SPRINGFIELD — For every goal No. 3 Wahconah delivered, No. 1 South Hadley had an answer.
But in the end, it was the Warriors who escaped with a thrilling 13–12 win over the Tigers in the Western Massachusetts Class C Girls Lacrosse Championship on Tuesday evening at Springfield Central High School.
Senior Anna Doyle delivered the go-ahead goal on a free position shot with 3:23 left in the fourth quarter — her fourth of the game — and Wahconah’s defense clamped down just enough in the final moments to seal the victory.
“My nerves kind of took over, and I wasn’t really thinking much, but I just went for it and hoped for the best,” Doyle said.
The win gave Wahconah the edge in a season trilogy — the two teams split their regular-season series 1–1.
“It means a lot, we’ve struggled in the past, but it feels good to finally have an outcome for what we’ve been working for,” Doyle said.
Brooke Harrington scored a team-high five goals, including a crucial third-quarter goal to give Wahconah a temporary lead. Danielle Hagmaier (2 goals, 1 assist), Mia Thomas (1 goal, 1 assist), and Megan Tucker (1 goal) also contributed with timely shots.
For South Hadley, Margaret Watkins was a steady presence in the heart of the action, helping the Tigers keep pace in the back-and-forth battle. But after the game, Watkins pointed to something more subtle than scoring as the difference-maker.
“Today, I think it was definitely the draws, like they were just kind of falling,” Watkins said. “My teammates around the circle made a big impact too, they were helping out a lot getting those balls. That was kind of most of the game. Whoever had possession was able to get the goals.”
Wahconah led 6–4 at halftime, but the third quarter turned into a slugfest.
The teams traded goals with a fast pace, tying five separate times in the frame. Watkins and Raquel Losty were crucial in answering every Wahconah surge. Losty notched a goal with just 47 seconds left in the third to knot the game at 11.
As Wahconah prepared for the final quarter of a back-and-forth fight, coach Kathy Budaj had to remind her team of just how rare these moments can be.
“You have 12 minutes of lacrosse left today,” Budaj said when asked what her message to the team was after the third quarter. “You don’t get another day. You will never get to have this Western Mass game ever again in your lives. Make it happen. And they did.”
Early in the fourth, Hagmaier scored to put Wahconah back up, but South Hadley’s Kelcey Zraunig quickly answered to tie the game at 12 apiece. That set the stage for Doyle’s decisive goal and a final defensive stand.
“We fought that whole game,” South Hadley coach Danielle Miele said. “It was a really comparable game. The entire time our girls fought to the end. I think it was just a matter of saves in the net. I think it was a matter of putting the ball back in the net. It was a whole team effort. We played hard, but in the end, we couldn’t finish.”
Both Wahconah and South Hadley will now turn their focus to the MIAA Division IV state tournament, with brackets set to be released Wednesday afternoon. South Hadley entered the day ranked No. 23, while Wahconah sat at No. 26.
