WHATELY — While the Frontier boys soccer team had the ball in the Wahconah end for what felt like the entire game on Tuesday at Herlihy Park, the Redhawks struggled to find the back of the net.

Frontier had the Warriors on their heels from the opening kick on, but were unable to score until Gus Radner smashed in a free kick in the 39th minute that gave the Redhawks the lead going into the half.

The pressure kept up in the second half which led to two goals in the final 15 minutes, with Frontier pulling away to earn a 3-0 Moriarty League victory.

The third and final goal came in the 79th minute, giving the Redhawks (6-1-1) a three-goal win margin, the maximum allowed for points toward Western Mass. and state tournament rankings.

“The message for the boys is that even though it wasn’t exactly to script, at the end of the day we have to focus on the fact that we got what we needed,” Frontier coach Evan Horton said. “I would have rather it not be in the last minute of the game but I have to give credit to them. There was a timeout with about eight minutes left and my message was that we needed another goal and they did that. I’m proud of them for that.”

After scoring 22 goals over their first five games, the Redhawks have hit a cold spell on the offensive end recently.

Frontier finished in a scoreless draw with Monument Mountain, fell to Easthampton 1-0 despite holding a 25-1 shot advantage and on Tuesday, had multiple chances to take over the game on the scoreboard thanks to its dominant possession, but the goals did not come.

With the personnel capable, it’s only a matter of time before the Redhawks get back to their high-scoring ways.

“The reality is we need to figure out how to put the ball in the back of the net,” Horton said. “We’ve made some minor formation changes, we’ve made some personnel changes. I do think we have a couple of positions that are still up in the air where we’re still looking for a couple of guys to step up and assert themselves. Today we used a couple guys that we use in forward and striker positions and put them on the wing to mix things up but I’d prefer other guys to fill those roles.”

In the 65th minute, Frontier made it a two-goal margin.

Radner dashed up the field and dished it over to Ben Cachiguano. Racing up from his centerback spot, Cachiguango buried the shot to give the Redhawks a 2-0 lead. 

Frontier nearly made it a 3-0 game after Radner was tripped in the box, leading to a penalty kick. Wahconah (4-4) was bailed out by its goalie, Zach Sneider, who dove to the right and saved Radner’s penalty kick, keeping it a two-goal game. 

Max Millette set up the third and final goal in the 79th minute, drawing the defense before passing it to TJ Donovan. The senior blasted the shot home to seal the victory for the Redhawks. 

It was another impressive day for the Frontier defense, which earned its sixth shutout in eight games thus far. With only two goals conceded, the Redhawk defense is one Horton can heavily rely on to keep games low scoring. 

“We still have a lot of work to do to figure out who we are on the attack,” Horton said. “I’m happy with our defense so far but the longer we let these games go on like this, the more you invite problems. If we get in a 0-0 game in the playoffs, I’m confident we have the right personnel to hold up. I think we’ve proven that against some quality sides so far. But, it’s important we get up. If we’re up a couple of goals, I don’t think we’ll suffer from teams coming back on us.” 

Next up for Frontier is a trip to Orange to face Mahar, with the game scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday.