Boys soccer: Northampton starts strong, holds on in Round of 16 win over Mansfield

LUDLOW — The Northampton boys’ soccer team defeated Mansfield, 4-2, in the MIAA Division 2 tournament Round of 16 Monday night. On a night that was highlighted by consistent rain and cold temperatures, the Blue Devils’ warmed up in no time, earning a substantial early lead and never looked back. Jasper Cantor (two goals) and Will Senn-McNally (two assists) each registered multiple points for Northampton, which led 4-0 at halftime. The Blue Devils handled the less-than-ideal conditions as well as they could, not letting it change their game plan, but acknowledging it helped to even the playing field. “[The weather] was awful,” Northampton head coach CJ Holt said. “I think it’s an equalizer. I always feel like the weather equalizes, like the better team is hurt by the weather. I always feel that way, whether I’m right or wrong, that’s my feeling. So I felt like the weather did not play into our hands.” Despite the rough conditions, the Blue Devils generated offense quickly. Senn-McNally dribbled the ball up the middle of the pitch for the nine minutes into the first half, then found Sam Busone making a run up the middle, hitting him in stride. Busone let a low line-drive shot fly, beating the outstretched hands of the Hornets goalkeeper inside the left post to open the scoring for Northampton, 1-0. The Blue Devils controlled the ball for the majority of the first half, building momentum after scoring the first goal of the game. “Every team wants to score first in the tournament,” Holt said. “Kind of helps shake the nerves off. It’s always our plan to get out there and be able to strike first, create the first chance.” That first chance was followed up by an unlikely goal coming off a free kick with 21 minutes left in the first half. Johnny Nields-Duffy lined up for the kick wide left of the net, near the corner. The senior connected with his right foot, getting a lot of power behind his shot that snuck inside the right post. Up 2-0, Northampton didn’t let up as Cantor scored a pair of goals before the first half concluded to give his squad a comfortable four-goal lead. With a sizable lead, the Blue Devils made some substitutions at halftime, including a switch from Salem Gregory to Matthew Walko at goalkeeper. “To get four goals in the first half, be able to get some more guys in the game was great for us, because we got a lot of guys working hard, and they got some minutes,” Holt said. Despite the big lead, Holt knew his team couldn’t coast to victory. Mansfield didn’t throw in the towel, bouncing back for a pair of goals in the second half. With Monday being a state tournament matchup, Northampton was playing against an opponent with nothing to lose. After each Hornets’ goal was scored, the team would quickly get the ball back to the middle circle, hoping to keep building off their momentum. The Blue Devils held strong defensively, however, maintaining the two-goal lead until the final whistle for the win. “These games can get chippy at the end, when it’s the team’s last game, you just don’t know,” Holt said. “We don’t know these guys. We don’t know their personalities. What’s going to happen when their seniors feel like their backs are against the wall in a game that they can’t win? I’ve seen things happen.” With the win, Northampton moves on to the Round of 8, where it’ll take on Agawam. The two teams faced off against each other twice in the regular season, with the Blue Devils earning wins both times. Kickoff is set for Thursday, Nov. 13 at Northampton at 6 p.m. “You never want to play a league opponent in a state tournament,” Holt said. “[There’s] a lot of familiarity there. It’s hard to beat a team three times. You hear everybody say it all the time, and that’s the task in front of us. So we’re gonna be super focused.”