SPRINGFIELD – Three South Hadley defenders surrounded Belchertown senior Avery Klingensmith. Orioles freshman Mia Corish ran to her right in acres of space. Klingensmith took one touch inside then slid a perfectly weighted ball to Corish. The freshman took one touch ahead of her as the Tigers changed course.
South Hadley keeper Drew Alley flew off her line to challenge the ball. Corish deftly slid it under her outstretched arms and into the back of the net, scoring the game-winning goal of Sunday’s Western Massachusetts Class B girls soccer championship with moments remaining until the final whistle.
“I knew it had to be done, so I took a deep breath and buried the ball,” Corish said.
Top-seeded Belchertown kept its unbeaten record intact with a 3-2 win over No. 2 South Hadley at Bette Field. The Orioles last captured a sectional crown in 2012 when they won the Division 2 title. South Hadley had won the last three Division 3 championships.
“It’s a credit to the kids on the field, and it’s an honor for me and my coaches to coach them,” Belchertown coach Kyle Thibeault said. “They’re a great group of kids that just buy in and see the big picture and are part of something really special here.”
GOAL: Mia Cornish, the freshman, at the death. @OriolesAthltcs takes a 3-2 lead with moments remaining in the class b girls soccer final pic.twitter.com/6klqCzoVOL
— Kyle Grabowski👑 (@kylegrbwsk) October 31, 2021
South Hadley (13-5-1) appeared well on its way to its fourth championship in a row after the first 20 minutes. Lauren Marjanski scored twice to put the Tigers up 2-0: expertly finishing a through ball on her first touch in the eighth minute, then converting a penalty in the 18th. South Hadley was awarded the spot kick after a Belchertown hand ball in the box.
“It really brought up the energy and helped us work together and get a pep in our step,” she said.
The deficit impacted the Orioles, which had only given up two goals one other time this season: a 3-3 tie with Minnechaug on Oct. 18.
“It was super negative when we were down, but we came back like a team,” Corish said. “Like I knew we would.”
Madysen LePage started the rally with one swing of her leg in the 33rd minute. She lined up a free kick from an off angle then looped it perfectly over Alley’s outstretched arms into the top right corner to cut Belchertown’s deficit to 2-1.
Then the Orioles earned a corner in the final two minutes of the opening half. The service floated into the box and was headed to the ground. Belchertown freshman Fallon Clancy raced to the spot and tapped it in to tie the game shortly before the halftime whistle.
“They caught us with a couple mistakes we made defensively,” South Hadley coach Rich Marjanski. “You can’t make mistakes against a team like that or it’s going to make you pay for it.”
The second half was much tighter, cagier, even. The teams focused on their defensive shape rather than pressing the attack for fear of getting caught out.
Lauren Marjanski had a chance on a breakaway with 16 minutes remaining but couldn’t bend her shot around the keeper.
Klingensmith scalded a shot with nine minutes remaining that appeared destined for glory until Alley tipped it over the bar at full stretch. The ensuing corner dropped a few times in the box, but South Hadley cleared it.
Belchertown had a corner in the final two minutes, but a header attempt sailed over the bar. Overtime and the accompanying stress appeared inevitable. Thibeault moved Klingensmith up from her midfield spot to a target froward to give the Orioles more playmaking in the final third to try and find a winner.
Corish found Klingensmith on a through ball in the waning seconds. Instead of shooting it again, the senior looked to the freshman at her right.
“Even though she’s a freshman, I trust her in front of the net. I saw that she had a better angle than me and was in front of the defenders,” Klingensmith said. “Knowing that was the last shot, it was really awesome.”
The last shot of the game, but not the last shot of the season for either team. State tournament seeds will be announced Tuesday, and both the Tigers and Orioles are in line for high rankings. Belchertown was No. 5 in Division 3, while South Hadley slotted 10th in the most recently available list. The Tigers are the defending state champions from 2019.
“You could play with (Belchertown), you could play with anybody. Nobody’s beaten them all year, and they were in the whole game with them,” Rich Marjanski said of his team. “We go into the state tournament like we’re the team to beat. Let’s go and get some wins.”
Your wmass class B girls soccer champions: @OriolesAthltcs 🆠pic.twitter.com/V2ROQfmRav
— Kyle Grabowski👑 (@kylegrbwsk) October 31, 2021
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski @gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.