This could be the year that a few teams have been waiting for in girls’ soccer, albeit for different reasons.
Frontier Regional School, which was a tournament regular for more than a decade, is looking to return to that form after a five-year stretch that saw the Red Hawks post a 22-54-10 record, no winning seasons and one postseason berth.
Mahar Regional School, meanwhile, has had no issues in winning the Franklin County League the past three seasons with a combined 22-0-0 record. However, the Senators have managed just one postseason win over that time and haven’t made it past the quarterfinals.
Both teams have a chance to make significant strides in this campaign, which should make for an exciting season locally.
The Red Hawks could also be a factor in the Pioneer North if they can stay healthy, and Athol High School is looking to make an upward move in the league as well as qualify for the postseason once again.
Mahar is the overwhelming favorite to win its fourth consecutive FCL title with a loaded roster. The Senators’ three league rivals, Mohawk Trail Regional High, Greenfield High and Pioneer Valley Regional schools, are all thin on numbers.
Franklin County Technical School, meanwhile, has an opportunity to contend for the Tri-County League after a disappointing fifth-place 2015 finish.
Here’s a closer look at the seven area teams:
Athol
The Red Raiders are young but don’t lack for talent.
Only one senior returns to a team that has struggled in its three years in the league (just two wins), but has still managed to win enough games overall to get into the postseason each year.
Head coach Tim Cleveland still has some offense in his arsenal, with senior center midfielder Julia Carey as the top returning scorer. Carey scored 10 goals and added 4 assists for 14 points, tied for sixth in the area.
Another player who can create and produce points is junior Amber Mahony (4-6—10), who will alternate between forward and midfield.
Cleveland will have juniors at almost every part of the field. Destiny Wrigley will swap between forward and midfield, Kaitlyn Baptista is a utility player/outside midfielder, Krista Jillson will start at sweeper, Mercedes Young is penciled in as the stopper and Peyton Parker returns as the starting goalkeeper.
Shelby Mailloux is the team’s only sophomore, and she’ll see the bulk of her time at forward.
Cleveland will integrate five freshmen into the lineup to start, including his daughter Taylor Cleveland. She is a goalkeeper who can also play defense.
The coach also has the versatile Angelica Baptista he can use most anywhere. He’ll start her out as a defensive midfielder. Sophie Putnam is another defender, Grace Dufour will rotate between outside midfield and forward, and Jenna St. Cyr is another midfield/forward option.
“I think we’re going to fight to the end,” said Coach Cleveland. “We’re so young that we have so much upside for this year and the future, maybe we can surprise a couple teams. There are going to be some growing pains early.”
Frontier
The Red Hawks will have a familiar face on the sidelines as Philip Pittelli — the 2012 and 2013 JV coach — returns to South Deerfield after two seasons at Pioneer.
He inherits a senior-laded squad that should make a legitimate push for the North crown.
Frontier possesses arguably the most talented and experienced defensive unit in the area, and it starts in goal with Eliza Desmarais. She can also play in the midfield or up front, so if Pittelli needs to move her to the field, junior backup Alexa Boyden is more than capable after seeing action in net in 2015.
Olivia Denkiewciz (5-4—9) and Sarah Meunier could prove to be the best center-back tandem in the North, and they’ll be complemented by Jaime Byrne and Lilly Haley on the flanks.
Pittelli’s other four seniors are part of an improving offense. Kara Felton (10-7—17), who can play either midfield or forward, is the top returning scorer. Midfielder Elaine LaBarbera (6-3—9) can find the back of the net, while Julia Riordan is another capable threat whether at outside midfield or forward.
Tori Bowen will see the bulk of her time at either defender or midfield.
The Hawks’ lone returning junior is Angela Self, a skilled player who will make an impact whether at outside midfield or forward.
Freshmen who will garner minutes include Natalie Denkiewicz (forward/utility), Kate Hickey (forward/outside midfield) and Tori Speth (defender/midfield). Others coming up from JV include senior Riley Sampson (forward) and junior Katie Thompson (outside forward/outside midfield).
Pittelli, who’s using a rotating 4-3-3 formation to take advantage of his players’ ability to play multiple positions, has been impressed with what he’s see so far.
“I like that their technical skills and soccer IQ are on the high end,” said Pittelli. “I think we can play this formation successfully and the players can adapt to playing multiple spots.”
Pittelli believes his team’s experience will help it compete for a playoff spot and make a legitimate run at the North title, but not without focusing on the fundamentals.
“We need to address communication on defense as a unit and we need to be more patient,” he said. “We need to work on creating space on offense, creating good scoring opportunities and finding those opportunities.”
Mahar
With a team this healthy and deep, Senators head coach Chad Softic knows his team won’t be satisfied simply with making the postseason.
“We’ve been knocking on the doorstep,” he said. “We just want to get to the point where we can win a tournament game against a real quality opponent.”
After struggling to score because of a rash of injuries last season, Mahar’s offense should be significantly better with the return of senior striker Kenzie Tenney, who missed all of 2015 to a torn ACL. She’ll play up top in Softic’s 3-3-3-1 formation and lead a talented forward trio of junior Katie Cleveland in the center and freshmen Delaney Parker and Ella Fontaine on the left and right.
Fontaine (10-7—17) is the area’s top returning scorer, Cleveland (8-4—12) was tied for 10th and Parker (3-6—9) tied for 13th.
The Senators’ stopper line has plenty of experience, with senior Cassidy Verheyen returning from injury to stabilize the middle. She’ll be flanked by sophomores Jeanne Grutchfield and Molly Burke.
Defensively, junior Hannah Paul anchors a quality back line at sweeper, with sophomore Jasmine Vautour at left back and senior Kelsey Killay at right back. Fellow 10th-grader Marie Nottleson returns to take over in goal full-time.
Sophomore Tori Tenney, who was tied for sixth in area scoring (9-5—14), is coming off an injury and is being eased back into the lineup. She’ll likely see most of her minutes at stopper, but she can also play up front and is Nottleson’s backup in goal.
“She’s our Swiss Army knife,” said Softic. “She can play anywhere and pretty much do it all.”
Mahar’s reserves are more than capable of putting in quality minutes and keeping everybody fresh. Several saw playing time last year in the wake of the team’s injury issues.
Junior Kianna Reilley can play virtually anywhere, while Sam Rowe is another 11th grader who will fit into the defensive rotation.
Sophomores Gracie Eastman and Sophie Apteker give Softic more options on the front line, and Lani DiDiego will get plenty of time in the backfield or wherever the Senators need extra help.
Sophomore defenders Sarah Graeff, Abby Bonk and Shelby Ponusky will shuttle between JV and varsity to get as many minutes as possible.
“If we stay healthy, we can be a little more relevant in the conversations with those bigger teams, not just an afterthought,” said Softic. “We’re getting close, I hope the chemistry stays solid and we keep getting better. We want to get to the point where we can knock off a very good team, and we’ll see what happens against the Granbys and Wahconahs of the world.”
Mohawk
Steve Tomi enters his 11th season at the Warriors’ helm, and he’ll have to come up with another solid strategy to compensate for a small roster.
Mohawk’s strength lies in its defense, with co-captains Sarah Gokey (senior) and Mary Monohon (junior) both returning to provide leadership and a veteran presence. Gokey (8-7—15) was the team’s leading scorer in 2015 and fifth in the area. They’ll be joined by junior Haley Rode at left back and eighth-grader Taylor Loomis at right back.
Their performance will be critical to the Warriors’ success, as junior Lilly Seaver enters her first season in goal.
“She participated in clinics, played indoor soccer and has been working with (former goalkeeper) Sally (Slowinski) in preparation for this,” said Tomi.
Mohawk’s midfield line is young but skilled, led by Lucy Carr. The fleet-footed sophomore is the Warriors’ best defensive midfielder and usually shadows the opponent’s best player.
Carr will be joined in the middle by eighth-grader Ashley Lacross, with freshman Grace Poplawski and sophomore Lily Wickland-Shearer patrolling the outside.
Mohawk’s offense may not be as prolific as it was last year, but it has room to grow and sophomore Mae Rice-Lesure and eighth-grader Jaxon Palmer could potentially create some excitement in the offensive third.
Tomi said his roster is thin not only from a numbers perspective but also because of injuries. His only healthy reserve is freshman Jocelyn Crowningshield, who will figure prominently in the midfield rotation.
Eighth-grader Sage Spitzer is likely to miss the first two weeks while recovering from a concussion, and sophomore midfielder/forward Erin Laffond isn’t expected back until at least next month as she recovers from a torn knee ligament – provided she has no setbacks during her recovery.
“That’s a tough loss for us,” said Tomi, who added that he’s still looking at a half-dozen other possible roster additions.
“I’m realistic with this group; they’re very talented but very, very young,” said Tomi. “We’re going to compete every game, but we have little experience and we’ll be a work in progress. I’m also concerned about any potential injuries, especially with such a young team.”
Pioneer
Nine returning players and a sizable group of younger players has provided new Panthers head coach Nikki Pullen with a squad that can compete for a postseason berth.
Lineup flexibility will be a big asset for Pioneer as well — very few players will stay at one position, which will give Pullen plenty of options and better matchups, depending on the opponent.
One player who won’t need to switch is sophomore Leah Fuess, who returns for her second season in goal. She’ll be supported in the back by senior defenders Karissa Perkins and Annalise Holesovsky.
Two other seniors, Audissey Sadlowski and Stephanie Alden, will open at midfield and forward. Flexibility takes over with the other four returnees; Sophie Peduzzi-Nelson may start on defense or move up to midfield in a pinch, and juniors Emily Raymond, Kaylee Gibson and Aiden Greis will rotate between midfield and forward.
Pullen’s other two projected starters are sophomore midfielder Avery Kelton and freshman Cierra Buzzell, another midfield/forward option.
Freshmen Jordin Hubbard (defender), Annie Johnson (defender) and Sam Martinez (forward) will see ample minutes at their respective position.
Newcomers who will battle for time include junior Anna McClure (defender), freshmen Sarah Podlesney (defender) and Morgan Lounder (defender) and eighth-grader Lily Van Baaren (forward).
“(Our depth) was a pleasant surprise and there’s much more experience that I expected” said Pullen. “Seeing that, our goal is to make the playoffs and I see that as an attainable goal.”
Greenfield
The preseason hasn’t been easy for Green Wave head coach Patrick Garland, who is starting to see things come together in a rebuilding process that hasn’t experienced a lot of recent success.
Greenfield should be able to find some success with eight returning players, three of whom are seniors — Anna Jackowski, Chelsea Mass and Mckenna Wells. Garland added that Mass will start in goal, but he’s still evaluating all other positions.
He also has two returning juniors in Leah Bosco and Morgan Winn, as well as sophomore Lily Georgitsa and freshmen Tina Reed and Dina Samake.
Although he said that his roster wasn’t complete as of press time due to late start for school, Garland already has a half-dozen newcomers who will get plenty of game experience throughout the season because of the small roster.
Olivia Morris is the only new 12th grader, while juniors Anna Blagedenco, Tannin Costa, Mikaylah Rhayne and Bryn Stack, and freshman Kacia Kinsmith are all first-timers out for the squad.
Garland is hoping his young squad said can build off its last seven games of 2015, where it went 2-3-2 after starting winless through nine games.
“It is always going to have to be about defense for us,” emphasized Garland. “We’re not going to win many games where 3 or 4 goals are being scored. That said, since we have a foundation of the zonal defense set from last year, we are looking to possess the ball more.
“Trying to defend for 80 minutes straight was exhausting last year,” he added. “We hope to even up the time of possession without sacrificing our defense.”
FC Tech
After a bad 2015 conclusion, head coach Jenna Carme is optimistic her Eagles can turn things around and extend their season by at least one postseason match.
Carme will also be able to field an entire starting lineup of returning players to reach that goal.
Five seniors are back for their last shot at the postseason — Rachel Shearer (center midfield/stopper), Megan McCrory (outside midfield), Katie Sheperd (center midfield), Erica Deane (midfield) and Amanda Murphy (defender).
The junior class also has plenty of experience, including starting goalkeeper Tabi Hamilton. Karaghen McBurnie will see minutes at either forward or midfield, and Amber Merritt will split time between defender and midfield.
Franklin Tech’s offense should be one of the most potent in the TCL with sophomore Brooke Adams, who led the area in goals (15) and tied for second in points (17) a season ago.
Classmate Abi Corey is another key piece to the defense at sweeper, as well as the backup keeper, while Kate Garcia can play either outside defender or midfield.
Carme also has three new players to supply much-needed depth. They are senior defender Kat Cairns (who took last year off), sophomore Keltyn Socquet (midfield/forward) and freshman Jenna Thebeau (defender).
“With a very solid group of girls, I’m not worried if we can keep that core healthy,” said Carme. “We missed some attainable opportunities last year that kept us out of the postseason. We just need to capitalize of them this season. If we can stay focused and do what needs to be done, I think we can (qualify).”