MIAA field hockey: Frontier Regional holds off Quabbin, advances to Div. 4 semis

SOUTH DEERFIELD — After a frantic and defense-heavy first half, the third-seeded Frontier Regional field hockey team recovered to defeat sixth-seeded Quabbin Regional, 2-0, in the MIAA Division 4 state tournament quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon.

The Panthers competed aggressively in the early going, aided by a strong traveling fan base from Worcester County. The Panthers generated five penalty corners in the first half and forced goalkeeper Brooke Charest to make two big saves early in the first quarter.

After coasting through the first stages of tournament play, the assertive nature of Quabbin might have caught Frontier by surprise.

“I think Quabbin came out of the gate really intense,” Frontier coach Missy Mahar said. “It took us some time to figure it out. We knew they were well-coached with a strong program, we knew they were going to come out strong but it might have caught us off-guard…but I was so proud of the girls to turn it around and play the Redhawk hockey that they know and are comfortable playing.”

The slow start bled into the third quarter for Frontier, but Addie Harrington struck for two well-timed goals in the first and third quarters.

“Definitely the jitters,” Harrington said. “This is a really good team; we had already played them once before. Everyone was nervous and hadn’t settled in yet. But overall, we locked in definitely after halftime and we executed well.”

It is the third season in a row that the Redhawks advanced to the Final Four in state tournament play. Up next is a rematch with No. 2 Dennis-Yarmouth. The Dolphins are the defending state champion, having defeated Frontier last season in the finals. The game is set for Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Whitcomb Middle School in Marlborough.

“It’s going to be a battle,” Harrington said. “It’s going to go back and forth. Hopefully we take it home this time.”

As the play leveled out into the second half, Frontier began to force the action on the offensive end.

“I thought that they attacked with purpose,” Mahar said. “We utilized our give-and-gos. We were utilizing our transitions from the 50 down to the circle as a team. In the first half we were back on our heels. Not intentionally but just found ourselves that way.”

The Panthers forced nine penalty corners and had five shots. A penalty wiped away a goal in the third quarter that could have tied the game. The Quabbin offense stressed the Frontier defense in a way the team hasn’t seen yet in the tournament. Harper Modestow had a very active game in the midfield while Amelia Bouchard led the defensive effort on the backend for the Redhawks.

“They definitely have a very powerful press,” Bouchard said of Quabbin. “They are a very skilled team. Especially their girls in the middle. They work super well together. They are always talking and connected.”

Harrington scored with eight minutes, 24 seconds left in the first quarter. Michaela Sloan made a nice entry into the offensive zone for Frontier to generate the opportunity. After a pass into the penalty area went off the goalie, Harrington was there to give Frontier a 1-0 lead.

After facing mounting pressure for most of the third quarter, Sloan once again generated offense with a beautiful long feed to Harrington in front of the net to give Frontier a 2-0 lead. The goal came with 33 seconds left in the third quarter.

Charest finished with five saves to record the shutout.