Published: 11/13/2022 5:07:29 PM
SOUTH HADLEY – It needed eight rounds of penalty kicks for the Blackstone Valley Tech boys soccer team to eliminate Hampshire Regional from the MIAA Division 4 Tournament.
The sixth-seeded Beavers took advantage of a Hampshire miss to start the eighth round of PKs, and Nathaniel Cook ended things when he buried the ensuing kick to lift the visitors to a 5-4 win on penalties and a spot in the Div. 4 semifinals on Sunday at South Hadley High School.
Blackstone Valley Tech will play 10th-seeded Randolph in the semifinal round. Randolph upset No. 2 Pope Francis in another quarterfinal game on Sunday, 3-2.
Third-seeded Hampshire finished its season 16-2-3 overall.
“I think any game this time of year is challenging, and this game certainly was,” said Hampshire Regional coach Dan Moynahan.
The Raiders took a quick 1-0 lead just 6 minutes, 15 seconds into regulation when Aidan Miklasiewicz found himself in front of the Blackstone net alone after the ball popped out of a scrum during a failed clearance. The striker didn’t hesitate, burying a point blank shot into the back of the net to stake his team to the early advantage.
That lead held into the second half, as the Hampshire defense managed to flummox the high-scoring Beavers for the game’s first 58 minutes. Blackstone Valley had scored three or more goals in its last seven games entering Sunday’s quarterfinal round, racking up 32 goals during that span with a 6-0-1 record. Hampshire, on the other hand, amassed 14 shutouts and had allowed just three total goals dating back to the end of September.
Something had to give, and the Beavers managed to cash in with 22:11 left in regulation to pull level. Matthew Drons’ throw-in from distance found multiple heads in traffic right in front of Hampshire goalie Liam Pond, and the ball somehow deflected across the goal line for the equalizer.
Pond came up with a couple key saves in regulation to keep Hampshire tied, including a diving save on a Drons free kick from 30 yards out on the final play. Pond got enough of the ball to deflect it off the goal post, and Matthew Mooney’s follow-up attempt went wide as the whistle sounded for overtime.
After a pair of scoreless 10-minute OT periods, the teams lined up for penalty kicks to decide a winner. Hampshire’s Ayden St. Martin, Miklasiewicz, Dan Martin and Vincent Zononi all tallied in PKs, but the Beavers matched makes when they had to, and Cook’s game -winner sealed the deal with a spot in the Final Four.