[AROUND THE NET] Conor Reynolds, a star soccer player at Springfield (Mass.) Cathedral High School, was fatally stabbed in the neck Saturday night outside a local restaurant that recently lost its liquor license and was hosting a birthday party that drew 250 attendees.

“His life ended over little or no provocation by someone he didn’t even know, which is tragic in any case,’’ Springfield Police Sergeant John Delaney told the Boston Globe.

Cathedral coach Joe Pantuosco called Reynolds his "franchise player" whom several Division 3 schools were recruiting. “He could put a Division 3 [team] on the map by himself," said Pantuosco. "That’s how good he is."