AGAWAM – A ferocious defensive effort delivered the South Hadley girls lacrosse program its first Western Massachusetts championship.

The No. 2 seed Tigers defeated No. 4 Belchertown 13-5 on Wednesday at Agawam High School, holding the Orioles to their second-lowest goal total of the season. 

South Hadley scored nine goals in a row to put the game out of reach. That turned a 4-2 advantage with 14½ minutes to halftime into an unimpeachable 13-2 lead with 11:27 to go. 

“We’ve been forcing it a lot this year. We focused on keeping our composure, running out plays, and it just worked,” South Hadley’s Jordyn Balint said.

The Tigers kept Belchertown off the board for 29:06, roughly 58 percent of the 50-minute game. Some of that came from physicality in the defensive zone or forcing turnovers in the open field, but goalie Evelyn Gingras stonewalled most of what else snuck through. She finished with nine saves and prevented the Orioles from gaining any traction.

“Their goalie played so fantastic,” Belchertown coach Jarrod Lemke said. “She was saving pretty much everything we shot.”

South Hadley found the net early. Balint, who also had three assists, scored 1:51 in. Margaret Watkins (two goals) ripped a free position into the cage with 18:27 to halftime, and Ava Asselin (two goals) bounced a shot in at the 18-minute mark to put the Tigers ahead 3-0 in the first seven minutes.

Adrien Wise put the Orioles on the board and cut the deficit to 3-1 with 17:35 to halftime. South Hadley’s Eliana Britton responded a little over two minutes later, then Paige Magner cut Belchertown’s deficit to 4-2 with 14:44 to the half.

The Tigers scored nine in a row until Madysen LePage ended the run with her second goal with 10:33 remaining. LePage scored another goal a minute later off a great Sam Pacunas feed. Wise made it three in a row for the Orioles with 3:11 remaining to settle the final margin.

“The beginning of the game and the end of the game were good, we just fell apart a little, more than a little, toward the back half of the first,” Lemke said.

When the clock finally hit zero after a countdown assisted by the Tigers fans in the stands, South Hadley converged on Gingras.

“It didn’t feel real, honestly. I’ve never experienced something like this. I never would have thought I would have had a chance to win Western Mass. in any sport, and it was just one of the best feelings I’ve ever had,” she said.

The Tigers celebrated a second sectional final victory over Belchertown after defeating the Orioles for the girls soccer championship in the fall.

“It’s a fun thing having a rivalry with Belchertown,” Balint said. “Being able to be on the winning end of both sides of that was a really good feeling, and it motivated us even more.”

Both teams have advanced to the MIAA Division 4 state tournament. The Tigers are the No. 29 team, while Belchertown ranks 32nd. The Orioles will host No. 33 Upper Cape Cod Tech, and the winner gets a date with No. 1 Ipswich. 

No. 36 South Shore Voc Tech is coming to South Hadley Thursday at 3:30 p.m. with a trip to No. 4 Nantucket on the line.

“We can focus on everything we did (Wednesday). I think we did everything well,” Balint said. “We won ground balls and draws, and our coaches preached from the beginning of the year that’s the most important thing, so just take the good things we did and showcase it.”

Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.]]>