Franklin County has a rich history of talented field hockey programs, and in the last three years, three programs in particular have had tremendous success.
The seniors on the Frontier, Greenfield and Franklin Tech field hockey teams have played in a Western Mass. championship game in each of their first three years in high school.Greenfield and Frontier squared off in the Class B title game in 2021 — won by the Green Wave —and the Class C championship games in 2022 and 2023, both won by the Redhawks. Franklin Tech won theClass C championship in 2021, the Class D championship in 2022 and fell in the Class B title game in 2023.
While the new state tournament format takes some of the shineoff the Western Mass. tournament, those aren’t accomplishments to be thrown to the side. For Frontier coach Missy Mahar, taking home a third straight sectional title is once again the objectivethis fall.
“The goal is always to get to that Western Mass. championship game and bring that trophy home,” Mahar said. “Then, take it to the bigger stage in the state tournament. Going into our fourth year of that, we wereall getting used to how it works and now we all understand it. It’s a positive thing and that’s ultimately the goal. You want to build during the regular season and make adjustments that get you to the Western Mass. tournament. We want to take home that championship, get in the state tournament and go represent Western Mass. and do the best we can.”
Greenfield, which has played in a Western Mass. championship game every year since 2014, has similar goals. Like Frontier, it has a roster capable of competing as it looks to compete at both the Western Mass. and state levels.
“Our numbers are small but my kids are ready to go,” Green Wave coach Erin Thayer said. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the younger kids. This group has gelled and become a cohesive unit. I’m super proud of their hard work and it’s going to be fun to watch and see where that takes them.”
Franklin Tech— which will now be playing in the Class C tournament with Greenfield and Frontier —must replace two of its star players from a season ago, but has similar aspirations of making a Western Mass. run before once again playing in states.
With the program it has built in place, it’s easy to see why Tech has enjoyed some sustained success.
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“We’ve worked really hard to get to where we’re at,” Eagles coach Rian Lovett said. “We wanted to build a program that could be successful and we’ve been able to do that. A big credit goes to this group and these girls as they’ve demanded excellence from themselves all these years and it’s paid off. It doesn’t come from one person or anything like that. It’s a core group of girls determining what their objective is and what needs to be done to accomplish that.”
Here’s a closer look at each team:
Franklin Tech
COACH: Rian Lovett
LEAGUE/DIVISION: County/4
LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 16-2-1, lost in Div. 4 Round of 32
ROSTER: Cordelia Guerin, Kenzie Sourdiffe-Phelps, Avery Heathwaite, Katy Lengieza, Lili Inman, Hannah Gilbert, Harper Cutting, Madison Markwell, Kailey Steiner, Talia Pederzini, Lyla Mickiewicz, Ali George, Nora Cutting, Cammy Jacques, Abi Dobias, Jazzy Gonzlalez, Elie Bartolon
OUTLOOK: Lovett returns a group with big game experience, who, as mentioned above, must adjust to a new style of play.
Gilbert eclipsed the 100-point mark and will be the Eagles top option when she returns from injury.
Heathwaite, Sourdiffe-Phelps, Inman, Lengieza, Cutting, Guerin and Markwell make up an eight player senior class that should lead Tech this fall.
Dobias is an underclassman who has stood out thus far.
That group will have to adjust without Lilly Ross and Kate Trudeau, who helped lead the charge inthose Western Mass. finals the last three years.
“I’m excited for this season,” Lovett said. “It’ll be different this year. Kate [Trudeau] and Lilly [Ross] were huge losses. It will hurt us and we’ll feel it. We’re going to have to play a different style with more transitions, moving the ball up and overlapping. We can’t just send the ball up to Kate and expect her to score.”
Frontier
COACH: Missy Mahar
LEAGUE/DIVISION: Suburban/4
LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 11-7-4, lost in Div. 4 quarterfinals
ROSTER: Delaney Fifield, Abbigayle Grover, Claire Kirkendall, Kyra Richards, Ashley Taylor, Macy DeMaio, Ashlie Galenski, Lauryn Kalinowski, Kate Walker, Amelia Bouchard, Ivy Cloninger, Brynna Fahey, Maia Fosnot, Addison Harrington, Stella Heflin, Harper Modestow, Rowan Reilly, Elsa Brown, Rayner Loos, Isabella Orrell, Nora Sloan, Brooke Charest
OUTLOOK: The Redhawks opened the season with a bang, knocking off rival Greenfield, 5-0.
Fifield, Grover, Kirkendall and Richard (goalie) are seniors on the Frontier defense while Taylor leads the attack on offense.
DeMaio, Galenski and Walker are returning juniors, Modestow, Reilly, Heflin and Fahey are returning sophom*ores while Brown, Orrell and Sloan are returning freshmen, giving Frontier plenty of experience as it goes for a third straight Western Mass. title and looks to make another deep run in the state tournament.
Kalinowski, Bouchard and Harrington transferred from Pioneer — which played in a co-op with Greenfield last year — adding even more talent to the Frontier roster.
Greenfield
COACH: Erin Thayer
LEAGUE/DIVISION: Suburban/4
LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 11-7-3, lost in Div. 4 Round of 16
ROSTER: Riley Thayer, Laura Stebbins, McKenzie Boswell, Henley Gilstrap, Gloria McDonald, Ivy Rae, Laylah Goulston, Grace Laurie, Bella Lefleur, Payton Martin, Olivia Lemay, Madi Lemay, Kyra Tamsin, Carson Farrell, Sofia Ruggeri, Kayden Viencek
OUTLOOK: Thayer and Stebbins are the Wave’s lone seniors, as the young roster looks to gel and grow as the season progresses.
McDonald, Gilstrap and Boswell are talented juniors while Goulston, a sophom*ore, is another to keep an eye on.
Greenfield hopes to utilize its speed up front to light up the scoreboard.
“We’re fast and have a lot of quick front line girls who are standing out,” Thayer said.
Rae and Laurie had strong preseasons while the eighth grade class of Farrell, Ruggeri and Viencek gives the Wave program a bright future.
Mahar
COACH: Laurie Saisa
LEAGUE/DIVISION: Valley/4
LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 6-11
ROSTER: Gabriella Matthews, Shea Woods, Haylee Paluk, Ava DeJackome, Kathryn McGinnis, Makayla Beauchemin, Nevaeh Woods, Taylor Paluk, Carly Paluk, Zoey Woodard, Nicole Bezio, Bella Burnett, Marnie Dupell
OUTLOOK: Matthews and Woods are the Senators’ senior captains, Matthews leading the defense while Woods is a top option up front. DeJackome had a strong freshman season as a forward.
The Senators are once again co-oping with Athol, but have a young roster comprised of five middle schoolers.
Mohawk Trail
COACH: Greg Lilly
LEAGUE/DIVISION: Valley/4
LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 1-16
ROSTER: Avery Johnston, Sofiya Slocik-Gritzner, Izzy Finn, Kyla Perras-Howard, Cammie Thompson, Jayda Waters, Naomi Den Ouden, Libby Amstein, Teagan Donahue, Kiera Taylor, Redyn Gutierrez, Kayden Perry, Abby Osterman, Lydie Pinkham, Sadie Wilcox, Hope Gilbert, Elizabeth Gilmore, Katelyn Bozek
OUTLOOK: While a young roster, first-year coach Lilly, the school’s AD,inherits a team with plenty of varsity experience.
Johnston and Slocik-Gritzner — the Warriors’ two seniors — as well as Thompson will anchor the defense. Waters and Den Ouden will look to lead the charge on offense.
Turners Falls
COACH: Renee Tela
LEAGUE/DIVISION: Valley/4
LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 4-12-1
ROSTER: Ella Guidaboni, Ledwin Villafana, Khalifa Sack, Clara Guidaboni, Ash Shipley-Aja, Patrick Andrews, Ella Larouche, Conner Glennon, Niki Nelson, Eva Lareau, Ava Laffey, Jessi Berry, Mariah Carson, Anna Mcarthy
OUTLOOK: Guidaboni, a senior, returns to lead the midfield while Villafana, another senior, will lead the charge up front.
The Thunder will be a young team, with just six high school ages players and eight middle schoolers.
