SOUTH DEERFIELD — After 80 minutes of close calls and near misses from both sides, Ethan LaFluer finally put a stop to it in 31 seconds.
LaFleur’s unassisted tally in the first minute of sudden-death overtime propelled fourth-seeded Frontier Regional School to a pulse-pounding 1-0 victory over fifth-seeded Pope Francis High School in the quarterfinals of the Western Massachusetts Division III Boys’ Soccer Tournament Tuesday night at Frontier.
“That was an amazing game,” said Red Hawks head coach Dale Totman. ” I thought both teams played extremely well. I honestly thought it was about as even as you could get. It was a very good game.”
The eventual winning play in the extra session started innocently enough with a chip into the Cardinals penalty box. However, the dew-covered ball slipped through the gloves of Pope Francis goalkeeper Liam Sears and a mad scramble ensued 15 yards from goal.
When Red Hawk midfielder Ian Newman’s first attempt was blocked, LaFluer spotted the loose ball squirt away from the throng, got to it first and booted it into the open corner for his 14th goal of the season to set off a wild celebration.
“The margin for error is thin,” said Totman. “Their goalie made a mistake and we were able to capitalize. A lot of (LaFleur’s) goals are very scrappy. He’s that type of forward you want. He’s always first to the ball, and very, very scrappy. That was a typical Ethan goal.”
It was also one that the Red Hawks were fortunate to score. The Cardinals held a 60-40 edge in possession, outshot Frontier 16-11 and had the lion’s share of quality scoring chances but were simply snakebitten when it came to cashing in.
After a highly entertaining first half that featured a Pope Francis goal disallowed due to a foul in the goal box, the Red Hawks appeared to be in big trouble when the Cardinals were awarded a penalty kick when Sam Schecterle was called for a hand ball in the penalty area.
Pope Francis forward Cam Peritz tried to place the ball into the corner to Frontier goalkeeper Peter Bronke’s left, but Bronke made a fabulous diving save, and the follow-up attempt by Cardinals midfielder Makem Demers from point-blank range somehow went over the bar.
“Peter has been amazing all year,” said Totman. “Honestly, I thought he was going to save it. It honestly didn’t surprise me. He’s only a sophomore, and to come up with that save in that moment is huge.”
Frontier (11-3-4) advances to the semifinals against top-seeded Hampshire Regional High School on Thursday night at 7 at South Hadley High School.