Where do local teams stand in Western Mass. and state tournaments?
Published: 10-25-2024 5:25 PM |
Three Recorder area teams are competing in Western Mass. finals in the coming days, and with the Western Mass. soccer tournament brackets revealed on Friday, more area teams could join in on the action.
On Saturday, the Mohawk Trail volleyball team will take on top-seeded Lee, with the Class D title match set for 10 a.m. at West Springfield High School. The Warriors have lost just one match all season and enter coming off a big win over Turners Falls in the semifinals on Thursday.
On Monday, the Frontier and Greenfield field hockey teams will get together for the third time this season at Holyoke High School, this one with the Western Mass. Class C title on the line. It’s the third straight year the Redhawks and the Green Wave have competed for a Western Mass. title, with Frontier hoisting the trophy each of the last two years.
Both the Western Mass. boys and girls soccer tournaments kick off on Saturday. In the morning, the seventh-seeded Pioneer girls will travel to Hadley to face second-seeded Hopkins at 11 a.m. in a Class D contest.
After, the Pioneer boys — which earned the top seed in Class D tournament — will host No. 8 Mount Everett at 1 p.m. Down at Szot Park, seventh-seeded Frontier takes on Chicopee, the No. 2 seed in the Class B field, at 1 p.m.
On Saturday night, the Frontier girls — the No. 6 seed in Class B — will travel to face third-seeded Southwick at 7 p.m.
On Sunday, the fifth-seeded Turners Falls boys soccer team will take on No. 4 Smith Academy on the road at noon in Class D action. The quarterfinals close on Monday, when the fourth-seeded Greenfield girls host No. 5 Smith Vocational at 4 p.m. in Class C action.
With the cutoff date for the state tournament taking place next week, teams are starting to have an idea of where they’ll be seeded. Here’s who would be in now and where each team would be seeded if the season were to end today:
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At 6-0 going into Friday’s contest with Ware, the Franklin Tech football team is currently ranked No. 13 in the Div. 8 field. With two games remaining, the unbeaten Eagles have a chance to continue their rise up the rankings.
In the Div. 4 field hockey field, Frontier (14-2-2) is ranked No. 4, Greenfield (10-7) comes in at No. 17 while Franklin Tech (11-5-2) is ranked No. 30. While the Eagles are right on the line of a top 32 spot, they don’t need to sweat out the final days as their record is above .500, giving them an automatic spot in the tournament.
The Frontier boys soccer team (12-1-3) is ranked No. 11 in the Div. 4 field and in Div. 5, Pioneer (13-1-2) sits at No. 18 while Turners (7-4) is ranked No. 31.
Though the Frontier girls soccer team is 13-3 on the season, it is currently ranked No. 31 in the Div. 4 field. In the Div. 5 girls field Greenfield (13-3) is the lone team in the top 32, though Athol (No. 33, 13-1-1) and Pioneer (No. 40, 7-4-2) have already clinched spots thanks to .500 records despite being out of the top 32. Franklin Tech (No. 42, 7-7-3) needs a win or a tie against St. Mary’s on Monday to finish at or above .500 to earn an automatic bid.
In the Div. 4 volleyball field, Frontier (14-6) is ranked No. 6. In the Div. 5 field, Turners (14-6) is ranked No. 15 while Mohawk Trail (13-3) is ranked No. 20. While the Warriors have only lost one match, due to the scheduling mishap earlier this fall both of Mohawk Trail’s Western Mass. tournament wins have counted as losses. With one of those coming against the Thunder, Turners vaulted up the bracket while the Warriors dropped down.
Mahar (No. 38, 9-9) and Greenfield (No. 44, 9-9) both finished at .500 to earn an automatic spot in the tournament. The Green Wave beat Easthampton on Thursday night to secure a spot in the Big Dance.