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KATHLEEN DUNCAN

Smith Academy's Sarah Wickles, center, has the ball stolen out from under her by Athol's Alyssa Holden on this play Wednesday, but the Falcons had the ball plenty overall, outscoring the Red Raiders by six goals in their 8-2 win.

SOUTH HADLEY - All season, the Smith Academy field hockey team has been the clear favorite to win the Western Massachusetts Division 2 Tournament.

The Falcons showed exactly why they are so highly regarded in Wednesday's 8-2 win over Athol that put them one win away from hoisting the trophy for the eighth time ever and the fifth time since the tournament was split into two divisions in 1997.

"There's been a lot of pressure on us this year to get to the finals," said Smith coach Sherry Webb, whose team opened the year with 14 straight wins. "It's been a given in so many people's minds, certainly not in our opponents, but a lot of other people. These guys have overcome that. They love each other. It's easy to tell that they care about each other quite a lot."

No. 1 Smith Academy (18-2) advanced to the sectional championship game, where it will face No. 3. South Hadley (12-5-3) at Mount Holyoke College at either 11 a.m. or 1 p.m. Saturday.

"It feels good to get back to the finals," said senior midfielder Jill Hopfenspirger, who missed last year's postseason with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. "They lost to Greenfield in the semifinals last year and we're all so excited to have another chance in the finals."

The Falcons have featured a devastating offensive attack this year, outscoring opponents 96-14 heading into the title match.

"Smith is clearly the team to be reckoned with this year. They were the number one seed for a reason. We knew what we were getting ourselves into," said Athol coach Melissa Strong, whose team finished the year 11-8-1. "Their passing is incredible. Their athleticism is, I think, the best in western Mass. They played the way we expected them to play."

The Falcons' ability was on display again Wednesday at Mount Holyoke, as they scored four times virtually on top of one another to put the contest away almost immediately.

"It's all about passing and speed, and they pass the ball so well," Webb said. "We've done a lot of funny things to make that an important part of our game. We practice with a big ball and we throw it. We practice corners, throwing the ball instead of using sticks, just to focus on what needs to be done."

Smith's abilities put constant pressure on Athol freshman goalie Danielle Whitman, who made 14 saves.

"She played an outstanding game. I think she plays beyond her years," Strong said. "She's not afraid of the ball. She's not afraid to go down to the ground. I was very happy with her performance."

Emiko Barker got her team on the scoreboard first, putting home a rebound off a shot by Alyssa Woodward with 22 minutes, 53 seconds remaining in the first half.

Smith doubled its lead with 21:38 left off a corner opportunity taken by Hopfenspirger. She sent the ball to the left side to Allison Slysz, who slid a pass to Sarah Wickles in front for an open look at the goal, which she converted.

"We call it 1-2-3. We try to make crisp passes to each other and get a shot quickly," Hopfenspirger said. "We don't want to play around with the ball too much."

Woodward scored an unassisted goal 26 seconds later and then added another with 20:44 left for a 4-0 lead just 2:09 after the game's first score.

"When the opportunity presents itself, Alyssa delivers," Webb said. "She's not at the place in her career where she creates opportunities. But when the opportunity is there, she delivers."

Allii Moriarty and Steph Slysz added goals to give Smith a 6-0 lead at halftime.

Woodward scored her third goal of the game early in the second half off an assist by Lindsay Gondek, who wrapped up the Falcons' scoring with an unassisted tally at 17:17 left in the game.

Smith starting goaltender Kierstan Mulcare did not face a shot on goal before being relieved by eighth-grader Elizabeth McClellan with 11:44 remaining.

Athol got on the board with 5:36 left when Kayla King found Alyssa Holden in front of the net.

"At halftime, we wanted to work on our defense and protect our goal," Hopfenspirger said. "We weren't really worried about scoring any more. They scored once some of our starters came out, so there wasn't a lot we could do about it."

The Red Raiders added another goal with 4:34 left, this time by Elizabeth Arpide.

"We were already down at half quite a bit. We talked about making the most of the final 30 minutes," Strong said. "We wanted to do the little things and really the mark of a good team is whether or not that team gives up. We didn't give up."

Jim Pignatiello can be reached at jpignatiello@gazettenet.com. For more coverage, including a high school sports blog, go to www.gazettenet.com/hs-sports.