Belchertown field hockey defeats Northampton 3-0 behind Roy sisters

Belchertown defeated Northampton 3-0 in field hockey on Tuesday, with senior Lila Roy scoring her first goal of the season in the fourth quarter after moving to forward for the second half.

Lila Roy redirected a shot from her younger sister, junior Kina Roy, who had elevated the ball from the outer circle. The goal came with the Orioles already leading 2-0. "(Kina) is always saying to stop the ball and swing at it," Lila Roy said. "But my stick was already up in the air so I kind of just pushed it and it went in."

Belchertown head coach Dina Brunetti said the team struggled to break through Northampton's defense after scoring six goals in back-to-back games to start the season. Midway through the second quarter, senior Gianna Zenon took a shot from the right side of the circle on a corner, and junior Madeline Williams converted the rebound for the first goal. The Orioles took eight shots in the quarter but managed only one goal and converted just one of eight corners in the half.

In the third quarter, junior Julia Rainaud scored on another corner after receiving a deep shot from senior Addi DiBona. Brunetti said the team needed to adjust its approach. "I said, 'I don't care. The minute you break that plane, we got to start shooting. Let's get deflection shots rather than these little choppy shots where we're all in front of the net,'"

Northampton goalie Abby Xu made 19 saves despite the shutout loss. Northampton head coach Meshia Begin said her team's defense was strong, holding Belchertown to three goals after the Orioles scored nine total in two games against the Blue Devils last season. "All of our defenders contributed as a unit," Begin said. "They constantly added pressure right back on the attackers."

Belchertown improved to 3-0 on the season with the shutout victory. The Orioles host Smith Academy on Wednesday, while Northampton travels to Palmer on Thursday.