SOUTH DEERFIELD — The Frontier and Greenfield field hockey teams played four times last fall. Both teams won two games, though the Redhawks took the big one in the Western Mass. championship tilt. 

There wasn’t much separation in any of those four contests, as the Green Wave scored three goals over those four games while Frontier tallied twice – both defenses locked in to corral the opposition’s high powered attack. 

When the two rivals met on Wednesday for both teams’ season opener, it was the Redhawk offense that won the day. 

Frontier scored twice in the first quarter and tacked three goals on in the second half. Its defense did the rest, allowing the Redhawks to pull away with a 5-0 Suburban League triumph. 

“We’ve been stressing all preseason to play with a sense of urgency,” Frontier coach Missy Mahar said. “We want to apply that constant pressure because eventually you can break teams down like that. That relentless pressure was our focus today, and to keep the ball in the offensive territory.” 

With a roster featuring just two seniors, the Green Wave hope to learn from their first game and improve. 

“We’re a really young team,” Greenfield head coach Erin Thayer said. “We have a lot of inexperienced players on the field so there’s plenty to build on.”

Macy DeMaio opened the scoring for the Redhawks, knocking in a shot off a dish from Ashley Taylor five minutes into the game to give Frontier the early lead. 

Three minutes later, Lauryn Kalinowski sent a pass from the right crease to Taylor on the left side of the goal, with Taylor knocking it home to give the Redhawks a 2-0 lead after one. 

Following a scoreless second quarter, the Frontier offense got back to work in the third. 

Ashlie Galenski was the first to tally in the second half for the Redhawks, finishing off a pass from Stella Heflin to add to the Frontier lead with 8:51 to go in the third. 

Less than two minutes later Rowan Reilly made it a four-goal lead for the Redhawks, bashing in a shot off a pass from Harper Modestow to add to the Frontier advantage. With 1:09 to go in the third, Addison Harrington scored an unassisted goal off a rebound following a save by Greenfield goalie Kayden Viencek, giving the Redhawks their 5-0 lead. 

Viencek, an eighth grader making her first start in goal, stopped 10 shots for the Green Wave. Kyra Richards stopped all five shots she saw in goal for Frontier. 

The Redhawks finished with a 7-5 corner advantage. 

“The Greenfield goalie did such a good job in there,” Mahar said. “It’s her first year and it’s a hard first game. It’s always a pleasure playing them. It’s a great rivalry and we always enjoy playing them. Each team gets psyched up but it’s great sportsmanship on the field. I take that to heart.” 

Both veteran coaches know one game doesn’t define a season. The Green Wave travel to Holyoke on Friday to face the Purple Knights before a pair of challenging league games against Minnechaug and Longmeadow next week. 

The Redhawks meanwhile turn their attention to Agawam on Friday, and with a number of challenging independents on the schedule like St. Mary’s Lynn and Sutton, Mahar is hoping an early season rivalry win can give her team confidence for the remainder of the slate. 

“With our schedule moving forward going to Agawam and two independents in central Mass., this is a great confidence builder,” Mahar said. “Getting the first win against a strong, dynamic program is something we’ll take. We’ll keep building and learning.”