H.S. Roundup: Mohawk field hockey holds off Mahar

ORANGE — Three different players found the back of the net for the Mohawk Trail Regional field hockey team in a 3-2 win over Mahar Regional on Tuesday afternoon.

After building a three-goal lead in the third quarter, the Warriors watched the Senators mount a comeback in the County league contest under the beaming sun at the Woodward Complex.

The lead was down to a single goal at the end of the third quarter.

“We took our foot off the gas and got too comfortable,” Mohawk coach Greg Lilly said. “To be honest, we aren’t used to being in situations where we are up three goals. This is the first time we have scored three goals in three years…we thought we had already won the game.”

After an intense huddle during the intermission, the Warriors controlled play in the final frame to bring a victory back to Buckland.

“I think they got the message,” Lilly said. “It’s not great seeing a 3-0 game turn into a one-goal game within the span of a minute and a half. But I think they understood, we are still in this learning process.”

The Warriors won their second game of the season. Mohawk has postseason aspirations and a state tournament berth was a preseason goal of the team. Midfielder Heidi Helenek scored Mohawk’s second goal toward the end of the first period. Offense is a focal point for this year’s team.

“This year we are really focused on pushing up the field,” Helenek said. “It’s a big switch for a lot of us. A lot of it is trying to figure out how lanes are supposed to be set. Our diagonals, our triangles, getting every set to go up the field.”

Jayda Waters opened the scoring with eight minutes, 34 seconds left in the first quarter. Libby Amstein assisted on the goal. Sadie Wilcox assisted on Helenek’s goal. Wilcox sent the ball into Helenek, who fired a shot from distance for the tally.

Naomi DenOuden’s goal made the score 3-0 in the third quarter. Wilcox picked up her second assist on the play. The Senators got on the scoreboard when Ella Smith scored on an assist from Katy McGinnis. It was the first goal of Smith’s varsity career. The sophomore just started her field hockey career. A background in ice hockey helped her ease into the sport.

“The first few days I was figuring out how to use the stick and how to hit the ball,” Smith said. “I never thought I would score a goal this quickly…it was just like we did in practice. It all moved very quickly. But it’s good, I am glad to have the support in my team.”

With 10 seconds left in the third period, Makayla Beauchemin scored on an assist from Adeena Maselli. Mahar went into the final frame trailing by only one goal. The Senators could not quite close out the comeback.

“That’s probably the thing I am most proud of,” Mahar coach Colleen Bannister said. “One of the things that we’ve been practicing is not getting down. To forget about the past and keep going. I only care about getting better for the next time something happens. Seeing that happen was pretty great.”

Bella Burnett had an active game in net for the Senators, making 19 saves. Brynlee Purington picked up the win in net for the Warriors.

Minnechaug 3, Greenfield 2 — The Green Wave just missed out on their first win of the season in a road loss to the Falcons in Wilbraham. Kyra Tamsin and Madison Lemay had goals for Greenfield. Sofia Ruggeri added an assist. Minnechaug came back from a 2-0 halftime deficit.

Franklin Tech 5, Palmer 0 — The Eagles had five different goalscorers in the road win over the Panthers in County play. Amelia Rider, Ava Worden, Abigail Dobias and Leah Meattey all scored for Franklin Tech. Meattey added three assists for the Eagles.

Hampshire 2, Turners Falls 1 — The Raiders snuck past the Thunder in Montague in a County contest.

Girls soccer

Athol 6, Pathfinder 1 — The Bears had no trouble finding offense in the home win over Pathfinder at O’Brien Field. Serena Nkengafe had two goals and an assist for Athol. Vera Cruz, Annelise DeVries, Hannah Cardoso (assist) and Lillian Cleveland also scored. Rubi Montero added two assists while Ava Adams made seven saves in net.

Boys cross country

Mahar 24, Smith Vocational 31; Mahar 15, McCann Tech 50 — The Senators picked up two victories over the Vikings and the Hornets in the Berkshires. Mahar had five runners finished in the top 10. Isiah Whitmore topped the list in the first place (20:03). Michael LaPlante was third (24:38); Joseph Burke (26:25, fifth), Preston Ford (27:42, eighth) and Ben Norwood (27:37, ninth) rounded out the other top finishers.

Frontier 20, Mohawk 41; Frontier 19, Pope Francis 44; Mohawk 22, Pope Francis 31; Frontier 15, Franklin Tech 50; Mohawk 15, Franklin Tech 50; Pope Francis 15, Franklin Tech 50 — Evan Hedlund finished first in a quad meet in South Deerfield. Hedlund finished in 15 minutes, two seconds for the Redhawks. Leo Boltz was the top finisher for Mohawk in fourth (16:26).

The Turners Falls cross country team held its final home meet at the Bob Avery Memorial Course against Veritas Prep on Tuesday. Lucian Carlo placed second (20:57) for the Thunder. Uriah Hodges finished first overall (20:47) for the Vipers.

Belchertown 21, Greenfield 40 — Greenfield had the top overall finisher, but lost to the Orioles at Highland Park. Ryan Spofford (17:17) took first for the Green Wave. Derek Scotera took sixth (21:14).

Girls cross country

Fronter 21, Mohawk 38; Frontier 19, Pope Francis 41; Pope Francis 28, Mohawk 29 — The Redhawks swept their home meet against the Warriors and the Cardinals, while the Warriors just missed a win over the Cardinals. Virginia Krezmien blew past the pack in first place (17:19) for the Warriors. Louise Flagollet took second (19:18) for the Redhawks. Liv Christensen was the next finisher for Frontier in fourth (19:30). Natalie Lanoue was seventh for the Warriors (20:08).

Belchertown 20, Greenfield 43 — The Orioles outran the Green Wave at Highland Park. Lauren Helie took first overall (24:33) for Greenfield. Lillianna Badillo placed 10th (29:27).

Volleyball

Greenfield 3, Mohawk 0 — The Green Wave swept the Warriors in Buckland. Set scores were 25-19, 25-14 and 25-14 in the Western match up. Ashlyn Koscinski had three kills, six aces and six digs. Amy Mihailicenco added six kills and 10 digs for Greenfield. Mohawk freshman Zoey-Mae Shearer had six assists, with Emmalee Inman and Zoe Mojallali both adding four kills.

Mahar 3, Turners Falls 1 — The Senators took down the Thunder in Orange. Set scores were 25-14, 15-25, 25-17 and 25-22. Kamryn Hart had five kills for the Senators, with Madelynn Burgess adding seven assists. Aiyana Simmons had four kills, two aces and three digs in her varsity debut for the Thunder. Maddie Haight had 11 assists to lead the offense. Abby Moffatt led the defense with 20 digs.

Athol 3, Pioneer 1 — The Bears held off the visiting Panthers in a Western contest at Mallet Gymnasium. Set scores were 25-20, 25-17, 24-26 and 25-21. Giana Vaillancourt (seven kills), Maddie Desrosiers (five kills) and Morgan Brailey (six kills) led offensive attack for the Bears. Ella Reed played set up with 11 assists, while Vaillancourt led the defense with four digs. Evangeline Lewis had 10 digs and five assists for the Panthers. Ryleigh Goodwin had seven kills while Lana Gagnon led the defense with 17 digs.

Frontier 3, Baystate Academy 1 — The Redhawks went on the road and beat the Bulls in a Northern league matchup. Set scores were 25-18, 25-12, 24-26 and 25-14. Aimee Talbot led the offense with 15 kills. Kaelyn Johnston shored up the defense with 12 sigs. Avah Spearance chipped in with nine digs for the Redhawks.

Golf

Frontier 164, Amherst 168 — The Redhawks won a Suburban league matchup against the Hurricanes at Cherry Hill Golf Course. Jamie McCarthy shot earned medalist honors with a 39. Addy Wood carded a 42 for the Redhawks. Teddy McCarthy shot a 40.

Turners Falls 169, Hopkins Academy 195 —Cam Cogswell and Jameson Betters both shot a 39 for the Thunder in a Bi-County East win over the Golden Hawks at Thomas Memorial. Trevor Lyons carded a 45 for the Thunder.

Late Monday results

Volleyball

Lee 3, Mohawk 0 — The Wildcats swept the Warriors in the Berkshires. Set scores were 25-16, 25-16 and 25-20. Zoey-Mae Shearer had five assists for Mohawk, with Zoe Mojallali adding three kills. Emmalee Inman helped the Warriors in all areas.