HOLYOKE — Josie Cloutier put herself in the perfect position.
The Greenfield junior midfielder found a pocket of space and calm in a sea of chaos following a Green Wave penalty corner against Smith Academy in Thursday’s Western Massachusetts Class B field hockey championship.
The ball rolled over to her, and Cloutier slammed it into the cage 2 minutes, 13 seconds into the third quarter.
“I just needed to be where I was. I saw it coming,” she said. “I was like ‘gotta score.’”
It was the title winner, as No. 3 Greenfield bested No. 4 Smith Academy 1-0 for the title. It was the Green Wave’s fourth sectional crown since 2016. They hadn’t hoisted the trophy since 2018, though, losing to Frontier in 2019. There wasn’t a tournament in 2020.
“Last night’s win (over South Hadley in the semifinals) was huge. The momentum as totally in our favor,” Greenfield coach Erin Thayer said. “They were ready to go. Their hearts were there. Their heads were there and our skills were there. We just knew we had to come out and execute and get it done.”
That took some time to set in. Both teams took most of the first quarter to find their footing, and a fox ran across the field as the opening frame’s final seconds ticked away. Smith Academy controlled much of the second quarter, generating multiple corners in the second quarter.
“We dominate the whole first half, we had our chances,” Smith Academy coach Judy Strong said. “You saw how many were sitting in front of goal. They do have a good goalie. But that was our opportunity to put in one or two at that point.”
The halftime score line held 0-0. Thayer knew the Green Wave needed to approach the second half with a different intensity.
“At halftime, we had the conversation about that we were kind of sitting back on our heels, we weren’t moving the balls, the communication wasn’t really great,” she said. “We had the conversation of what needed to change, made a couple of adjustments on the field and they went out and executed.”
Greenfield senior Lucy Postera blocked a clearance with her face near the start of the third quarter, keeping possession in Smith Academy’s end. Off the restart, the Green Wave earned a penalty corner. Some of its junior varsity players started chanting “every corner is a goal! Every corner is a goal!” They started it Wednesday against the Tigers, and while the mantra isn’t 100 percent successful, it held true that time.
After the initial corner scramble, Cloutier put away the game-winner. Then Greenfield’s real work began.
“We now have to make sure we play defense. Defense comes first. Everybody plays defense, the offense will fall into place,” Thayer said. “Do all the little things to make it successful so we can keep that 1-0 win.”
The Green Wave raised their championship plaque high with the knowledge it might not be the only addition to their trophy case. The state tournament begins next week, and Greenfield is ranked within the top 32 teams in Division 4 and will qualify.
“It’s all crazy to us. We have no idea what to expect and where to go,” Thayer said. “But I think at this point in the season, your seasons have their ups and downs, and I’m so proud of the girls that at this point in the season the girls have come together stronger than I’ve seen them all season and have put it togeth3er at the right time to be going in the right direction.”
Smith Academy has the same silver lining. The Falcons are well above .500 at 14-4 and will get a shot in the Division 3 tournament.
“We don’t have to end like this,” Strong said. “This team will rebound. This will sting and this hurts because we fell short of our goal, but they also are proud of what they did this season.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.