by Kevin Murphy
Golf
Golf
The golf team finished the season with a 14-1 record. They finished 12th in the state for Division 2 schools. According to coach Bill Fitzpatrick, “The strength for the year was depth — 16 kids vying for six spots. So the competition is fierce.“ Mikey Corduff playing the 1, Bryan Baumann at the 2, Kyle Maynard at the 3, Gunnar Moore (a 7th grader) at the 4, Kalen Evans at the 5, Rowan Blair at the 6 spot. According to Mike Codruff, “Three of our guys average in the 30’s (Mikey Corduff, Bryan Baumann, Kyle Maynard). We are losing one senior (Kalen Evans)”
The team won league for the fourth straight year, went to the postseason in Western Mass finished in second place which qualified them for the State Team Tournament. It was held this past Tuesday at the Marshfield Country Club where the team finished 12th in the state among Division 2 schools.
“We have three goals every year: 1) win our division, 2) qualify for Western Mass and 3) qualify for states — and we accomplished all three,” says coach Fitzpatrick.
Boys Soccer
Boys soccer ended at 8-7-2 with a league record of 4-3-1 (fourth in the league), and qualified for the post-season and got the ninth seed. They are scheduled to play on November 2.
According to coach Evan Horton, they went into this season with high expectations: win league, win Western Mass, and make a run for the state championship. He said, “We still have the chance to achieve two of those goals, and we were one win away from winning the league. We play a very difficult, competitive schedule and the players have been challenged all year — in every game. We have a very strong group of upperclassmen (eight seniors and 11 juniors), and I feel that we have a very strong defensive unit. Offensively, we have struggled to score this year. “
Of their seven losses, six of those we were shutouts, and four were lost 1-0. “We have been competitive in every match, but have just struggled to find the back of the net early in games, and that has made it difficult at times,” says Horton. “I am extremely pleased with the fight in the team, though; and they have demonstrated a lot of poise as the year has gone on. I am excited about our chances in the post-season given what I’ve seen during the last two weeks of the regular season. The leadership from our four senior captains (Noah Jacques, Peter Bronke, Connor Bagdon, Doug Hanieski) has been great, and we are looking for underclassmen to step up and be leaders as we head to the post-season,” Horton added.
Coach Horton is in his first year as head coach. He said, “I am excited about the rest of the season and about what we can do in the coming years. I look forward to Frontier being one of the best soccer programs in Western Mass for years to come.“
Frontier Girls Soccer
The girls’ soccer team has had a successful season thus far. Their record this year is 10-5-2. A couple of those losses and ties could have gone either way. Coach Phillip Pittelli says, “Our record does merit us a post-season birth. We are looking forward to whom we will be matched up with.”
Eleven players have scored this season with Natalie Denkiewicz leading the way with 16 goals. In all, they have scored a total of 47 goals. As a team they have 34 assists. Natalie Denkiewicz and Cambrie Hamilton each have six.
In goal this year, time has been split between 8th-grader, Siomara Geen, and 9th-grader Amalie Joyce-Sullivan. Siomara has saved 50 shots this year while Amalie has saved 28.
The team fell short of one team goal this year which was to win league.
“Despite not meeting this goal it still has been a successful season,” says coach Horton. “We are playing good soccer at the right time. We are optimistic about making a run in the tournament,” he added.
Volleyball
The girls’ volleyball season record is 18-2. Besides our league which is a grouping of the top five teams in Western Mass, they play a very tough independent schedule including the D2 state champs, Westboro, and the D1 State runner-up, Hopkinton. Coach Sean says, “We are very proud of the 18-2 record. Close, five-set losses to both Westboro and Hopkinton are our only blemishes. It’s a big improvement over regular-season records of 12-8 last year and 7-13 in 2016.”
Year after year, the volleyball program is the fiercest in the land, and has produced all-star players. This year, Lauren Davenport, Ashley Telega, Elizabeth Fuqua and Olivia Deane were all just selected as league all-stars by a vote of the league coaches.
Season goals were to win their league, win Western Mass, and win the state championship. One of these goals has already been accomplished as they won the league championship with an 8-0 record. The Western Mass and state tournaments are upcoming. Frontier obtained the number one seed in the D3 West playoffs. They play Monday at home at 6:30 vs. the winner of Sabis/Easthampton.
Boys’ Cross Country
The boys’ team won its 4th consecutive league championships, going undefeated in the regular season. The team has also competed and ran competitively against top-tier competition at invitationals in Connecticut and Cape Cod. Varsity scoring runners have been Carsten, Alex Sharp, Peter Carey, George Balis, and Gherig Brynda.
On November 10, the varsity team will travel to Northfield Mountain with the goal of winning the Western Mass championship after finishing second the last two years. With a top three finish at Western Mass, they will qualify for the all-state meet for the fourth consecutive season.
According to team captains Alex Sharp and Carsten Carey, “Experience, depth, and leadership are our strengths. Everyone improved a ton so it’s hard to pick one that stands out, but Brett Robinson has taken minutes off his times from last season.”
Girls’ Cross Country
The Frontier girls’ cross country team is second in the league. Their one loss was to Mohawk in the first meet of the season. Their post-season starts with Western Mass at Northfield Mountain and will hopefully continue on to States for a few of the girls. According to team captain, Fiona Ferry, “Every race shows promise for strong seasons to come. Each girl has stepped up for the team, and gone above and beyond to show their strength.”
Sports seasons always come with injuries, but the girls XC team gets through it better than most, by giving each other the best support possible. Fiona says, “Most girls on the team may seem kind and quiet, but they are as loud as the football players with their grunting before races.”
Football
Record 5 wins – 3 losses
For the fifth straight year Head coach Don Gordon has lead the team to the postseason.
Frontier scored 34 TDs this season averaging 7.6 yards per play which makes them the #1 rushing team in league. Matt Hildreth had 6 touchdowns, Garrett Deforest 18. Capt Garrett Deforrest reached 1000 yards as a rusher during regular season averaging 9.48 yards per carry
According to coach Gordon, there were many young players on the team playing well. Many Freshman and Sophomore players stepped up to meet many challenges during season.
Field Hockey
The Frontier field hockey team finished its regular season with a record of 10-5-3. After a successful victory over Turners Falls in their quarter final game, Frontier will now face Southwick High School on Monday in the semi-finals of Western Mass. The game is scheduled to take place at 5:00 p.m. at Holyoke High School.
This is Frontier’s 10th consecutive year making it to the semi-final game. Frontier is led by returning starters Olivia Vecellio, Cassidy Bardwell, Grace Wesoloski, Amelia Sobieski and Skyla Burniske. Contributing to the success of team this year are returning players as well as newcomers. Frontier is led by Olivia Vecellio who has registered 19 goals and nine assists this season, thus far. Players such as Lily Spencer and Emily DeMaio have capitalized on goal-scoring opportunities, as well, registering 10 and eight goals each. Such goal-scoring opportunities are created by a strong mid-field presence of Grace Wesoloski, Olivia Vecellio and Amelia Sobieski. Frontier’s defense has remained a huge factor in the success of the team this season. Making up the backfield are Cassidy Bardwell, Maeve Huit, Maddie Fifield, Ivy Shattuck and in goal, Skyla Burniske.