It wasn’t quite smooth sailing for the local girls soccer programs in 2021.
While Greenfield and Frontier each won preliminary round games in the state tournament, no Recorder area school advanced past the Round of 32 in the inaugural MIAA statewide tourney.
Fast forward a year, and the hope is that Franklin County and the North Quabbin region can send squads a step further when the postseason rolls around again in November.
In Orange, Mahar head coach Chad Softic said his team is talented but short on depth. The Senators were the No. 24 seed in the Div. 4 tourney a year ago, falling to Leicester in the Round of 32.
“I’m cautiously optimistic this season,” offered Softic. “Certainly depth is a real issue. Once we get into our depth, we’ve got some really young players playing. Our starting 11, they compete and there’s a lot to like there. We’re seeing a lot of growth.”
While the Senators have been blessed with prolific scorers in recent years — Delaney Parker, now filling the net at Westfield State, and Sienna Moore, who toppled the 20-goal mark during her senior season in 2021 — Softic expects more of a scoring-by-committee approach this fall. Senior Astha Bernard is the most likely candidate to offer a consistent scoring punch, and she’ll likely be joined up top by Nevaeh Scribner.
“She has the creativity to score on her own and the ball skills to be able to it,” Softic lauded of Bernard. “I think the rest of our goals are going to have to come from field position, through balls, etc.”
The defensive unit is buoyed by the return of Alivia Patch, who is penciled in as the starting goalie despite not playing soccer since eighth grade.
“She’s solid,” Softic said. “She has good instincts, plays really composed back there. We’re happy to have her back in the mix.”
Junior Dakota Cleveland will handle the sweeper duties for the Sens, with senior Caraline White right in front of her at stopper. Junior Meghan Parse and Audrey Danielson are outside defenders.
The midfield has plenty of experience, led by senior Kendrah Doane in the middle. She’ll be joined by junior Logan Burke, with senior Kayley Murphy and sophomore Thea Whitmore on the outside.
Mahar will be tested throughout the season, competing in the difficult Grieve Division for the second year in a row with the likes of Palmer, Mount Greylock and Springfield Central.
“We didn’t win a lot of games in the league last year but we were very competitive,” said Softic. “We played a lot of one-goal games and we were a tournament team. I think that made us a better team come late October and I’m hoping that’s the case this year.”
Greenfield won a game in the Div. 5 state tournament a year ago, knocking off Smith Academy before ultimately falling to eventual state runner-up Palmer in the Round of 32.
Things look considerably different for the Wave this fall. The program graduated a talented group of seniors who had been on the varsity team for some time. They also have a new coach, as Ben Johnson takes over for Tina Riddell. Johnson previously coached the Greenfield Middle School boys soccer team.
“We definitely have a really young team this year,” offered Johnson, whose team opens Tuesday on the road at Smith Academy. “We’ve challenged the upperclassmen that we do have to step up and be leaders and they’ve really made an impact on the younger kids so far.”
Senior Azemina Cecunjanin will set the table as the team’s center midfielder, and will pair nicely with younger sister and freshman striker Elderina Cecunjanin. The duo should put pressure on opposing defenses.
“We’re going to rely heavily on them to make plays for us,” Johnson said.
Junior Carly Blanchard also returns and Johnson said she’ll serve a sort of “Swiss army knife” role in a variety of key positions. Senior Makayla Valente also returns as the team’s starting goalie, while sophomore Anna Bucala returns to the fold and will be another player to watch either defensively or in the midfield. Senior Ava Widelo (midfield/defense) has also impressed early on.
“We’ve been working on communication a lot because with so many new players, we’re trying to find that right balance,” said Johnson.
Junior Indie Merrill (forward), freshmen Holly Babineau (M/F), Emilia Gray (M/F), Victoria Lyvytsky (D), Suhani Patel (D/M) and Jenny Petcu (D/M), and eighth graders Tayler Bergeron (M/F), Lauren Helie (D/M), Sandra Johnson (D), Bianca Reynolds (D/GK) and Niya Strohman (D) are also on the Greenfield roster this fall.
It was a tough start to the 2021 season for Franklin Tech, which co-ops with Turners Falls High School, though the Eagles steadily improved over the course of the fall and broke through with a pair of wins to close out the campaign.
With almost the entire roster returning, second year head coach Jason Butynski said he’s feeling optimistic about what his charges can do this time around.
“We were incredibly young last year, but we made progress,” Butynski began. “We won our last two games of the season and started doing some of the things that we had been working on in practice. I think winning those games at the end of the season gave the girls a lot of confidence going into this season. We’re happy with the trajectory but they have a lot of work to do.”
Sophomore Kylee Gamache takes over as the Eagles’ starting goalie after seeing a little time between the pipes as a freshman. Sophomore Sofia Moreno will key the center of the defense at stopper, and Butynski said he’s excited about the potential she’s flashed thus far. Senior captain Cailin McClure will handle sweeper duties, with senior Jocelyn Wyman and junior Emma Elliott on the outside.
Junior Ella Kolodziej and freshman Lindsey Taylor are penciled in as central midfielders, with sophomore Laken Woodard and junior Kyra Goodell on the outside.
Junior Anne Kolodziej should be the team’s top offensive player and gets the nod up top, while senior Jillian Crowningshield is back after missing most of last year due to injury and will see time either at forward or back defensively.
“We had one senior last year and we only have three seniors this year so we’re still super young,” Butynski said. “I want to be more competitive more frequently this year. That’s the first goal, learn how to play in close games.”
Sophomores Elise Wolfe (forward) and Gianna DiSciullo (defense), juniors Madeline Brandl (goalie) and Skylar Alamed (midfield) and freshmen Madyson Lynde (defense/midfield) and Samantha Duncan (midfield/forward) are other players to watch in the Powertown this season.
Frontier won a state tournament game in 2021, but head coach Phil Pittelli lost some key starters to graduation. This year’s senior class is talented, and Pittelli said the club will look to blend those upperclassmen with a crop of newcomers.
“We lost a lot of veterans and good leadership so I’m hoping our seniors kind of step up in that department,” Pittelli said. “I still feel like we have enough pieces and enough moving in to keep us at a competitive level.”
Senior Cadince Wells-Robinson takes over the full-time goalkeeping duties this fall, and she’ll have a strong defense in front to aid the transition. Senior Anna Petrin, junior Hannah Mackin and sophomore Claire McFarland will key the back line, with help from the likes of seniors Caroline Crocker and Sophia Leone.
Crocker will also see time in the midfield, as will sophomore Josie Fosnot and senior Sydney Tor. Other midfielders include senior Kylie Laford and junior Magdeline McDermott-White.
Up top, Pittelli said he has a lot of options. Junior Jillian Worden and freshman Maddie Fagan, who transferred in from Smith Academy, should be offensive threats, while junior Madeline Bennett is another player with goal-scoring potential.
“We’re just trying to figure out where our new pieces are going to fit,” Pittelli explained.
A 7-10-1 record showed Athol wasn’t far off from a state tournament berth. The Bears were in just about every game in 2021, and a few goals here and there could’ve bumped that record above .500.
Goals were hard to come by a year ago, though defensively Athol was quite stout. Tim Cleveland’s club fell to rival Mahar by just a 1-0 margin, and played several other top sides to tight margins.
In Northfield, Pioneer also looks to find its way into the statewide tournament discussion after missing out in 2021. The Panthers won six games a year ago, riding a roster comprised of more middle school players than high school ones.
Pioneer athletic director Kerry Baird just announced the hiring of new coach Larry Poirier at the end of last week. Poirier previously coached the Pioneer girls program in addition to stints at Mohawk Trail Regional as the boys coach. He takes over for Nikki Pullen. It’ll be a quick adjustment period, as the Panthers are slated to open the season Tuesday against Frontier.
Mohawk Trail won’t field a varsity girls soccer program due to low numbers again this year, AD Greg Lilly confirmed last week. The Warriors haven’t fielded a varsity squad since the 2019 season.