BELCHERTOWN — Imanni Power-Greene thought she’d never do it. One hundred goals seemed so far away after tearing her ACL her freshman year. But countless hours of rehab and hard work allowed Power-Greene to come back stronger than ever, and the Northampton girls lacrosse junior entered Tuesday afternoon just one goal shy of the century mark.

About midway through the first quarter, Power-Greene received the ball outside the circle on the right side of the field. She slid her way through a host of Belchertown defenders, ducked under one more and worked free in front of the cage with nobody on her. Power-Greene whipped an underhand shot past Orioles goalie Emma Almeida and in – the 100th goal of her varsity career.

The flashy play put the Blue Devils ahead 3-1, and they never looked back as they knocked off Belchertown 19-2 under Tuesday’s hot sun.

“It means so much to me,” Power-Greene said. “It was so hard coming back from the injury, and there were so many times I wouldn’t be as good coming back. To be able to come back and reach this big milestone, I can’t even put it into words. I’m so happy.”

Her teammates were just as thrilled. When Power-Greene buried the shot, she was immediately swarmed by the blue jerseys on the field. Head coach Ousmane Power-Greene, Imanni’s father, called a timeout to rightfully let the celebration and moment linger a little longer. Balloons and posters were given to Imanni and nothing but smiles filled the sideline.

The stress and pressure of reaching triple digits left the second she scored, and having her closest friends by her side made it even more special.

“I was nervous going into it,” Imanni Power-Greene said. “Just relief, and excitement. I would not be here without my teammates. Everyone is so supportive all the time, and they’re always looking for me throughout the game. It’s really exciting.”

Ousmane Power-Greene echoed a similar sentiment.

“For all of our girls who are able to stay with the sport and really dedicate their time to it, it means a lot,” he said. “And because of her injury, coming back is not easy, so it’s huge for those reasons. The support of the team has been huge too. It takes a team to be able to do these kind of things.”

Imanni Power-Greene finished with a game-high six goals, Makayla Fydenkevez tallied four goals and Maya Bergman-Lagier scored three of her own as the trio each recorded a hat trick for Northampton. Kaydence Braman and Teagan McDonald scored twice each and Jenna Talbot and Tayla Fisherman added a goal apiece while Ainsley Dawson recorded a handful of nice saves.

The win stood as the Blue Devils’ fourth in a row and moves them to 5-1 this season. In its last four contests, Northampton has outscored opponents by 38 goals.

“It starts with our defense,” Ousmane Power-Greene said. “Ainsley has been phenomenal in goal, and that leadership really translates to our senior defenders. Maddie Nakashian, Avery Nakashian and Jada Ford, they have set the tone for our defense – working together as a team. Our victories start there, and then from there we have some great individual scorers.”

Belchertown fell to 0-5 on the season with the loss, but the Orioles – which have just two seniors on the roster – are continuing to learn what it takes to be successful at the varsity level as such a young team.

Head coach Jarrod Lemke said this season is the perfect opportunity to learn and improve by watching what some of the strongest teams in western Massachusetts, like Northampton, do well and take habits from them.

“This kind of showcases what it looks like to be a high-end player,” Lemke said. “Stick-skill wise, because there is such little physical contact allowed in girls lacrosse, if you are good with the ball in your stick like several of the Northampton players are, there’s not a lot you can do to defend them. That’s what practice does. It works. You have to put some thought into it and try to get better at certain things. And we’re trying, which is all I can ask for.”

Lia Pikul and McKenzie LePage tallied the two Belchertown goals, while Emma Almeida made 11 saves before exiting due to injury. Natalie Bodon took over and stopped three shots.

Several players saw action for Lemke, including Niah Roberts – who began the game doing the scorebook but was thrown into the mix. Lemke saw several positive plays from those who played on Tuesday.

“Everyone was in good spirits, and we had some people step up and play some positions they didn’t think they would have to,” Lemke said. “It was good, it was nice to see everybody get some experience.”

Up next for Belchertown is a Thursday afternoon road game against Mount Greylock, while Northampton hosts Wahconah under the lights on Thursday in search of a fifth straight victory.