Ludlow high school boys soccer team season comes to an end after 2-1 loss to West Springfield during the Western Mass finals on Nov. 9.

“It was a tough loss for the team. Losing in the finals is never easy,” said coach Greg Kolodziey, “We played pretty well on the overall, but there is a fine line between winning and losing games like this. I’m still very proud of the boys for their effort.”

After the regular season games, Ludlow took first place in their division, and they advanced into playoffs.

Their first playoff game was against Central on Nov. 4, and Ludlow managed to shut out Central with a 4-0 win.

“Our first game was amazing,” said sophomore Davin Kendall, “We played great soccer and that’s all that mattered.”

With the win over Central, Ludlow was able to move on to the semifinals against Pittsfield, which took place on Nov. 6 at Central high school.

When the boys took the field to face Pittsfield, the game was pretty aggressive. During the game, Ludlow received a total of four yellow cards.

In the MIAA rules, it states that if a team/coach were to receive five yellow cards in a game, then that team will have to forfeit that game.

“We got our 4th card with a few minutes to go and had to get through those last few minutes. It was a bit scary,” said Kolodziey.

Now that Ludlow beat Pittsfield during the semis, it allowed the boys to move on to the Division 1 Western Mass finals, to face off against West Springfield.

The finals took place at Westfield State on Nov. 9. With a tough, strong battle for the title, West Side managed to beat Ludlow 2-1.

“It was definitely a depressing moment for all of us, but we’re a team and helped each other get through the loss. Not being able to come back next year and go for the title again is definitely one of the worst parts about the loss,” said senior Matt Dent.

This was the second time that West Springfield has won Western Mass and the first time was in 1982, which was 30 years ago. Surprisingly, during that game they also beat Ludlow, and it was when Ludlow’s own coach, Greg Kolodziey, was a senior playing for LHS.

“I think the next time we play West Side in the finals I’ll stay away from the game,” joked Kolodziey.

Unfortunately, with a loss, it was the end of the Ludlow boys soccer season and hopefully next year, since many players will be returning to the team, they will win the title and bring it back to LHS.

“I’m confident these boys will go far next season,” said Dent.