarterfinal game at 2 p.m. Wednesday. They will play the winner of Sunday's first-round game at 2 p.m. between No. 6 Westfield Vocational (9-5-2) and No. 11 Ware (7-7-2).

A top quarterfinal matchup features No. 5 Gateway Regional (11-3-2) and No. 4 Hopkins Academy (13-3-2) at 2 p.m. Monday in Hadley.

The teams tied for second in the Pioneer League behind winner Granby. Hopkins defeated Gateway 1-0 twice this season.

Long nights

Rookie tournament director Jonathan Cavallo, the Granby vice principal, had a tall task in replicating a difficult process which longtime tournament director Tom Ford, who died in July, made look easy.

"Sleepless nights in terms of trying to get everything as accurate as I could," Cavallo said. "There's always room for improvement."

Cavallo used the Walker Statistical Instrument, a mathematical device which ranks the teams by a combination of winning percentage, strength of schedule and record against other tournament squads.

"There are little things I know I could have done to make things better for coaches and the committee," Cavallo said.

In past years Ford did a number of different things to balance the tournament. For example Ford sometimes did not include teams from the Tri-County League in the Walker. Ford also tried to avoid having teams play for a third time in the first round.

Cavallo included all the teams in the Walker and did not avoid three-time matchups.

"I go based on the guidelines of the PVIAC," Cavallo said. "That was Tom's decision he did years ago. With some direction from the PVIAC - whatever they think is what I'll do next year."

Mike Moran can be reached at mmoran@gazettenet.com. Jim Pignatiello can be reached at jpignatiello@gazettenet.com.

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