GREAT BARRINGTON —On Oct. 15, Frontier made the trek to Great Barrington and secured a 1 goal victory over Monument Mountain. When the Spartans took the field on Wednesday night in an MIAA Division 4 Round of 16 clash against No. 14 Frontier, they knew they were facing a team that did not fear them.
The chance to make a third Div. 4 quarterfinal in four years was enough motivation for the Spartans, but getting revenge on the Redhawks was also a priority. On Wednesday night, the third-seeded Spartans did both in dominating fashion.
Monument seniors Sean Collins and Mason Whiteman each scored two goals, and Lucca Hernandez added two assists. The Spartans controlled the majority of the game, giving up very few chances in a commanding 4-0 victory.
“I think going into it, we were talking about this when we watched film on Monday; we said, ‘None of us have ever beat Frontier in our high school careers,’” Collins, who also added an assist, said. “I think that was big, and they came in here and beat us in a game that we felt like we should have won… I think that was big for us.
“I think just we were a big senior-led group and I think we all know that if we don’t perform on any given day, it’s gonna be the last time we play together. So I think that’s brought us together in these past few games.”
Monument (9-8-4) advances to the MIAA Div. 4 quarterfinals for the third time in the last four years. The Spartans fell in the Round of 16 last year, but made the quarterfinal round in 2023 and 2024. Monument also opens this year’s state tournament with back-to-back 4-0 victories.
“We were mostly healthy,” Monument head coach Matt Naventi said of what was different from the first Frontier game. “We had three or four guys that didn’t play against them the first time that were available tonight and made a big difference for us. It’s definitely been the key for us, is getting guys back, and when we’re healthy, we can certainly play.”
Monument got off to a blistering start, generating two chances in the first five minutes. Nico Pazmino had a rebound goal called back due to offside. Shortly after, Collins opened the scoring for the Spartans on a feed from Hernandez, who was falling down as he played the pass to Collins.
“It was big for us,” Collins said of the fast start. “Last game, we kind of went into Southwick, and we thought we were going to win, and for the whole first half, we didn’t score a goal. So I think we knew we needed to come different today. In the locker room, we were prepared. We were ready to give 100 percent, and I think that was a big change.”
Hernandez assisted on both of Collins’ goals. Hernandez is off to a great start in the state tournament as he had two goals in the Round of 32 and two assists on Wednesday.
Monument’s defense was excellent, led by Ben Zdziarski and Banyan Bourla. The Spartans had two key defensive plays, the first a block from Whiteman on a shot inside the box and the second a key clearance from Bourla on a header from Henry Pleasant.
“They’ve been great,” Naventi said. “Goal line save tonight. Calvin [Cooney] came off his line really well. He didn’t have to make too many saves in the net, but he came off his line and read some of the throw-ins, the corner kicks and set piece as well.”
Frontier struggled to generate quality chances, and Cooney was forced to make just 5 saves.
Whiteman put a cap on the Spartans’ victory with a rocket goal from outside the box in the final five minutes of the second half. Whiteman is also off to a strong start in the state tournament with three goals and an assist through the first two games. Collins has 2 goals and 2 assists through the first two games.
Frontier ends its season 7-8-5. Weis had four saves for the Redhawks.
