HOLYOKE — After playing five consecutive scoreless halves against the Greenfield field hockey this season, Frontier picked the perfect time to get its offense going.
The Redhawks trailed the Green Wave 1-0 at the half in the Western Mass. Class C title game Monday, and after playing two scoreless games with Greenfield earlier in the season, the pressure mounted on the Frontier offense to come to life over the final 30 minutes of action.
The Redhawks answered the bell. Ashley Taylor scored to tie the game in the third quarter and in the fourth, Rebecca Wallace-West came up with the goal of her life.
Frontier sent the ball into the circle with eight minutes remaining in the contest. It kicked around off multiple sticks, and with Green Wave goalie Ainslee Flynn sprawled out from making a save, the ball made its way onto Wallace-West’s stick, who stick-handled and blasted the shot into the cage, putting the Redhawks ahead, 2-1.
Frontier fended off the Greenfield attack the remaining eight minutes — including stopping two Green Wave corners in the final two minutes — to hang on and take the Class C title with a 2-1 victory.
“The last time we were in Western Mass, our seniors were freshmen,” Taylor said. “So we needed to get it back for them.”
Greenfield’s Ivy Rae ended 142 minutes and 42 seconds of scoreless field hockey between the Green Wave and Frontier when she found the cage in the second quarter.
The teams played two scoreless ties during the regular season.
McKenzie Boswell assisted the play, which gave Greenfield a 1-0 lead with 8:12 to halftime.
Taylor knotted the game at 1 with 2:18 remaining in the third quarter. She slid the ball into the cage after Lila Roche sent it in to the circle.
The Redhawks thought they went ahead in the shunt seconds of the third quarter when the ball went in the cage, but the goal was waved off after hitting a Frontier foot.
The game ended just before print deadline. For a full story, visit www.recorder.com/sports
