Belchertown boys coach lauds seniors
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WESTFIELD - Belchertown boys soccer coach Tony Almeida had a message for his seniors as he huddled with them after their final high school game on Saturday.
"He was saying that we brought the program back," said senior forward Jon Martins. "We've had two long, hard seasons the past two years, and we had to fight back. And he thanked us for everything."
After missing the playoffs for two straight years, the Orioles returned to the Western Massachusetts Division 2 title game which they lost 1-0 to Palmer at Westfield State College.
Belchertown won three consecutive sectional championships from 2003 through 2005. The fifth-seeded Orioles finished this season with a 9-4-6 record.
No. 2 Palmer (18-2-1) won its first western Massachusetts title and will play central Massachusetts champion Nipmuc (15-5-2) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Foley Stadium in Worcester. No. 9 Nipmuc upset No. 3 Grafton Sunday for the sectional title.
"Our guys gave it the best they had," Almeida said. "We made a lot of mistakes in the first half, and in the tournament you can't make those mistakes. We gave the ball away too often.
"We never really got our passing game developed," he added. "We knew what to expect, it just wasn't our day today. They seemed to be one step ahead of us the whole game."
After scoring four goals in an upset victory over top-seeded Mount Greylock Thursday night in the semifinals, Belchertown could not dent the scoreboard Saturday.
"I think the guys were a little nervous," Almeida said. "We spent ourselves in our last game (against Mount Greylock), to be honest. I was a little worried about a letdown, and I think you saw that. We weren't the same team today as we were Thursday."
Saturday's lone goal came with 16 minutes, six seconds remaining in regulation. Tim Lynch of the Panthers played a ball to Jon Remillard, whose header pass into the middle found a streaking James Chabot. He buried the ball in the lower right-hand corner of the net.
"We talked to the defense about them playing a lot of long ball," said Almeida. "We kept an eye on that for most of the game, but sooner or later, they were going to get one by us."
Martins added, "It was a good shot. He broke free in the middle."
Orioles senior goalkeeper Dylan Bachand (five saves) was active throughout the game, coming out to cut off scoring opportunities by Palmer.
Panthers goalie Steve Swiatlowski stopped five shots to post the shutout.
Belchertown put the pressure on in the second half, both before and after Chabot's goal. They took three corner kicks in the half, but either could not get the ball through to Swiatlowski or could not put it past him.
In the final minutes, Dan Leary had a header opportunity at the near post as the ball came through the box, but he pushed it just wide. Zach Stone also had a good look, but fired wide.
The Orioles had the better chances in the first few minutes of the game, as Martins, Leary, Jon Duperre and Brian Stacy worked to try to take an early lead.
Palmer "played well on defense," Martins said. "We had some chances, we just couldn't put them away this time. That's the way it goes sometimes."
Martins was the team's leading scorer this season with nine goals and four assists. He scored once in each playoff victory over Hampshire and Mount Greylock.
The Belchertown defensive unit of Dustin Gregoire, Bobby Fitzpatrick, Ian Sypek and Nick DeSantis played a solid game and kept the Panthers from adding on.
"I couldn't be more proud of any team I ever coached than I am of these guys," said Almeida. "Nobody expected us to be here.
"We've been the underdog team since the season started, and that was OK with us," he added. "It wasn't until the last game of the (regular) season when I was able to put the starting team on the field, because of injuries. That helped going into the tournament."
To get to the final, the Orioles defeated No. 4 Hampshire Regional in overtime and defending state champion Mount Greylock.
Martins said losing the championship game was disappointing, especially considering the opponent.
"We've been wanting to beat (Palmer) because of the huge rivalry between the towns," he said. "That's what we wanted, but we came up a little short."
It was the final high school game for Belchertown seniors Martins, Leary, Duperre, Bachand, Fitzpatrick, Stone, Brian Boudreau, Ethan Auffrey and Mike Wood.
"They've meant a great deal, and that's the worst feeling I have right now," Almeida said. "Three years ago, we graduated the whole team. These seniors in the previous two seasons took a lot of beatings. For them to get this far, I'm very happy that they got into this game."
Martins added, "This was a great season. I never thought that we'd make it this far. Nobody really did, but once we started playing, we were the only ones in western Mass. that thought we could. We just had to believe and put our hearts into every game."
