WESTHAMPTON — Heading into its final regular season game of the season against Hampsihre Regional on Monday afternoon, the Smith Academy field hockey team had a record of 7-7-2 and sat at No. 35 in the MIAA Division 4 power rankings.

It was a must-win game if the Falcons wanted a shot at playing in the big dance.

And after Raiders senior Chloe Moynihan’s goal tied the game at one, Smith Academy’s Alexa Jagodzinski completely took over. The Falcons senior already scored the contest’s first goal, and she added the go-ahead tally late in the second quarter before her third early on in the second half gave Smith Academy a comfortable cushion.

Jagodzinski’s hat trick propelled the Falcons not only to a 3-1 win, but also to an automatic spot in the MIAA Division 4 state tournament.

“It’s awesome, because it’s been three years since we lost 10 seniors and we’ve been rebuilding the program and have gotten close [to making the tournament], but this year they’ve just all came together,” Smith Academy head coach Judy Strong said. “They really did a lot of out-of-season work, it paid off and now this is their reward.”

Two of Jagodzinski’s three goals were assisted by Molly O’Brien, and each one came off a penalty corner.

Strong admitted that Smith Academy’s corner offense hasn’t been great throughout the fall, so to see her team execute off corners this late in the season shows tremendous progress.

“We have been struggling to score, and we really haven’t scored much off our corners, it’s been the field of play,” Strong said. “This was the first time I felt like we executed our corners to perfection, and the results showed from that. Hampshire’s tough, and we knew that they were a tough program. They have awesome players and great seniors, especially Chloe, and we all saw what she did with one swing of the stick.”

Moynihan’s goal came at a perfect time for Hampshire. Only 30 seconds into the second quarter, the ball found Moynihan just a step inside the circle to Smith Academy goalie Madison Didonna-Renner’s left. She wound up and blasted the ball between a group of Falcons defenders and squeezed it in between Didonna-Renner’s pad and the post.

As it smacked loud off the back board in goal, Moynihan jumped up and was immediately greeted by her teammates. The senior scored a big goal on her senior day.

“She’s been working on that hard drive from a distance since she was a freshman on this team,” Hampshire head coach Susannah Bastek said of Moynihan. “That was her 52nd point, so I’m proud of her and she’s come so far. She can really make things happen on the field.”

Moynihan was one of a trio of Raiders seniors celebrated on Monday. Alongside her were seniors Ryleigh Fennessy and Ava Senecal, and all three of them have been on the team for multiple years.

Bastek watched each of them grow in a variety of ways throughout their careers, and Monday certainly brought a bittersweet feeling for her as it stood as their last regular season game together.

“We have three seniors, and they have all been playing varsity since eighth or ninth grade,” Bastek said. “They’re all very unique in their leadership styles so they balance each other out well. They all bring different things to the field, which is great.”

Jagodzinski spoiled the rest of Hampshire’s bid for a win on senior night. As a senior herself, Strong mentioned it was one of Jagodzinski’s goals to help boost Smith Academy into the postseason after a few down years.

Her third goal showed her terrific skills, as she weaved around a Raiders defender and rifled a shot into the cage to make it 3-1 with just over nine minutes remaining in the third quarter.

It proved to be the dagger.

“She was huge, and she was just named Athlete of the Week by Channel 40,” Strong said of Jagodzinski. “She had a great senior day where we tied Amherst, a very strong team, and then to come out here and have a hat trick, she can’t write the script any better for her senior year – and she deserves it. She’s worked hard.”

In goal, Hampshire’s Rylie Simmons made a dozen saves in a fantastic effort between the pipes. Bastek described Simmons’ performance as “great,” and even Strong showered her with compliments following the game.

Didonna-Renner came up with six saves on her seven opportunities to help the Falcons to a win.

“I don’t really know how states works with the seeding, but our goal was to get this young team some tournament experience,” Strong said. “I’m pretty excited for them to have that opportunity regardless of who we play.”

While Hampshire’s season came to a close Monday, Smith Academy is gearing up for a potential Western Mass. tournament game later this week before it gets ready for the state tournament.