Who stood out during the high school playoff quarter-final weekend? What are the statistics and important moments that led the team to win or lose?
Here are some worthy highlights from this weekend’s lineup. Read below to find out more about Mount Mansfield-Burlington and Essex-St. women’s football. Johnsbury football, Essex-Rice field hockey, Colchester-South Burlington women’s football, Colchester-MMU men’s football and Rice-Mount Abraham football.
More: Vermont H.S. playoff scores for October 29: See how your favorite team fared
More: Vermont H.S. playoff scores for October 28: See how your favorite team fared
OT goal delivers walk-off winner for MMU soccer
Finley Barker stood on the ball, about 35 yards from goal, and loved his chances. On the same subject : The United States Attorney for the District of South Carolina appoints an Environmental Justice Coordinator.
“I saw a chance, the goalkeeper was on the side and I thought the wall was quite far, so I was just looking around,” Barker said of the restart.
A look to keep Mount Mansfield’s season alive.
The junior midfielder curled a free kick at the far post which Burlington keeper Ava Tonizzo couldn’t deny, lifting the No. 3 MMU with an entertaining 3-2 win in double extra time over sixth seed Burlington in the Division I quarter-finals in Jericho.
Barker’s goal, 1:26 into the second added half, took the Cougars (10-3-1) into the semifinals for the first time since 2014.
“It feels really great,” said Barker. “We haven’t been to the state semifinals in a long time, so I think we have a lot of good energy flowing to have a good chance against our next opponent. Anything can happen in the playoffs.”
While the Cougars scored two of their three goals from set pieces, they stayed true to their style of play despite a first-half deficit.
“It was a very competitive game and we made some mistakes in the first half which resulted in some good goals for them,” said MMU first-year coach Peter Albright. “So digging from the hole, it’s even more important to play with your identity and ours is to move the ball and change the point of attack and attack the finish line.”
With Barker pulling the strings and Kate Leach locking MMU’s third defense against the dangerous Burlington forward, the Cougars held up well and found a channel to create chances. MMU had a wave of pressure towards the end of first extra time before breaking through to winner Barker.
“Burlington put a lot of pressure right around the ball and it was very difficult to play him. But if you can play outside and around him, there’s a lot of space to attack,” said Albright. “Our form has to be good and our boys have to be sharp and play fast and I think they are doing a good job. We are patient and don’t try to score goals all the time.”
Left winger Sofia Randall ran smoothly down the sideline and cut through the 18-yard box allowing team-mate Leila Monks to finish once and lead 1-0 with 13:35 left in the first half. Burlington hit back less than three minutes later: Mimi Dion found the net to tap Camryn Muzzy’s assist.
Then with two minutes to play before half-time, BHS capitalized on Cougar’s handball in the box with a Brooks DeShaw penalty for his third goal of the playoffs.
MMU scored the equalizer about 15 minutes into the second half. Opting for short passes for most of the early corners, MMU’s Barker decided to put a pass into the box when BHS put two players near the finish line. But Naia Surks hit Barker’s home service to close the game at 1.
“We have a lot of options around the corner and we want to be as dangerous as possible,” said Albright. “The (players) have full authority to choose what options they want to use.”
Tonizzo finished with eight stops for the Seahorse (10-6). Tonie Cardinal, who scored after the break, made three saves for the Cougars.
“They are tough, they keep fighting and they don’t give up,” said BHS coach Jeff Hayes. “Overall, a great season. We struggled with some injuries but overall very proud of them.”
Hornets’ read option overpowers SJA
Ethan Curtis had two messages for his Hornets before Friday night. Read also : North Korea says US is shaping NATO Asia; swear stronger defense.
The fate of the Essex playoffs against St. Johnsbury relied on the offensive line and it was Tanner Robbins’ job to match their strength.
“I said ‘Big Dog you’re going to eat this week,'” Curtis said of his pre-game words to Robbins. “And he did it, he did that thing, he ran behind the line, the line went up and they really remembered it.”
Robbins totaled 29 carries for 185 yards and four goals in a read options scheme engineered by quarterback Charlie Bowen that outperformed the Hilltoppers physically.
No. 4 Essex (6-3) scored in their first six possessions for the season’s highest points total and slid past No. 5 St. Johnsbury (5-4) 49-28 for the second straight season in the Division I quarter-finals.
“I mean, they have some athletes and they’re really great up front,” said SJA coach Rich Alercio. “Backruns and quarterbacks give you a match when they pull everyone in one direction and the quarterback holds them the other way.
“We just don’t have an answer for their athleticism and size.”
In last year’s quarter-final win, the Hornets’ backfield tandem reached 226 yards on the ground. Robbins and Bowen (17 carries for 107 yards) topped him with 292 yards in the same scheme.
“If you don’t have a good line, it doesn’t matter what you do at the back, it doesn’t work out,” said Curtis. “The guys up front just grind and grind and do their thing and then Charlie (Bowen) and Tanner (Robbins) they are athletes and make things happen.”
Tied at 14-all with 5:13 remaining at half-time, Essex set up a 12-yard scoring drive that started on their own 35-yard line. Bowen counted five carry on the drive and Robbins piled forward for six, including a 16-yard TD rush on fourth and -1. The final game went past Hilltopper’s defensive power with 37.6 seconds remaining at half-time.
“We ran right in the middle, that’s our goal,” Curtis said. “That’s to run it right in the stomach (defense).”
Essex opened the third stanza with an 8-play drive, converted again under fourth and ended with Robbins scoring. On Hilltopper’s subsequent possession, Bowen found a fault that was let go of SJA receiver Alejandro Orozco. Seven games later Bowen added a 1-yard TD to give the Hornets a 35-14 lead with 3:57 left in the third quarter.
“I don’t want to say one is better than the other, running back last year was amazing,” Alercio said of the Hornets foul last year compared to 2022. “But these two guys (Robbins and Bowen) are very athletic. . I mean, we played them well and we couldn’t stop them.”
SJA scored in the opening possession as quarterback Quinn Murphy (11 carries for 43 yards, TD rush; 17 of 34 for 259 yards, 3 TD passes) ran for a 15-yard TD rush. The Hornets responded with a 10-play drive that was limited by Carter Crete’s 7-yard strike.
The Hornets, however, carved out six scoring drives from seven games or more to dominate possession time.
“We just have to do what we do and play Hornet football,” Curtis said. “We had to keep the drive and that’s what we did and we were lucky to do it and we just kept rolling and rolling.”
Ethan Hemingway added a 34-yard TD rush late in the fourth to cap the scoring for Essex, who await winners No. 8 Burlington/South Burlington and No. 1 Champlain Valley in the semifinals.
For St Johnsbury, Gavynn Kenney-Young added 10 catches for 150 yards and a TD catch of 58 yards. Orozco and Caleb Pontti supplied 39 and 14 yard TD catches.
Rovnak sends Hornets to field hockey semifinals
On hold for three quarters of the field hockey playoffs, the Essex Hornets continued to press. To see also : Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and the growth of music publishing drive Warner Music’s revenues.
“I actually spoke to them going into the fourth quarter and just said it’s a quarter where you give everything you’ve got,” Essex coach Grace Smith said. “Looks like this is your last shot. This is your last shot, so every little chance you get is a prize. ”
The Hornets controlled possession from the third frame and saved two corners, both of which were saved by Rice goalkeeper Samara Plunkett. The third corner, however, was hit at home and, with 7:47 remaining in regulation, Paige Rovnak and the Hornets broke through.
“Thank goodness,” Smith said of the goal.
And despite an attack by the Green Knights in the closing minutes, Rovnak’s goal stood as No. 3 Essex (11-2-1) hold No. 6 Rice (7-6-2) 1-0 on Friday to advance to the My Division semifinals.
“They’re really tough and they want every corner to be a goal,” Smith said of his group. That’s something we’ve been working on from the start, getting a corner and then finishing it.”
Rovnak, a senior, picked up a pass from Ava Spooner and fired past Plunkett, which was almost perfect for the Green Knights.
“Sam was phenomenal today, he came on in the warm-up and I knew his head was in it, he was ready to go,” said Rice coach Kelly McClintock. “And you know, it’s his first year playing. We couldn’t expect more from him.”
Plunkett finished with one save, a kick, in the second quarter to keep the game even. Hornet keeper Adowyn Byrne equaled a stop at the end.
Rice’s strike pushed the pace throughout the final seven minutes but was unable to equalize.
“We needed one good thing to happen and then more to follow,” said Smith. “That’s really key for us and we know that they (Rice) will come out hungrier and want to answer and we know that whenever that happens we have to play harder.”
Essex will fight No. 2 South Burlington in Tuesday’s semifinals at Middlebury College.
Colchester finally solves South Burlington in playoffs
Two years of heartbreak, two years of what could have been forgiven on Saturday morning: The Colchester women’s soccer team—finally—had to lose to South Burlington in an elimination match.
Lakers No. 2 banked on a first-half goal from freshman Brinlee Gilfillan and then did enough to oust the No. 7 and two-time reigning champions South Burlington 1-0 in the Division I quarter-finals. Wolves have crushed Colchester’s hopes in each of the last two postseasons with the semi-final extra-time winner.
“You have to give South Burlington a lot of credit. They are very well trained, they are very physical and tough and they gave us everything we could handle,” said Colchester coach Jeff Paul. “But I’m very proud of the resilience of our boys. In playoff football, you just have to hang on and carry on.”
Gilfillan’s beautiful turn and finish inside the left post, from Isabelle Winton’s pass, midway through the first half closed the Laker’s early attack.
But once Wolves regrouped, the visitors offered quality performances in search of an equaliser. Midfielder Oakley Machanic broke through the Colchester defense at high speed and fired a high shot from long range that fell into the net behind the crossbar. Colchester centre-back Maeve MacAuley also chipped in a cross for Rachel Kelley from South Burlington – a stop that had to be made – in the middle of the 18-yard box in the final two minutes of the first half.
MacAuley and Isabel Benoure, both battling injuries, Colchester continued to lead the Colchester backline in the second half and denied South Burlington a dangerous chance to equalise.
“I think in the second half, Izzy played some of the best (football) he’s had all season. And Maeve is the heart and soul of our programme,” said Paul. “They are very calm and they understand our system very well.
“Our defense was ready and our midfield answered the bell and we got a deep game off our bench today – and we need it all.”
South Burlington is scheduled to bring back every outfield player and starting goalkeeper Alisa McLean in 2023.
“We are all satisfied, no crying on our part,” said South Burlington coach Lindsay Austin-Hawley, who suffered her first playoff loss. “We made them work for it, we put them under pressure and we made them think. I wish (Colchester) the best of luck.”
Emily Thompson made four saves for the Lakers. McLean hit nine stops in the Wolves net.
The Lakers (13-1-1) host No. 3 Mount Mansfield in Wednesday’s semi-final at 3pm.
Alfani’s rocket highlights win for Colchester boys
Playing a short 1-2 game in midfield, Jacques Alfani collected Henry Bacon’s foot-kick and glanced at goal. Alfani was 40 yards from target, but his junior delivered a right-footed strike with speed and movement.
One word sums up the result: Thunderblast.
Alfani’s scream into the top right corner, which froze Mount Mansfield goalkeeper Eric Bissell, pushed the No. 3 Colchester to three goals in a 4-0 win over Cougars No. 6 in Saturday’s D-I boys soccer quarter-finals.
While the goal wowed the packed crowd, Colchester coach Ty Pratt said Alfani was a creative player who was more than capable of a spectacular finish.
“You say it’s special, but it’s something he does in training every day,” Pratt said. “I swear he practices that every day. I’m not surprised to see it come in. I’m more surprised he doesn’t have more of it this year.”
Early in the game, the Lakers (11-2-2) parried Mount Mansfield’s kick-and-run play, and scored twice in the first half to take control. Trace Roach had a corner and Henry Bacon’s shot from distance was deflected into the back of the net.
After Alfani’s goal for the 3-0 margin, Owen Talbot cleared the rebound that came from the restart to seal the score. Demunga Alfani made three assists and Stephane Mujomba and Xander Berthiaume combined to make two saves. Bissell made five stops for MMU (9-6-1).
“Give (MMU) credit, they came out flying and I think we matched them,” Pratt said. “Our resilience and stamina held up and we’re slowly taking over.”
Colchester will play at No. 2 Champlain Valley in Wednesday’s semifinals.
Special teams lift Mount Abraham to semifinals
Mount Abraham’s playoff appearance was too late. Eight years in the making and the Eagles are finally playing at their most important moment.
And Jeff Stein’s crew isn’t going to waste it.
With three changes to the lead in the fourth quarter, No. 5 Mount Abraham hits the final blow. A 73-yard counter-kick by Lucas Allen with 54.3 seconds remaining in regulation gave the Eagles a 43-40 lead against fourth seed Rice in the D-III soccer quarter-finals on Saturday afternoon at South Burlington.
“These are the things books are written about, you see this in the movies,” said an ecstatic Stein. “Nothing you expect to happen in real life and then it happens and you’re just blown away about it.”
Stein received a well-deserved Gatorade shower as Mount Abraham (5-4) advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2014.
Before the match-winning special team played, Rice had possession 37-34 down. And in fourth and 9th from their own 48-yard line, Rice Dallas St. Peter gave a long pass down the left to Sharif Sharif. The senior went beyond defense into the end zone to catch a 52-yard TD that pushed the Green Knights into a 40-37 lead.
The match-winning potential score set the Eagles for semifinal destiny.
Allen grabbed the ball with a jump, chopping and reading blocks by his up-man perfectly by releasing outward and finding paydirt along the right-hand side.
“We said, ‘Let’s win here on this counter-kick’ and they just blocked it,” said Stein. “It was the first kick return we had all year and the stars were level.”
The Eagles spurred by Jamison Couture’s 253 yards of scrimmage and a total of four touchdowns.
Rice (5-4) played valiantly in coach Chad Cioffi’s first year as a signalman. The Green Knights took a 14-0 lead and maintained their lead with 3:50 remaining in the third quarter.
The Eagles face top seed Windsor in the semifinals on November 5.
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