Trojans Stay Perfect as They Ready for Stiffest Test
by Ken Brown
CABOT – The Twinfield-Cabot boys’ soccer team stayed perfect on the season last week with decisive wins over Craftsbury Academy and Danville, improving to 6-0.
Freshman Tej Stewart found the back of the net four more times last Wednesday to lead the Trojans to a 5-0 home win over the Chargers. Meles Gouge scored a goal of his own to end the scoring on the day and the Twinfield-Cabot tandem of Neil Alexander and Dominick Hale combined to earn the shutout. Dylan Washer and Grayson McNaughten combined for nine stops on the day as Craftsbury fell to 2-3 on the season.
“We held possession and moved the ball well, but had a lot of trouble finishing, it was just one of those days. Credit Craftsbury’s back line doing a great job filling the lanes and their keepers came up with some big saves. Meles was outstanding in the midfield. He’s an incredible player, he gives it his all every match, and does an amazing job holding this team together. Tej was excellent up top for us with four more goals. He’s leading the team in scoring and his composure is top-notch as a freshman. The defense came up strong again today to deny them any scoring opportunities. We rotated several players through our backline and they stepped up and played hard,” said head coach Peter Stratman.
Meles Gouge poured in four goals on Friday to lead Twinfield-Cabot to another dominant 8-0 home win over Danville. Darshan Eddleman scored twice and Sam McLane and Stewart chipped in with a goal apiece. Dominick Hale made two stops on the day to earn the Trojan defense their fifth shutout of the season. Josh Peterson made five saves in the loss for the Bears as they fell to 1-5 on the season. The Trojans swept the season series from Danville, outscoring them 20-0 in their two matches.
“The team executed well and our goal was to control possession and manufacture quality attacks. We built a nice lead and in the second half we were able to rotate our younger players into the match and focus on possession and transition. Danville has several exceptional soccer athletes who worked hard and never gave up. Our defensive line did another nice job of denying them any quality scoring opportunities. Dom stepped up and played big in the net and we’re grateful that we have two talented keepers on the team,” said Stratman.
Gouge and Stewart have combined for 29 goals this season to give the Trojans a potent one-two punch and Eddleman and McLane have rounded out a balanced scoring attack that has found the back of the net 44 times in six matches. Twinfield-Cabot’s stingy defense has only given up a single goal this season, but they will face their stiffest test this Friday against Division III powerhouse Enosburg at home. The Hornets are off to a torrid 6-1 start in their quest to defend their 2021 state championship. They have outscored their opponents 33-11 on the year, with their only loss coming to Winooski. It is shaping up to be the match of the year in the Mountain League and will be played at the Cabot Recreation Field on Friday.
