4 days Ago
Sometimes a deep state tournament run produces a special, magical moment along the way. Those memorable moments seem to happen every time the Frontier boys soccer team has been on the field throughout the MIAA Division 4 state tournament. From a Will Reading header in overtime against Nantucket that propelled the Redhawks into the Round of 16, to a shootout victory to upset third-seeded Pittsfield on the road, Frontier put together a pair of down-to-the-wire victories to reach the quarterfinals.
There, against sixth-seeded Tyngsborough, the 14th-seeded Redhawks came up with another clutch moment to reach the state semifinals. With two minutes to play in regulation, it looked like Frontier was destined for a third straight overtime contest as the Tigers defense was doing its job of keeping the ball away from their goal throughout the second half of a scoreless contest. That was until a ball rolled to the feet of Gus Radner outside the Tyngsborough box.
Radner collected the ball and rocketed a shot into the back of the net, sending the Redhawks to the Div. 4 semifinals for the third time in the last four years. Frontier (15-2-4) will take on second-seeded Lynnfield in that semifinal contest on Tuesday, beginning at 6 p.
m. at Ayer Shirley Regional High School. “There’s not much more you can ask for so far,” Redhawks senior TJ Donovan said.
“Winning in overtime, winning in penalties, winning on a last minute banger...
All those make it a great experience when you make it to the end.” Article continues after..
. Cross|Word Flipart Typeshift SpellTower Really Bad Chess Across all five divisions on both the boys and girls sides, Frontier was the only western Mass. soccer team to reach a Final Four.
The Redhawks are just one of three western Mass. schools to reach a semifinal this fall, joining the Frontier field hockey team and the Baystate Academy girls volleyball team. “This feels really good,” Donovan said.
“We found out we’re one of the only western Mass. teams still playing sports right now. It’s a really good feeling to still be alive.
” While the wins over Tyngsborough and Nantucket were big confidence builders, nothing was like the win over Pittsfield in the Round of 16 for the Redhawk players. It was Frontier’s first road game in the new statewide tournament format and the Redhawks were able to hang on following a late Pittsfield charge before winning in PKs. “It was pretty cool playing out at Pittsfield,” Frontier senior Ben Cachiguango said.
“Just because they were seeded so high. Beating them was amazing.” The Redhawks are in for another tough test on Tuesday.
Lynnfield (15-3-3) is the defending Div. 4 state champions and reached the Div. 3 quarterfinals the year before.
The Pioneers beat 31st-seeded Uxbridge, 4-0, in the Round of 32, knocked off 15th-seeded Gardner, 2-0, in the Round of 16 before facing Hampshire in the quarterfinals. The seventh-seeded Raiders nearly sprung the upset but Lynnfield proved to be too much, as the Pioneers kept the two-peat alive with a 3-2 victory. Lynnfield has 54 goals in 21 games this season while only surrendering 16 goals over that span.
The Pioneers’ three losses came to Div. 2 Masconomet, Div. 3 North Reading and Div.
3 Essex North Shore, all three making their respective state playoffs. “They have some really good players,” Donovan said. “[Dillon Reilly] stood out to me.
He’s coming back from an injury but he was on their state championship team last year. [Matt Reinold] looks good, [Rocco Scenna] looks good.” While Lynnfield has a strong attack, it will be facing a Frontier de fense that keeps the ball away from its net.
Frontier has surrendered a mere 12 goals on the season, with the Tyn gsborough win being the Redhawks’ 12th shutout. “I think we have a lot of chemistry now,” Cachiguango said. “We all know each other really well.
That’s really helped us on our journey. We all have to be on the same page. I think we got it.
We’re locked in this year.” Frontier’s seniors have seen the Redhawks make numerous runs through the Div. 4 tournament.
In 2021, Frontier made it to the state finals where it fell to Easthampton in the finals. In 2022 the Redhawks reached the semifinals, falling to South Hadley in overtime and last fall, Frontier was upset in the Round of 16. Having been around for all three runs, the Frontier senior class is extra determined to make it back to a state final and avenge the loss in 2021.
“We’ve both been there the whole time since our freshman year,” Donovan said. “We were at the state championship game and we’ve always wanted to get back there. [Tuesday] is our chance to do that.
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