UMass football eyes first win at homecoming

By CONNOR PIGNATELLO

The UMass football team seeks its first win of the 2024 season on Saturday, when it hosts Central Connecticut State at 3:30 p.m. in the annual homecoming game.After three double-digit losses against MAC schools to start the year, the Minutemen have...

Football: Belchertown falls to Pittsfield on the road, 42-14

By JESSE KOLODKIN

PITTSFIELD — The Pittsfield football team didn’t play with its food against Belchertown.The Generals didn’t punt throughout the entire first half, a half that saw PHS score on all five of its offensive possessions and get an extra score on a punt...

High Schools: Northampton field hockey falls to Westfield, 4-0

By GARRETT COTE

NORTHAMPTON — The host Northampton field hockey team found itself in the mix with powerhouse Westfield on Thursday afternoon, trailing just 1-0 midway through the third quarter.But unlike the Blue Devils, the Bombers capitalized on their chances in...

Hampshire Regional boys soccer plays to scoreless draw at Pittsfield

By HOWARD HERMAN

PITTSFIELD — There is nothing inherently bad with a draw in soccer. Both teams pick up a point and nobody loses.There are, however, different kinds of draws.“It was an interesting test. I think it actually was a really good, hard-fought battle that I...

UMass soccer: Alec Hughes leading NCAA in goals, 3 away from program record

By CONNOR PIGNATELLO

AMHERST — The first time UMass men’s soccer head coach Fran O’Leary saw striker Alec Hughes play in person, he scored five goals.Now five years removed from Glastonbury High School, Hughes is leading the NCAA with 10 goals and is just three shy of...

The Real Score: Fandom is everything, but also nothing

By LIZ DELIA

In August, I spent a week in Vienna, Austria. A year earlier, our family had secured tickets to the Vienna leg of Taylor Swift’s hugely popular Eras Tour. Less than 24 hours before our concert, news broke of a foiled terrorism plot targeting the...

UMass basketball gets commitment from N.Y. point guard Danny Carbuccia

By CONNOR PIGNATELLO

UMass men’s basketball on Wednesday earned its first verbal commitment of the 2025 class in Archbishop Stepinac point guard Danny Carbuccia.The class of 2025 is significant for UMass because it will be the first class of players to play in the MAC,...

High schools: Easthampton girls volleyball drops road match at Division 5 power Turners Falls (PHOTOS)

TURNERS FALLS — After the opening frame between the Easthampton and Turners Falls volleyball teams on Wednesday, it looked like a potential five-set match was in store. The Eagles took an early lead and led late in the first set when the Thunder...

Field hockey: Big second half powers Belchertown to 5-0 win over Tantasqua (PHOTOS)

By GARRETT COTE

BELCHERTOWN — Dina Brunetti was having flashbacks of her team’s rock fight of a game with Tantasqua last season during halftime on Wednesday.The Belchertown field hockey head coach felt her team controlled possession and had plenty of opportunities in...

Hopkins Academy alum Ryan Antes making the most of final season with WPI football team

By CONNOR PIGNATELLO

On Saturday, Hopkins Academy alum and Worcester Polytechnic Institute defensive lineman Ryan Antes tallied five tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack and a blocked field goal.Come Monday morning, he was back to work. And not just on the football field.In...

High schools: Hopkins Academy’s Caprial DiBartolomeo takes first place in cross country meet

The microwave cooked the competition on Tuesday.Hopkins Academy’s Caprial DiBartolomeo, nicknamed ‘Microwave,’ took first-place in the Gateway-Hopkins-Smith Vocational-Southwick quad meet, pacing the field with a time of 19 minutes, 16...

Girls soccer: Kate McArdle, Olivia Athas help South Hadley clip Chicopee Comp (PHOTOS)

By GARRETT COTE

SOUTH HADLEY — Rich Marjanski had high praise for his defense following the South Hadley girls soccer team’s 1-0 win over Chicopee Comp on Tuesday afternoon.Now in his eighth season as head coach of the Tigers, a tenure in which his teams have won a...

UMass football: AD Ryan Bamford breaks down Minutemen’s difficult 2024 schedule, future opponents

By CONNOR PIGNATELLO

Another week, another big win for a MAC school.A week after Northern Illinois beat No. 5 Notre Dame on the road 16-14 in a game it was paid $1.4 million to play, Toledo went down to Starkville, took the Bulldogs’ $1.2 million check and beat...

High schools: South Hadley girls volleyball sweeps Granby for fifth win in six matches (PHOTOS)

The South Hadley girls volleyball team breezed past Metro opponent Granby on the road Monday evening, 25-13, 25-19, 25-11; for its fifth win in its first six matches. Granby dropped to 0-5 with the loss.The Tigers bounced back after a loss to Division...

UMass football: Don Brown implores Minutemen to ‘finish the game’ after second-half shutout

By CONNOR PIGNATELLO

The UMass football team had finally built a long drive. After 70 yards of hard work, mostly through the running game, the Minutemen had a third-and-goal chance. Trailing 20-3 in the closing seconds of the third quarter, a touchdown could bring them...

Football: Gavier Fernandez racks up 4 TDs in Amherst’s 31-12 win over Putnam

Gavier Fernandez racked up four touchdowns, and the Amherst football team got their 2024 season off on the right foot thanks to a 31-12 victory over Putnam on Saturday at Ted Plumb Field in Springfield.The game was played with no spectators after...

Hampshire County’s toughest golf holes: Mill Valley Golf Links, Belchertown

By GARRETT COTE

(NOTE: This is the final installment in a weekly series featuring some of the toughest golf holes across Hampshire County.)BELCHERTOWN — Throw out whatever it is you think you know about Mill Valley Golf Links.For most people, what they know or...

Football: Williston pulls ahead early to defeat Deerfield Academy, 34-21

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

DEERFIELD — The Williston Northampton football team came to play in its season opener against Deerfield Academy on Saturday. After falling to the Big Green last fall, the Wildcats came out with a different focus this time around, punching it into the...

UMass football: Buffalo outscores Minutemen 24-0 in second half, runs away for 34-3 victory

By THOMAS JOHNSTON

Through 30 minutes of action against Buffalo on Saturday, the Massachusetts football team was in position to try to earn its first win of the season. It was a different story in the second half. The Bulls outscored the Minutemen 17-0 in the third...

Football: Wahconah locks down South Hadley in second half, secures 26-6 victory

By DYLAN THOMPSON

DALTON – The South Hadley football team was given the unenviable task of opening its season on the road against a Berkshire County powerhouse.Host Wahconah held just a one-score lead at halftime, but the Warriors kept the Tigers off the scoreboard in...