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Athol’s Antonio Carbone (7) dribbles between Smith Vocational defenders Hayson Leyton (6) and Sean Zadworny (7) during the Bears’ 4-0 Tri-County League loss in Northampton on Wednesday. -
Athol’s Nathan Parayson (22), left, looks to trap a bouncing ball against Smith Vocational’s Caleb Jorritsma (8) during the Bears’ 4-0 Tri-County League loss in Northampton on Wednesday. -
Athol’s Aiden Kirwin (3) surveys the defense during the Bears’ 4-0 Tri-County League loss to Smith Vocational in Northampton on Wednesday. -
Athol’s Braydon York (4), right tries to save the ball while defended by Smith Vocational’s Joel Charbonneau during the Bears’ 4-0 Tri-County League loss in Northampton on Wednesday.
The Athol boys soccer team’s unbeaten streak to open the season finally came to an end on Wednesday.
The Bears — which opened the season with six straight wins — were unable to make it seven in a row when it took on Smith Vocational Wednesday, with the Vikings scoring twice in each half to defeat Athol, 4-0, in a Tri-County League contest in Northampton.
Josh Cole scored for Smith Vocational in the first half while the Bears conceded an own goal to fall behind 2-0 at the break. Jon Peters and Jared Small then scored in the second half for the Vikings to put the game away.
Franklin Tech 4, Duggan 2 — The Eagles let two goals in during the opening 32 minutes but locked in defensively from that point on, taking the lead before the half and adding an insurance goal in the second half of action to walk away with a Tri-County League win over Duggan in Turners on Wednesday.
Duggan opened the scoring in the fourth minute but Jaxon Kotright-Clark responded with a goal off an assist from Preston Duvall for the Eagles to tie the game in the 20th minute.
Kotright-Clark found the back of the net again in the 28th minute off an assist from Jack Gancarz but Duggan knotted the game back up in the 32nd minute.
Gancarz scored off a dish from Kaiden Price in the 34th minute to give Tech the lead at the half before Colby Leete put the game away with a tally in the 69th minute for the Eagles.
Mahar 2, Monson 0 — Tristan Gaj had another big day in goal for the Sens, stopping all 13 shots that came his way to lift Mahar to an independent victory over the Mustangs in Monson on Wednesday.
Mahar led 1-0 at the half. Lucas Isrow scored off an assist from Dom Whitman before Isrow returned the favor, tallying an assist on a Whitman goal for the two Senator goals on the day.
Athol 1, Franklin Tech 1 — It came down to the wire between the Bears and the Eagles on Wednesday. Athol scored in the 53rd minute to take a 1-0 lead but Tech responded with a goal 10 minutes later and neither squad was able to break the tie, leading to a 1-1 draw between the top two teams in the Bi-County League in Turners Falls on Wednesday.
Samantha Mailloux scored for the Bears off an assist from Hannah Cardoso, blasting a shot in from the right side to make it 1-0.
Ella Kolodziej tallied for the Eagles after throwing a ball across that made its way into the back of the net. Kyra Goodell had the assist on Kolodziej’s tally.
Avalynn Adams made nine saves for Athol while Kylee Gamache stopped six shots for Franklin Tech.
“Athol is an excellent team,” Eagles coach Jason Butynski said. “They do well defensively. They gave us a lot of fits working the ball in. We did a better job working it around today but they have some fantastic defenders. I’m proud of how hard my girls played.”
Greenfield 3, Renaissance 0 — Despite playing the majority of the second half with just 10 players due to injury, the Green Wave were still able to get a shutout win over the Phoenix in Springfield on Wednesday.
Mia Snedeker opened the scoring for Greenfield before Carly Blanchard tallied off an assist from Snedeker to give the Green Wave a 2-0 lead at the half. Snedeker scored in the second half for Greenfield off an assist from Tayler Bergeron.
Annie Cobileanschi made 12 saves in the shutout while Anna Bucala came up big on the defensive end for the Green Wave.
Palmer 5, Frontier 3 — It was a high-scoring first half between the Redhawks in the Panthers, with Palmer taking a 3-2 lead at the half. The Panthers found the back of the net twice in the second half to pull away with an independent win over Frontier on Wednesday in Palmer.
Maddie Bennett opened the Redhawk scoring off an assist from Carly Robertson. Robertson then scored off an assist from Jazzy Hayes before the half.
Madelyn Fagan closed out the scoring for Frontier late in the second half off a breakaway pass from Robertson. Jocelyn Antes made 10 saves in the loss.
Smith Academy 5, Pioneer 2 — Tied 2-2 at the half, the Falcons exploded for three second-half goals while keeping the Panthers off the scoreboard, with Smith earning an independent win over Pioneer in Northfield on Wednesday.
Fota N’Diaye and Jaelyn Boliski scored for the Panthers, with Maddie Keefe providing an assist.