Falcons again field hockey champions
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SOUTH HADLEY - For 30 minutes Saturday, the Smith Academy field hockey team did everything it could to try to even the score with South Hadley in the Western Massachusetts Division 2 Tournament championship.
Finally, Alyssa Woodward scored off a Steph Slysz cross and the Falcons tied the game with 19 minutes, 23 seconds remaining at Mount Holyoke College.
That's when the floodgates opened.
Smith scored three more times before the final whistle and won the sectional championship 4-1.
"We did hang in there. That's what we do. We have a lot of confidence in our passing game," said Falcons coach Sherry Webb, whose team won its eighth western Massachusetts title since 1977.
"We play our style and eventually our speed will wear you down," she added. "I think that was the case (Saturday). We kept running."
No. 1 Smith (19-2) advances to the state semifinals, where it will face central Massachusetts champion Oakmont (16-1-3) at Wachusett Regional on at 5 p.m. Tuesday. The Falcons will be in search of their fifth trip to the state final after getting there in 1977, 1993, 2000 and 2003. They won the title in 1993 and 2000.
"Western Mass. is western Mass. It's with most of the same girls (as the 2007 title team) and we are so close," said Slysz, a senior. "But winning senior year is definitely something special."
No. 3 South Hadley (12-6-3) looked to knock off its third straight North Division team when it got on the board first off a penalty corner.
Meghan McClaflin sent the ball to Hannah Pancione on the left, who slipped a pass inside to Kayla Narey. She blasted her shot into the right side for a 1-0 lead with 21 minutes remaining in the first half.
"We knew they were going to come out with guns blazing and that we would have to stick with them. They have a great passing game and we had to focus on intercepting that passing," Tigers coach Tara Cole said.
"We wanted to give them a game," she added. "Every team that makes the championship wants to win the championship. The team gave its all."
South Hadley fought off Smith's constant pressure, as the Falcons could not convert on any of their seven first-half corner tries and had numerous good scoring chances miss just to the right or left of the box.
The second half featured more of the same, until Slysz took a long run down the right side, and fired a perfect cross to Woodward on the left post who blasted it into the box.
"The first half, the nerves were getting to me," said Woodward, a sophomore. "As soon as we talked at halftime about really needing to be a team and work together, that's when we came back and showed how well we can play."
Scoring the first goal "definitely felt good, especially because I was responsible for a few of those misses in the first half," she added. "We were coming back and I could tell that it was going to be a victory."
Woodward was right.
First Emiko Barker put back a Slysz miss with 16:32 left to take a 2-1 lead.
"The second half was like a whole different game for us," Slysz said. "We were putting things together, playing as a team, just like we always do."
Then, with the rain picking up, Sarah Wickles made it 3-1 when she scored off a rebound with 1:35 left. Slysz capped the scoring with 27.4 seconds left off an assist by Lindsay Gondek.
Kierstan Mulcare had one save in goal for Smith.
"Unfortunately, 4-1 doesn't reflect (the closeness of the game) because there was a little bit of a breakdown in the final three minutes of the second half when I think the girls were feeling it slip out of their reach," Cole said. "That's hard, but they played with a lot of heart and they have a lot to be proud of."
The loss marked the final high school games for South Hadley seniors Emily McClintock, Dejanae Garia and goalie Mic Boyer (11 saves), who led the program to its first Division 2 final and first sectional title game since the Tigers played for the championship for three straight years from 1981 through 1983. South Hadley won in 1981.
"We talked about it (being another big step forward for the program). Our back-to-back losses in the semifinals and finally making it to the championship game," Cole said. "They did win their league this year after being moved to a different division.
"These girls play hard. They do everything I ask them to and it shows by the results, being here. This doesn't happen to every team, obviously. It's a testament to their hard work and everything that they do.
The trip to the finals "is a stepping-stone. Everything is a stepping-stone," Cole added. "Great programs aren't born. They are made. We're working on it."
The Smith players, meanwhile, celebrated their title by accepting their trophy and then, as has become a common sight this season, singing the school song to their fans.
"Our principal Mr. (Scott) Goldman started a deal this fall with the class that could make the best video with the school song would win a prize," Webb said. "It started off with the girls going to the boys soccer game and they'd sing the school song whenever the boys scored. So the boys started doing it for us. It's part of what makes Smith Academy different and special."
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. Get updates directly into your Facebook newsfeed at www.facebook.com/gazette.hs.
