Class C field hockey: Ashlie Galenski nets game-winning goal as Frontier tops Greenfield for title (PHOTOS)

HOLYOKE — Ashlie Galenski was in the right place at the right time, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Frontier field hockey team.

Early in the fourth quarter with the Redhawks deadlocked at zero with Greenfield, they set up to take a penalty corner. The ball was sent toward goal, and a big scrum in front of the cage ensued — the Green Wave trying to clear it out, Frontier looking to get on the board and capture all momentum.

Galenski sat on the doorstep, and the ball squeezed through the pile and sat right in front of her. With one clean strike, the sophomore fired it home with 11:36 left in the game

Frontier went on to win 1-0 over Greenfield in the Western Mass. Class C championship — its second straight title, with both coming against the Green Wave — on Monday night.

“It’s so exciting [to be back-to-back champs], and I’m just really proud of  the girls,” Redhawks head coach Missy Mahar said. “This game was back and forth, it always is with Greenfield. They’re well coached, they’re a great team. Just to see us come back this season after seeing Greenfield three times in the regular season, I’m so proud. They’re resilient, and I’m really happy for them.”

Galenski came off the bench Monday night for Frontier, and she isn’t typically a main contributor on offense. But in the biggest games, it doesn’t matter who gets the job done, as long as it gets done. She was ready when her name was called, and she didn’t shy away from the moment.

“She got it done, and that was critical for her,” Mahar said. “I’m so happy for her. She worked hard all season trying to get time out on the field, so for her to be there on the post in the finals and get that goal — it was amazing for her.”

The Green Wave had several chances to tie it up with under three minutes to go. Greenfield peppered Frontier goalie Kyra Richards with a plethora of close-range shots. Richards — who even made a stellar back-heel kick save late — and the Redhawks defense stood strong the whole way and remained ahead until the final buzzer sounded.

“It hit lots of feet, and we didn’t get another corner,” Green Wave head coach Erin Thayer said of the late flurry. “One of our girls got tripped, and it should’ve been a corner with no time left, but that didn’t happen either. The energy and effort was there, it wasn’t a lack of that. With these girls that will always be there.”

When Greenfield was on its game, the ball was in its attacking half and Frontier struggled to clear. The Green Wave’s problem was sustaining that pressure consistently throughout the game. Greenfield hit a few lulls where the Redhawks took advantage and became the aggressor, something Thayer knows is unacceptable in games of Monday’s magnitude.

“We knew it would be a hard-fought game from end-to-end no matter what, and we had to show up for all 60 minutes,” Thayer said. “I think we had bouts where we didn’t show up, and we can’t have those bouts in a game like this. It went their way and not ours.”

Monday marked the sixth time in the last seven Western Mass. championships that the Green Wave and Redhawks faced off. It was also the fourth meeting between the two teams this season. The programs are certainly familiar with one another, and it showed with how closely the game played out.

“We expect to see Greenfield at this point in the year,” Mahar said. “We lost to them the first two times, but things started to formulate and come together as the season went along. We found our spots as a team, and to play them the fourth time tonight and have all that come together was an added bonus for us tonight.”

Through three quarters and change, the game was about as even as it gets. Each team had several penalty corners and found a few quality chances to break the tie. Goalies Ainslee Flynn (Greenfield) and Kyra Richards were terrific and kept the game scoreless.

Greenfield had been playing its best field hockey of the season coming into the finals. The Green Wave out scored their opponents 24-1 over the last four games — good for a perfect 4-0 record. 

Nine of the 11 Greenfield starters still have at least one more year of high school field hockey, so the Green Wave are a very young team from top to bottom. The youth showed at some points throughout the season, but Thayer expects them to turn the corner soon with the upcoming state tournament serving as a stepping stone.

“It’s exciting, because we are very young, and all season that’s what I’ve been saying,” Thayer said. “But hopefully next year we aren’t saying we’re young anymore, because at some point we’re not anymore. That experience should be carrying over from here on out really.”

Frontier (9-6-4) is currently ranked No. 10 in Division 4, with Greenfield (10-6-3) standing close behind at No. 13.

Both teams will host a first-round playoff game, and who knows, if a few pieces fall the right way, meeting No. 5 of 2023 may be on the horizon.