Post Season Round Up: NGS To Finals

By Ellen Oliver

The 9-0 Chieftains football season is still running strong after a 42-0 trounce of Hudson on Friday night, but all other Nashoba sports have entered the post season. Currently touting three league championships and one co-league title, the Chieftains look to extend their seasons. Here’s a look:

Football
Playing at home on their senior night, the Chieftains continued to flex their Central Mass muscle, defeating Hudson 42-0. Both teams were 3-0 in the league, but the Hawks couldn’t overcome senior captain QB Jack Sarnoski’s offensive show, running for three touchdowns and throwing two more (connecting with Brady Schartner and Eli Williams).

Schartner had two interceptions, Andrew Cross took the ball 51 yards to open the game, finishing with 98 yards, and junior kicker Drew Korn was four for five on the night.

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association voted on October 26 to implement a two-year pilot system that reduces the current 19 regional Super Bowl championships with a playoff system that calls for a shorter regular season, but allows for up to 160 teams to participate in four regional playoffs. Those playoffs will result in state championships in six enrollment-based divisions.

Exactly how the new system will affect Nashoba is unclear, as MIAA officials began discussing the details of division alignments on November 6, however, the system will not affect traditional Thanksgiving Day games or league games.

Field Hockey
The top ranked and league champs Nashoba field hockey team finished the regular season 15-2-1 in the league, earning a first round bye. In the quarterfinals, the girls were paired with nine seed Hudson (7-7-4) and it was all Nashoba. Hudson 16:12 mark. Senior captain Katie Lombardozzi found the net for the Chieftains in the first half and junior Sammy Gjeltema provided the insurance to close out the game 2-0 Nashoba.

Next the girls met four seed Notre Dame Academy for the semi-finals on Tuesday evening at Foley Stadium. Nashoba progressed to the semi-finals last year and were anxious to move into the final round. The Chieftains were down 1-0, but Tori Danby tied things up with 20 minutes left to play in the half. Notre Dame struck with under three minutes left to go ahead 2-1, but Nashoba rallied and snuck one in with under two minutes to tie it up again. The teams battled through one OT, then early in the second “sudden victory” OT, Notre Dame found the net and ended Nashoba’s playoff run with a 3-2 win.

Girls Soccer
The girls won their Mid-Wach league title, riding their impressive 14-0-4 record to a first seed and a first round bye. In the quarter finals on November 4, the team played eight seed Wachusett (8-7-3) under the lights at Nashoba Stadium. During the regular season, Nashoba tied Wachusett 0-0, and then defeated them 2-0 later in the season. The 0-0 and 2-0 scores each proved prophetic as the teams battled scoreless to the half until sophomore Amber Gustafson scored for Nashoba, followed by another tap by senior captain Laura Courtney as the buzzer ran out to give Nashoba the 2-0 victory.

The team entered the semi-finals against Marlboro on November 6, facing the Tigers in Bolton. Nashoba quickly went up 4-0 with goals by Gustafson and Kim Slade, followed by Julia Reverdy and Sarah Clopeck – and that was just the first half. Kelly Poole added another in the second, then Marlboro slipped one in, but it wasn’t enough. The Chieftains will ride their 5-1 victory to face Algonquin in the Central D1 finals on November 10.

Boys Soccer
League co-title holder, the boys entered the soccer playoffs as the fourth seed (12-3-3) meeting 13 seed St. Johns on November 2 on Nashoba’s home pitch. After 63 minutes of no scoring, St. John’s connected with the back of the net. The Chieftain’s kept battling, but couldn’t retaliate by the last buzzer, ending the season for Nashoba.  The boys’ soccer team ends the season 12-4-3.    League co-title holder, the boys entered the soccer playoffs as the fourth seed (12-3-3) meeting 13 seed St. Johns on November 2 on Nashoba’s home pitch. After 63 minutes of no scoring, St. John’s connected with the back of the net. The Chieftain’s kept battling, but couldn’t retaliate by the last buzzer, ending the season for Nashoba.  The boys’ soccer team ends the season 12-4-3.

Cross-Country
After picking up their league titles, the boys’ and girls’ cross country teams are preparing for the District meet on November 10. The boys are 8-1 and the girls are 9-0.

Golf 
The golf team ended the season 7-7-1 and participated in the Central Mass Division I Championships on October 23. The Chieftains placed ninth with 352 points.

Volleyball 
After gaining some traction mid-season, the Nashoba volleyball team finished up 7-11. After the storm postponed their final game by a day, the

Chieftains lost to Shrewsbury 3-1 to end the season.

Hale XC Finishes Season with District Win/State Meet
The Hale Hawks defeated district rivals Lancaster and Bolton at the annual Nashoba school district XC meet on November 1. Running a 1.54 mile course, the boys won 26-41-112 (Sawyer 2nd, Lancaster 3rd) with Hale taking six of the top ten spots, with Mason Wachter at first (9:09). The girls’ team won 29-35-86 (Sawyer 2nd, Lancaster 3rd) also placing six runners in the top ten. Sarah Gillooly was the top runner at 9:24.

The Hawks also represented at the fourth annual Middle School XC Meet. Coming in as the reigning champs, the girls’ placed fifth overall with Gilloolly placing third (10:52). The boys came in 11th overall with the top boy, Wachter, finishing 41st (10:41).