MONTAGUE — As time dwindled in a scoreless battle, Ella Larouche had an opportunity to win the game for the Turners Falls field hockey team on Monday night. Larouche slammed home the scoring chance, giving the Thunder a 1-0 win over Mahar Regional in a County league matchup under the lights.
The Thunder did not have many opportunities to score in their first win of the season, but the one quality chance was all they needed to secure the victory. Larouche proudly wore the ‘MVP’ chain after the game.
“I’ve always waited for this moment,” Larouche said. “Especially during this game because it was defensive heavy for us. All of their players were down there…but we had a drive for it. We really just wanted to score, especially if we had a breakaway. It was today that we needed to do it. “
Mahar dominated possession and had a 13-5 penalty corner advantage. The Thunder started the season with a couple tough losses to Franklin Tech and Frontier Regional. But moving forward the Thunder can play with a little extra confidence.
“Those are really tough teams to beat,” Larouche said. “I think we can definitely keep this momentum for the rest of the season.”
Turners Falls’ roster has several players who are new to field hockey.
“They really worked together,” Turners Falls coach Renee Tela said of her team said. “We were really competitive. They (Mahar) have a great coach. It just a fun game. I know that every time we play them it’s going to be fun. The kids really enjoyed this one.”
The Senators (0-4) played much better compared to their last contest. Mahar lost to West Springfield, 9-0.
“What I said to them was that we played a lot better than we did Friday,” Mahar coach Colleen Bannister said. “All I care about is every time we play that we get a little better. They were a lot better than they were on Friday. There was spacing. When we got in the offensive circle they were all where they should be.”
On the scoring play, Mariah Larson brought possession into the Mahar side of the field. Larson fed Anna McCarthy, who passed to Larouche by the post. Larouche swept the ball in to give Turners Falls the lead with four minutes, 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter. McCarthy got the assist on the play.
Carly Paluk, Katy McGinnis and Ella Smith all created opportunities for the Senators. Turners Falls keeper Connor Glennon managed to get a boot on most of the chances. Glennon made 24 saves for the Thunder.
Making her varsity debut at goalie for Mahar was Marnie Dupell. The freshman made three saves for the Senators.
Greenfield 1, Westfield 0 — A second quarter goal by Payton Martin was the difference in the Green Wave’s win over the Bombers at Woodcock Field. It was the first win of the season for the Green Wave. Kyra Tamsin assisted on the goal.
Golf
Franklin Tech 170, Athol 215 — The Eagles stayed perfect with a win over the Bears at Ellinwood Country Club. Jack Day finished with a 39 for Franklin Tech. Owen Stoddard had the low round for the Bears, finishing with a 46.
Pioneer 187, Mohawk 189 — The Panthers edged the Warriors by two strokes at the Country Club of Greenfield. Weston Jones carded a 39 for the Panthers, while Chayton Massa finished with a 41 for the Warriors.
Westfield Tech 168, Turners Falls 180 —The Thunder couldn’t stay with the Tigers at Shaker Farms Country Club. Cam Cogswell shot a 42 for the Thunder, with Trevor Lyons and Rowan Deery both finishing with a 45.
Boys soccer
Holyoke 5, Mohawk 2 — Cole Raffa and Bob Feury scored for Mohawk in a home loss to the Purple Knights. Sawyer Thurber had an assist for the Warriors. Tyler Peterson made nine saves in net.
Girls soccer
Mahar 0, Pioneer 0 — The Panthers and the Senators settled for a tie in a Bi-County matchup at the Woodward Complex. Mackenzie Matthews had five saves. Dželila Cecunjanin had seven saves for the Panthers.
Easthampton 6, Greenfield 0 — The Eagles pulled away from the Green Wave with four second half goals in a Pioneer North contest in Greenfield.
Franklin Tech 2, St. Mary’s 0 — Faythe Sobieski scored twice for the Eagles in a Bi-County win over the Saints in Westfield. Lillianna Miller assisted on Sobieski’s goal in the first half. Sobieski’s second goal came on a penalty kick in the second half.
Cayleigh Aldrich, Payson Lynde, Melyn Ramirez-Martin and Kim Ramirez-Martin led the defensive effort. Sheyenne Ballentine made five saves in the shutout
Volleyball
Mahar 3, Athol 1 — The Senators took down their crosstown rivals at Mallet Gymnasium. Set scores were 25-15, 13-25, 27-25 and 27-25. Giana Vaillancourt had seven kills, four assists and three digs for the Bears. Kamryn Hart had four kills for the Senators. Mckenzie Scribner led the defense with eight digs. Madelynn Burgess added eight assists.
Frontier 3, Wahconah 0 — The Redhawks sent the Warriors back to the Berkshires with a loss in an independent matchup at Goodnow Gymnasium. Set scores were 27-25, 25-22 and 25-19. Avah Spearance and Aimee Talbot both had nine kills for the Redhawks. Kaelyn Johnston led the defense with 18 digs. Karinna Kostov had 14 assists.
Turners Falls 3, Mohawk 1 — The Thunder picked up a home win over the Warriors. Set scores were 25-14, 10-25, 25-9 and 25-20. Maddie Haight had 15 assists, 11 aces and five kills. Abby Moffatt led the defense with 12 digs. Jakhia Williams and Autumn Thornton both contributed six kills.
PVCA 3, Pioneer 0 — The Panthers lost on the road to the undefeated Eagles. Kiara Gruszkowski had six digs and two blocks. Corrie Glenn, Lana Gagnon and Ryleigh Goodwin all had three kills.
