WESTHAMPTON — Tuesday night’s matchup between No. 3 Hampshire and No. 19 Pittsfield in the MIAA Division 4 boys soccer tournament was the fourth time the two teams had gone head to head this season. 

Hampshire had won all three prior matchups, but the last two were much closer than the Raiders would have liked – 2-0 and 2-1 wins, respectively. 

To ensure safe passage to the state quarterfinals, the Raiders pulled out all the stops against the Generals en route to a convincing 5-1 victory. Aidan Miklasiewicz factored into all but one of the team’s goals, netting a pair of goals to go with two assists. Both Brendan Stevenson and Dan Martin picked up a goal and an assist apiece, and Vincent Zononi also scored in the victory. 

“They're a pretty technical team compared to the other ones we play. They have a good cohesion in their offense,” Hampshire’s Aidan Moynahan said of Pittsfield.  “We knew we'd have to work just as hard on defense as we did on offense to beat them.” 

Chemistry was the difference-maker for the Raiders (18-0-3). Miklasiewicz and Martin teamed up for a pair of goals, with Miklasiewicz dishing off to Martin to open the second half and give the Raiders a 3-0 lead in the 68th minute. Martin sent a perfect cross over to Miklasiewicz late in the second half for Miklasiewicz’s second goal of the night. 

Only one of Hampshire’s goals was unassisted, a beautiful individual effort from Stevenson for the home team’s fourth tally. 

“We've all played together for so long, so it's just kind of a connection you make over time. We all kind of understand how each other plays. We know where to pass the ball to each other and when to run off each other,” Miklasiewicz said on the team’s chemistry. “(Martin and I) both play a very similar style of soccer. So it's great to have a connection with him and it works out well for both of us.”

Miklasiewicz opened the scoring off a well-executed throw in from Martin; Martin threw a ball that found Stevenson in the box, and he headed it twice. His second touch moved the ball over to an open Miklasiewicz, who finished in front of the net to put the team up 1-0 in the sixth minute. 

Miklasiewicz and Zononi made it 2-0 going into halftime on a perfectly-executed give and go. Miklasiewicz found a sprinting Zononi in the middle of the box, and Zononi was able to easily finish his teammate’s pass with just over six and a half minutes remaining in the first half. 

Pittsfield pushed hard to open the second half, but the Raiders’ rock solid defense and keeper Colin Holt kept the Generals off the board for the majority of the second half. Pittsfield’s lone goal came off a penalty kick from Kyle Cardoso, who got the ball past a diving Holt with 16 minutes left in the contest to make it 4-1. 

Getting the fourth win against Pittsfield was sweet for the Raiders, especially since it punched their ticket to the quarterfinals. It also reinforced Hampshire’s reputation as one of the top soccer programs in the area; both its boys and girls soccer teams have made deep runs in the state tournament, with the girls’ team seeded No. 10 in their bracket and preparing to take on No. 26 Ipswich in the Round of 16. 

“Since (myself and Moynahan) have both been here, soccer has been a huge part of our school and growing up it's a huge part of our childhoods. When you go to Hampshire, you know that there's gonna be good sports teams, but soccer especially – I don’t know, we're just all pretty good,” Miklasiewicz said on Hampshire soccer’s culture of excellence.  

The Raiders will play the winner of Wednesday’s game between No. 11 Lunenburg and No. 27 East Boston. East Boston upset No. 6 Excel Academy Charter in a dramatic 4-3 overtime game to get to the Round of 16. 

Girls volleyball

Div. 3 Round of 16

No. 3 Weston 3, No. 14 Belchertown 0 – The Orioles’ outstanding season came to an end on the road Tuesday night, falling to Weston in a Round of 16 sweep.

Set scores were 25-12, 25-13, 25-16.

 Weston (17-5) will host No. 6 Old Rochester in the quarterfinal round.

Belchertown (13-7) received a team-high four kills from Gianna Picardi. Ava Shea and Paige Magner put down three kills apiece, and Chrissy Santiago added a pair of kills for the O’s.

Vivian Ross amassed 10 assists to go with five digs, and Shea also racked up five digs to aid the defensive effort.

Hannah Bevis can be reached at hbevis@gazettenet.com. Follow her on Twitter @Hannah_Bevis1.