Big second half propels Warriors past Holyoke

Tess Rancourt and Lexi Williams scored in the first 10 minutes of the second half and Mohawk Trail Regional High School edged Holyoke, 3-2, in a Bi-County League field hockey game Wednesday night at the Roberts Complex in Holyoke.

The teams traded goals in the first half but Mohawk took a quick lead in the second and made it stand up. Rancourt gave Mohawk (2-3-0) the lead for good three minutes into the frame when she scored on a corner off a pass inserted from Abby Sinistore. In the 10th minute, Williams took a feed from Shelby Sinistore and buried it for a 3-1 lead. Holyoke got one back with 10 minutes to play from Julia Pluta, but Mohawk held on.

“I’m very happy with how we came out after halftime,” Mohawk coach Lynn Hoeppner said. “I had outstanding play from my older girls. Isis Moon, Shelby Sinistore, Abby Sinistore, Cailtin Johnston and Taylor Williams really stepped up and led the younger girls. There was lots of communicating on the field today, which was nice.”

Holyoke led 1-0 at the midway point of the first half when Chris Farber took a long pass from Bridget Healy and broke in on goal, but Mohawk answered one minute later as Johnston scored on an assist from Shelby Sinistore. Hoeppner said she was pleased with the play of her defense to prevent Holyoke from using the long pass from Healy to Farber in the second half.

Kordaryl Kendall made two saves to earn the win. Cheyenne Dunn stopped 15 shots in the loss.

Amherst 2, Pioneer 1 — Pioneer’s first year back as a varsity field hockey program has already been met with success, but on Wednesday the Panthers had their modest two-game winning streak come to an end with a 2-1 setback to Amherst in a Tri-County League match in Northfield.

The Panthers (2-2-1) took a year off from the varsity ranks due to having so few high school players on the team but returned this season after playing junior varsity last fall. The team is still young, but has been finding out what it takes to compete at the varsity level. Back-to-back wins over Franklin Tech and Athol had the Panthers tied with Amherst for second place in the TCL entering Wednesday’s match.

Amherst scored once in each half to take a 2-0 lead before the Panthers got on the board late. Pioneer coach Sallie Gilliland said the game provided her team with many lessons moving forward.

“I think it gave us a reality check of what we have coming up in the future and just how hard we have to play,” she explained. “As far as hustle, I saw it out of our girls from the beginning right through the end of the game. The girls are working hard. But this kind of gave us a view of things that we really have to focus on and the mistakes that are hurting us.”

Malina Kern gave the Hurricanes (3-1-0) a 1-0 lead with 11:19 to play in the first half, and Rachita Randhir scored with 9:04 to play in the second to give Amherst some breathing room. Pioneer’s Jennie Fuller scored with under 5 minutes to play to cut the deficit in half but it was all Pioneer could muster.

“This really gave our program a taste of varsity-level play,” Gilliland said.

Athena Fowler-Shaw made seven saves in the Pioneer goal. Lydia Sullivan stopped two shots in the loss.

Turners Falls 7, Palmer 0 — Cassidhe Wozniak scored four times and had one assist to lead Turners Falls to a 7-0 win over Palmer in a Bi-County League game Wednesday in the Powertown.

The Thunder (5-1-0) led 3-0 at halftime.

Amber Taylor also had a huge offensive effort with three goals and one assist. Brynn Tela chipped in an assist, and Haleigh Greene made four saves for the shutout.

Rhea Dinelle made 15 saves in the loss.

Southwick 2, Mahar 1 — Emily Martin scored in the second half to lift Southwick to a 2-1 win over Mahar in a Bi-County field hockey game Wednesday at the Woodward Complex in Orange.

The teams exchanged goals five minutes apiece in the first half. Martin scored the first goal of the game with 14:50 to play on an assist from Devan Fox, but Lily Fellows pulled the Senators even with 10:03 to play on an assist from Anna Wetherbee. 

Martin scored an unassisted goal seven minutes after the break to put the Rams in front to stay. Mahar had several opportunities to tie the game, including ringing the post multiple times, but was unable to net the equalizer.

Clare Stratton earned the win the Southwick net with six saves, and Bella Marigliano stopped eight shots in the loss.

Belchertown 2, Athol 1 — Kaleigh Cooper and Hailley Boutin each scored in the first half to lead Belchertown past Athol, 2-1, in a TCL tilt Wednesday in Athol.

Heather Pilling scored her first career varsity goal for Athol (1-5-0) with 1:46 to play in the game on an assist from Christa Cucchi to end the shutout bid by the first place Orioles.

Ryley Pond made nine saves in the loss.

Belchertown 2, Athol 1

Goals: (B) Cooper, Boutin. (A) Pilling.

Assists: (B) Wrona, Rothstein. (A) Cucchi.

Shots: Belchertown 11. Athol 3.

Saves: (B) n/a 2. (A) Pond 9.

Corners: Belchertown 6. Athol 2.

Amherst 2, Pioneer 1

Goals: (A) Kern, Randhir. (P) Fuller.

Shots: Amherst 9. Pioneer 3.

Saves: (A) Sullivan 2. (P) Fowler-Shaw 7.

Corners: Amherst 6. Pioneer 5.

Turners Falls 7, Palmer 0

Goals: (TF) Wozniak 4, Taylor 3.

Assists: (TF) Tela, Taylor, Wozniak.

Shots: Palmer 4. Turners Falls 22.

Saves: (P) Dinelle 15. (TF) Greene 4.

Corners: Palmer 10. Turners Falls 13.

Southwick 2, Mahar 1

Goals: (S) Martin 2. (M) Fellows.

Assists: (S) Fox. (M) Wetherbee.

Shots: Southwick 10. Mahar 7.

Saves: (S) Stratton 6. (M) Marigliano 8.

Corners: Southwick 11. Mahar 7.

Mohawk 3, Holyoke 2

Goals: (M) Johnston, Rancourt, L. Williams. (H) Farber, Pluta.

Assists: (M) S. Sinistore 2, A. Sinistore. (H) Healy.

Shots: Mohawk 18. Holyoke 4.

Saves: (M) Kendall 2. (H) Dunn 15.

Corners: Mohawk 11. Holyoke 1.