High schools: South Hadley girls soccer keeps rolling, blanks Monument Mountain (PHOTOS)

South Hadley’s Lauren Marjanski (7), right, tries to poke the ball away from Monument Mountain’s Bryanna Lopez (4) during the Tigers’ 2-0 victory on Thursday in South Hadley.

South Hadley’s Lauren Marjanski (7), right, tries to poke the ball away from Monument Mountain’s Bryanna Lopez (4) during the Tigers’ 2-0 victory on Thursday in South Hadley. STAFF PHOTO/JEFF LAJOIE

South Hadley’s Mikayla Weaver (18) readies to trap the ball against Monument Mountain during the Tigers’ 2-0 victory on Thursday in South Hadley.

South Hadley’s Mikayla Weaver (18) readies to trap the ball against Monument Mountain during the Tigers’ 2-0 victory on Thursday in South Hadley. STAFF PHOTO/JEFF LAJOIE

South Hadley’s Allison Fleury (6), right, battles for the ball against Monument Mountain’s during the Tigers’ 2-0 victory on Thursday in South Hadley.

South Hadley’s Allison Fleury (6), right, battles for the ball against Monument Mountain’s during the Tigers’ 2-0 victory on Thursday in South Hadley. STAFF PHOTO/JEFF LAJOIE

South Hadley’s Katherine McArdle carries the ball through the midfield against Monument Mountain during the Tigers’ 2-0 victory on Thursday in South Hadley.

South Hadley’s Katherine McArdle carries the ball through the midfield against Monument Mountain during the Tigers’ 2-0 victory on Thursday in South Hadley. STAFF PHOTO/JEFF LAJOIE

South Hadley’s Maddie Soderbaum (16) tries to beat a pair of Monument Mountain defenders to the ball during the Tigers’ 2-0 victory on Thursday in South Hadley.

South Hadley’s Maddie Soderbaum (16) tries to beat a pair of Monument Mountain defenders to the ball during the Tigers’ 2-0 victory on Thursday in South Hadley. STAFF PHOTO/JEFF LAJOIE

South Hadley’s Lauren Marjanski carries the ball through the midfield against Monument Mountain during the Tigers’ 2-0 victory on Thursday in South Hadley.

South Hadley’s Lauren Marjanski carries the ball through the midfield against Monument Mountain during the Tigers’ 2-0 victory on Thursday in South Hadley. STAFF PHOTO/JEFF LAJOIE

By GARRETT COTE

Staff Writer

Published: 10-19-2023 8:58 PM

SOUTH HADLEY — The No. 1 team in Division 4 girls soccer continued its dominant 2023 season on Thursday evening, as South Hadley scored two first-half goals and battled to a 2-0 victory over Monument Mountain to improve to 13-1-1.

The Tigers’ first goal came less than 15 minutes into the game when Lauren Marjanski took a free kick from well outside the box. Marjanski booted the ball toward the middle, freshman Cara Dean got a piece of if and redirected it toward Katherine McArdle – who was all by herself on the back post and tapped in the goal.

Marjanski added the second goal about nine minutes later as she made a long run down the left sideline and received a perfect through ball from Allison Fleury. Marjanski blasted the ball into the right corner, giving the Spartans keeper no chance.

A two-goal lead was all Tigers senior goalie Drew Alley – who has been stellar all season – needed. She made seven saves and remained calm and collected throughout the entire game.

“My team definitely gives myself and my defense a lot of confidence,” Alley said. “The way they play up top, as soon as we’re ale to get the ball up to them, we trust that the game is in good hands when the ball is on their side of the field.”

While the first half was dominated by South Hadley, the second half played out much more evenly. Monument Mountain increased its pressure on the Tigers and made the transition from defense to offense more difficult.

South Hadley head coach Rich Marjanski could see the strong Spartans play over the final 40 minutes, and acknowledged that losing 2-0 to the No. 1 team in the state is the next best thing to a win for the visitors.

“In the state tournament, the goal differential plays big, especially when you’re the No. 1 seed,” Marjanski said. “I think Monument was happy with a 2-0 loss, because they played with us, and they played very well in the second half.”

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Offensively, the Tigers missed several opportunities to score in the second half. South Hadley watched a handful of shots miss the goal by a few feet, and saw many others get stopped by Spartans goalie Alex Tenney. 

A three-goal or larger win earns a team more points in the state tournament rankings, so Marjanski would have liked to see his team put one more in the back of the net.

“The three points is always huge, and these girls know that,”  Marjanski said. “We talk about the scoring system and I explained it all to them, so they’re well  aware that they need to take care of business on the field.”

South Hadley ends its regular season with a trip to East Longmeadow on Monday night at 7 p.m. With playoffs looming large, the Tigers are ready to take on the task of postseason play as one of the top teams to beat.

“Playing under pressure, I’m always gonna play better when I’m composed,” Alley said. “We’re looking forward to it. We’re gonna have a hard few days of practice to get our feet back under us and get ready, because today was definitely a little slow.”

Smith Academy 7, Lee 0 — A four-pack of goals from Caitlin Graves powered the Falcons to another lopsided victory on Thursday.

Emma Moynihan (1G, 1A), Meghan Bell (1G, 2A), Anna Scagel (1G, 1A), Emily Pearl (1A) and Piper Higuera (1A) also factored into the scoring for Smith Academy, and goalie Vivian Higuera made four saves for the clean sheet.

Frontier 4, Greenfield 3 – Carly Robertson netted the game-winning goal with an assist from Maddie Bennett to power the Redhawks to a tight independent win on Thursday in Greenfield.

Madelyn Fagan, Lia Tudryn and Jazzy Hayes also tallied for Frontier, with assists from Hayes, Robertson, Bennett and Ashley Rivard. Jocelyn Antes made five saves.

Girls volleyball

Belchertown 3, SICS 0 – Gianna Picardi went for seven kills and 11 digs to help the Orioles earn a tight 25-20, 26-24, 25-14 sweep on Thursday.

Vivian Ross dished out 15 assists, and Chrissy Santiago put down four kills. Paige Magner (eight digs) and Ava Shea (seven) also aided the defensive effort.

Commerce 3, Smith Voc 0 – Maggie Smith paced the Vikings defensively with 10 digs in a 25-16, 25-17, 25-18 loss on Thursday.

Jennifer Bouchard had three blocks for Smith Voc, which also received contributions from Josie Dubay (two kills) and Heidymar Diaz-Lopez (eight digs, six kills).

Boys soccer

Granby 6, Gateway 0 — Gavin Moreno buried a pair of goals, as the Rams scored three times in each half en route to the 6-0 win on Thursday.

Brandon Carillon, Jake Gagnon, Nico Grandmont and Spencer Labonte also tallied for Granby, with Moreno, Jaxton Roy, Riley Goodhind and Brodie Funk notching assists.

Gateway goalie Zack Hess made 16 saves, and Granby goalie Daniel Santiago stopped two shots.

Late Wednesday results

Girls soccer

Holyoke 10, Taconic 1 — The Purple Knights netted seven first-half goals and added three more in the second to coast to a win over Taconic. Holyoke outshot the Thunder 25-2.

Goals came from Kyra Lippman (two), Kayshaly Garcia (two) , Veronica Colon, Jaylene Moquin, Yasani Thompson, Emma Shoup, Jayvah Stuckey, and Leilany Figueroa.

Field hockey

Belchertown 3, West Spring field 0 – Goals from Isabella Cebula, Laura Cote and Karyna Rondeau lifted the Orioles to a 3-0 independent  win on Wednesday night in Belchertown.

Assists were registered by Brooke Stelmokas and Mya Philpott, and goalie Morgan Sambor stopped four shots in net for the shutout.

The Orioles (10-3-1) can clinch the County League title outright  with a win Friday at Franklin Tech.

Girls volleyball

Frontier 3, Minnechaug 0 – Senior Night in South D eerfield celebrated Frontier’s Caroline Deane, Gabby Adams, Kate DeMaio and Allie Pierce on Wednesday, and also marked the final reg ular season home match for longtime head coach Sean MacDonald, who will step down after this season.

The Redhawks were impressive, cruising to a 25-10, 25-19, 25-18 sweep at Goodnow Gymnasium.

Deane led the offense with 15 kills, while DeMaio followed with nine and Adams tossed in eight. Pierce had 29 assists and 13 digs, and Frontier racked up 21 aces as a team.

The Hawks (13-5) will close out their regular season Friday at Ludlow.