In a battle of two teams with identical records, Turners Falls High School took one step closer to a postseason berth with a 2-0 win over Pioneer Valley Regional School in a West Division field hockey game Friday night in Turners Falls.
Turners Falls (7-8-1, 7-4-0 West Division) scored both goals in the opening 10 minutes of the game, as Cassidhe Wozniak found the back of the net with a strike in the fourth minute on a pass from Nicole Thibeault and Alysha Wozniak scored a goal of her own, 2:08 later off a corner for the 2-0 lead.
Pioneer (6-9-1, 6-5-0 West Division) had its best chance to score right before halftime as the Panthers lined up for a penalty stroke. Olivia Rowe fired a quick shot but it went just wide of the net leaving the score at 2-0.
Neither team could find their offensive rhythm in the second half when the teams combined for 10 shots. Maddie Currier played well in net for Turners Falls, stopping 10 shots to earn the shutout, while Stephanie Scoville blocked 12 shots for Pioneer in the loss.
With the win, the Indians now need three points in their final two games to qualify for postseason play. Turners Falls returns to action today against Central High School (0-14-0) and should be able to pick up the two points as the Indians crushed Central, 8-0 earlier on this season. The real test will come Thursday, when Turners hosts Southwick High School (8-6-0) at 6:30 p.m. The Indians were able to beat the Rams earlier this year, 2-0, and will either need a win or a tie to qualify for the tournament.
With the loss, the Panthers were eliminated from postseason contention.
Greenfield 3, Tantasqua 2 — Olivia Joy scored with 1 minute, 9 seconds left Tuesday and Greenfield High School kept its unbeaten season alive with a 3-2 victory over Tantasqua Regional High School in an independent field hockey game in Sturbridge.
The game was an emotional roller coaster for Green Wave coach Erin Thayer, as Greenfield scored the only two goals of the first half to take a 2-0 lead at the break only to blow that lead in the second half. Joy rescued the win for the Wave by sitting on the post following a corner play and redirecting home a pass from Raegan Hickey.
“Once again, we fought through adversity,” Thayer said. “I’m pleased to see that we can do that, but I was disappointed that we showed up not mentally prepared to play. We just weren’t making the right decisions on the field.”
Hickey struck for a pair of goals in the first half. Her first of the day came at the midpoint on an assist from Audrey Bresciano, while her second of the half came with 5:16 left on an assist from Grace Kennedy.
Lexi Fish got Tantasqua on the board five minutes into the second half on an assist from Bradyn Darger, and Darger tied the game with 9:28 to play on an assist from Maddi Doherty.
Both teams finished with 12 shots. Samantha Smith made 10 saves to earn the win, while Jess Hall stopped nine shots in the loss.
Greenfield looks to finish the regular season unbeaten on Friday when it hosts Pioneer at 4.
Athol 6, Franklin 0 — Lexi Cucchi had four goals and one assist to lead Athol High School to a 6-0 win over Franklin County Technical School in a West Division field hockey match Tuesday in Athol.
Makenna Collins and Maddie Truehart each had a goal for the Red Raiders and Nina Alvarez added an assist. Hudson Carlson registered nine saves in net for Athol.
Kailynn Mason-Emond blocked seven shots for the Eagles.
Quabog 6, Mohawk 1 — Sarah Duff and Emily Bouchard each scored two goals as Quabog Regional School District rallied to score five second-half goals in the Cougars’ 6-1 independent field hockey win over Mohawk Trail Regional High School Tuesday in Buckland.
Caitlin Johnston scored the lone goal for the Warriors in support of Kyra Turner, who turned away 8 shots in net.
Frontier 3, Minnechaug 2 — Selayna Bathurst registered 20 kills and 11 digs as Frontier Regional School came back to win the final two sets and earn a 25-20, 19-25, 14-25, 25-23, 15-13, victory over Minnechaug Regional High School in a PVIAC East volleyball match Friday night in Wilbraham.
Lauren Davenport also played well for Frontier, recording 13 kills and 8 digs, while Ella Dean dished out 43 assists and 8 digs.
Greenfield 3, Mahar 2 — Molley Duclos tallied 19 kills, 3 blocks and 4 aces to help Greenfield High School squeak out a 20-25, 26-24, 25-21, 19-25, 15-12 win over Mahar Regional School in a PVIAC North Division girls’ volleyball match Tuesday night in Orange.
Amy Muniz also played well for the Green Wave, adding 24 assists and 2 aces while Raven Graves notched 12 kills, 5 aces and 8 digs and Casey Noyes registered 5 kills, 17 digs and 4 aces.
Sophie Smith led the way for the Senators with 9 kils and 5 digs while Maeve Powell notched 8 kills and Lauren Henne added 14 digs.