Lady Cats Ride Momentum into the Postseason
Hazen Union’s Tessa Luther (No. 2) races for possession of the ball ahead of Talassa Howe of Twinfield October 21 on Hudson Field. Hazen won 3-0.
by Ken Brown
RICHFORD – The Hazen Union girls’ soccer team dropped a hard-fought match to Richford last week before wrapping up a stellar second half of the season with a blanking of Twinfield-Cabot for their fourth win in six matches.
Kyrielle Deuso and Ella Chagnon scored two goals apiece to power Richford to a 5-2 home win over Hazen last Tuesday. Dueso scored two first-half goals to put the home team on top 3-1 at intermission. Maddie Smith made it 4-1 early in the second half, but the Lady Cats would claw back to make it 4-2 before Chagnon tallied her second of the night to put the match out of reach. Madeline Pike tallied three assists and Aubrey Fadden made 12 saves for Richford as they improved to 9-4. It was the fourth straight win for Richford to end the regular season and they will host Craftsbury Academy in the first round of the Division IV playoffs.
Alexis Christensen celebrated her Senior Night at Hudson Fields on Friday with a goal and an assist to lead the Lady Cats to a 3-0 win over Twinfield-Cabot. Christensen buried a feed from fellow senior Maverick Murphy for the eventual game winner in the first half. Natalie Michaud and Caitlyn Davison added insurance goals for the home team. Lily Castle and Gabby Stanciu were also honored for their outstanding high school careers on the pitch. Ella Renaud made nine saves in the win to post the third shutout of the season for the Hazen Union defense. Ida Astick made 10 saves for the Lady Trojans as they finished the regular season at 2-10-1. Head coach Harry Besett’s squad will roll into the postseason with a 4-0 record against division IV teams in the month of October.
Alexis Christensen (No. 4) traps the ball during Wildcat versus Trojan action Friday on Hudson Field. Following the play (at left in back) is Maverick Murphy of Hazen and (at right) Alice McLane of Twinfield Union. The Wildcats outscored their guests 3-0.
“The whole season is designed as a set up for playoff success. We had a slow start, but now our offense is really starting to click, scoring some beautiful team goals. The defense has tightened up as well and we are conceding a lot less. One stand out difference in the team is a ‘never give up’ attitude that was especially highlighted in our match against Rivendell Academy where we got behind twice and ended up coming back to win in overtime. As long as we keep that mindset and intensity, we’ve got a good shot to make a decent run in the playoffs,” said Besett.
The Lady Cats will travel to sixth seeded Arlington on Wednesday to open the first round of the Division IV tournament. The Lady Eagles ended the regular season winning nine straight matches.
