THE SENTINEL • THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2011 PAGE 21 B e l c h e r t o w n ’s C a t h e r i n e Anziano takes a look up the floor as she handles the ball. BASEBALL • LACROSSE • SOFTBALL • TENNIS • TRACK and FIELD • BOYS VOLLEYBALL SPORTS By Tim Peterson Turley Publications Sports Correspondent PALMER - There wasn’t very much drama in the first ever Pathfinder Summer League girls basketball playoff game between the second-seeded Belchertown Orioles and the seventh-seeded Pathfinder Pioneers. The Orioles, who scored the first 21 points of the contest, coasted to a 45-16 victory in a quarterfinal game played inside the Pathfinder gymnasium last Tuesday night. “Having a large early lead in this game was very nice. We just worked the ball around on offense looking for a good open shot,” said Belchertown summer league coach Olivia Pare, who was an outstanding three-sport athlete at Belchertown High School a couple of years ago. “It was just a good team effort and it was also a very good way to start the summer league playoffs.” Belchertown rolls over Pathfinder Lady Orioles score game’s first 21 points Seven of the nine Orioles players scored at least two points in the quarterfinal victory. Leading the way offensively was Katherine Anziano, who finished with a game-high 12 points. She scored all of her points on shots from beyond the three-point line. “Katherine was just on fire from the outside tonight,” Pare said. “She’s going to be a senior and she’s probably going to be one of the team leaders this year.” Sarah Woodcock chipped in with eight points, while Kaitlyn Swift scored seven and Jill Cavanaugh added six. The trio of Carrie Aberdale, Bridget Grim and Jess Karash each scored four. Leading the Pioneers, who lost all nine of their summer league games, was Donna Becker with nine points. She’ll be a sophomore on the Pioneers varsity team next winter. PLEASE SEE LADY ORIOLES, PAGE 22 Turley Publications photos by Susan Swift swiftshots.net Belchertown’s Kaitlyn Swift tries to dribble her way around a defender. Belchertown falls short in quarters Palmer scores lone goal in first half By Rick Sobey Turley Publications Sports Intern PALMER - With 10:00 remaining in the Belchertown/ Palmer quarterfinal Pioneer Valley Summer Soccer League matchup, a majestic rainbow appeared over Laviolette Field. Belchertown was behind by one goal, and the team was desperate to find that pot of gold. However, they couldn’t find the reward at the end of the rainbow, as fifth-seeded Palmer prevailed in the closing moments against fourth-seeded Belchertown, as Palmer won 1-0 in the B Division playoffs. With the victory, Palmer advanced to the semifinals against top-seeded Ludlow Ideal and lost. Tyler Davis, who is a Palmer senior captain, said that working together as more of a team was key to the onegoal victory. “We haven’t been doing that too much this summer and have been really working at it,” Davis said. “We just kept working hard and focused on our passing and through balls, and working with each other more.” Palmer’s teamwork paid off at the end of the first half, as Palmer found the only pot of gold at the field to go ahead 1-0. With 5:00 left in the half, Palmer defenseman Connor Roche sent a long free kick all the way down the field to Troy Remillard. “Troy just beat the other defenders, settled the ball, and sent it past the goalie somehow at a sharp angle,” Davis said. “It was big to head into the half with that lead.” A golden scoring opportunity for Belchertown came in the second half when one of their players was tripped from behind in Palmer’s goalie box. This resulted in a penalty shot, but Belchertown could not cash in on the scoring chance. Their player kicked it to the upper right, and it sailed right over the net. Belchertown continued attacking late in the game, but the young squad could not equal the one goal that Palmer got earlier in the game. Despite the loss, Belchertown’s head coach Ed Noga was quite pleased with how his squad played against a tough Palmer team. “Both teams played really well today,” Noga said. “I felt we moved the ball a little bit better than them on the ground. I thought we outplayed them as far as controlling the ball. But Palmer had a few opportunities and made the best out of their 60-yard launched ball, and their guy did a nice job and buried it.” urley Publications photos by Susan Swift swiftshots.net PLEASE SEE BELCHERTOWN/PALMER, PAGE 24 Belchertown’s Jack Stinson (72) battles for possession with Palmer’s Matthew Sychtysz (22). GREAT SEASON FOR ALL-STARS Belchertown’s Cam Messier controls the ball as Palmer’s Connor Roche (8) looks on. The Belchertown 11-12 All-Stars completed their tournament season with an impressive 11-3 record, placing second in their pool in the District Tournament, first in their pool in the Jimmy Fund Tournament, and coming in first place overall in the local Green Monster Tournament. The team was coached by Patrick Kamins, Scott Ingram and Neil Barry. Players are: back row (from left to right) Jonathan Ingram, Cyrus Raines, Ethan Barry, Brendan Sullivan, Jack Medina, Scott Kopacz and Jackson Leduc. Front row: Tanner Clark, Jack Kamins, Dave Fredenburgh, Nolan Vogel and Hayden Bennis Turley Publications submitted photo