LUDLOW — After a challenging season that saw plenty of ups and downs, the Terriers have risen to the challenge in the state tournament and earned themselves a chance to etch their names in history.
No. 11 West Springfield boys soccer edged out No. 2 Northampton, 1-0, in the MIAA Division II state tournament semifinal on Tuesday at Ludlow High School.
West Springfield (12-2-8) advances to the Div. II state final, where the Terriers will face No. 4 Duxbury on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 4:45 p.m. at Doyle Field in Leominster.
The two Western Mass. heavyweights exchanged blows throughout the first half, but neither side could find the right connection to break the deadlock. Both teams had promising moments and had chances on target, but the keepers commanded their box well and kept the scoreline clean entering halftime.
“(At halftime) we were talking about just keeping the game plan,” West Springfield boys soccer coach Nick Gumlaw said. “I thought we had the better run of play in the first half, we had some opportunities I thought we could have put away.
“Just keep our foot on the gas, keep presssing them, be dangerous on set pieces… we just wanted to get some confusion, get some chaos in the box.”
The stalemate did not last long in the second half, as the Terriers snatched the lead in the 45th minute.
With the Terriers breaking out on the counter, a Northampton clearance landed kindly for Caleb Eickelberg on the right side of the penalty area. The senior forward volleyed a powerful strike on target that was saved at the near post, but the deflected shot rolled toward goal and before it could be cleared off the line, Nate Renaud tapped the ball across and handed West Springfield the lead.
“As a winger, you always got to make that back post run,” Renaud said. “When (Eickelberg was) shooting it, I couldn’t really see the ball. But it drops to the defender and I just poked it through his legs.
“I was just in the right place at the right time and that’s where you got to be all the time.”
The Terriers’ go-ahead goal intensified the Blue Devils’ resolve, with heightened desperation to keep their season alive. It had been a physical battle from the opening whistle and both sides only amped up their aggression after Renaud’s goal.
While West Springfield threatened on the counter, the Blue Devils had the majority of possession in the second half and came close to scoring on a handful of chances.
“It was very nerve-wracking, I’m not going to lie,” Terriers’ center back Michael Zarelli said. “It was a lot of pressure in that second half, (Northampton) had a lot of possession there, but we held our ground, kept on fighting, kept going right at them, winning the second ball and giving whatever we had to get it up and drive.
“We just had the motivation and the heart to get to that final.”
The Blue Devils had the Terriers defending at all costs down to the final seconds of the match. But no matter how much Northampton threw at West Side, the designated visitors refused to break.
As the final whistle blew to mark the Terriers’ victory, West Side fan rushed the field, swarming the Terriers on the pitch in celebration of their achievement.
West Springfield advances to its first state final since winning the Div. II state title in 2021.
Gumlaw highlighted how proud he was of his team’s accomplishment and explained why the Terriers never considered themselves underdogs in this tournament despite what
“A lot of people see our seed and they forget we had all these ties,” Gumlaw said. The Terriers had tied eight of their 16 regular season matches and entered the state tournament with the most ties amongst qualifying teams.
“A lot of games throughout the year we dominated, we just didn’t get the win. We’re like a three-seed trapped in an 11-seed body right now and we’re just playing really well… these guys gutted it out, I’m so proud of them.”
Fans will remember the 2021 West Springfield squad that won the Division II state title. Since then, the Terriers have been slowly climbing back up the ladder, reaching the Round of 16 in 2023 and the quarterfinals in 2024.
But it’s the memories of their freshman season in 2022 that still haunts them. Finishing with a 5-11-2 record, the Terriers lost in the first round of the WMass Class A tournament and did not qualify for the state tournament.
“We had a rough year, the record wasn’t the greatest (and) we didn’t really develop as a team,” Zarelli said. “But our younger guys decided to take ownership and take leadership.
“With this big group of seniors we have, we stepped up, did what we were supposed to and look where we are now — we’re going to the state championship.”
Northampton finishes its season with an 18-2-3 record, reaching the programs first state semifinal since the expansion of the statewide tournament.
“Just trying to remind them of what we’ve done this year and how special it’s been,” Northampton boys soccer coach C.J. Holt said. “It’s such a great send off for the seniors, the season we’ve been put together for them in their final year here, we’re proud of that.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow, it’s a tough way to go down, to a team that we’re familiar with (and) that we know we can play with. We had some good runs to play in the game, we just couldn’t find the back of the net… (West Springfield) won a lot of second balls and really had a hunger and a game plan they executed well. But for us not to get one is unlike us and it’s sort of a weird place to be, to not score a goal is tough. But the boys played great and it’s a great season in the end.”
Northampton will graduate nine seniors this spring, but will return a strong junior class, led by All-New England selection Will Senn-McNally and 2024 All-Western Mass First Team selection, Sam Busone.
“For a lot of these seniors, this might be the last serious soccer experience they have — and this is the way to leave it,” Northampton’s Tate Norsen said. “This was such an amazing season for all of us… we left it (all out) on the field, it didn’t go our way, but this season overall, this was exactly how we wanted to end it.
“We definitely still have a huge future ahead of us, we’ve been in these games before now and I think that’s going to give them a big step up next year to push through and get to that final.”
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