Castleton, Vt.
Water balloon catch, soccer-ball horseshoes and plenty of mingling in Castleton University’s dormitories helped the Green Mountain Staters form relationships off the field, bonding they say helped them succeed on it during a 2-1 win over New Hampshire in the 42nd Lions Cup.
Milton’s Caitlyn Dabagian scored once in each half for Vermont, which won for the second straight year and improved to 7-2-1 in the last 10.
Windsor’s Maddy Morse, a striker bound for St. Michael’s College, was effective while switching to center midfield. Rivendell’s Corrie Lyndes also seamlessly transitioned from sweeper to outside defender for Vermont coach Tim Goodwin, who also coaches the Raptors.
Oxbow’s Wren Smith, who played midfield, received Vermont’s sportsmanship award for being the “silliest, friendliest girl on the team,” Goodwin said. She was one of many for Vermont whose uplifting attitude seemed contagious, helping players’ chemistry develop quickly after arriving on campus Thursday morning for a two-night camp prior to game day.
“Wren was an amazing teammate, and really all of the girls clicked right away in a way you don’t always see,” Goodwin said. “The first day, everyone was here at 9:30 (a.m.). They were split up into groups of eight (for dorm-room areas), but they were all in the common room together before practice.”
They had extra time to socialize when a practice was canceled due to thunder and lightning, and on Friday they spent part of the day engaged in games such as “soccer horse shoes” (aiming for a ring with soccer balls) and a game involving water balloons that “basically turned into a water balloon fight,” Woodstock’s Lauren Kaija said.
“I think just hanging out and taking really helped out our team chemistry really well,” Morse said. “When we got on the field, I think you saw that spirit come out and we wanted to battle hard for each other.”
The Green Mountain State struck quickly, Dabagian dribbling through traffic and lifting a shot to the right side to beat New Hampshire goalie Samantha Mitchell (six saves) in the fourth minute. Proctor’s Abigail McKearin had the assist.
Vermont controlled the run of play for much of the first half but couldn’t register many additional quality chances. Its best shot to extend the lead may have come on Smith’s distant shot from the left flank, prompting a chest save from No. 2 New Hampshire goalie Dana Ruchti in the 34th minute.
Hanover’s Kelly Brigham nearly tied it for the Granite State less than five minutes before halftime, after a collision between Vermont goalie Emma Parent and New Hampshire’s Maddy Cheney left the goalmouth open. Essex High’s Victoria Bean came in to block Brigham’s shot.
Dabagian had a bid for a second goal robbed when Mitchell made a sprawling save five minutes into the second half, but she wouldn’t be denied in the 68th minute. This time Dabagian was there to plunk in the rebound of an initial save by Mitchell against Champlain Valley’s Megan Ganon to make it 2-0.
“(Dabagian) is a natural striker; she knows where to go to be in position for rebounds,” Goodwin said. “I think something like 30 percent of all soccer goals come off of rebounds.”
New Hampshire got on the board with 19:02 remaining, when Bow’s Caitlyn Keenan drove in alone after a through pass from Portsmouth’s Shanley King, lifting it past Zoe Cassels-Brown to make it 2-1.
New Hampshire had chances to tie it late — including a point blank bid by Cheney with 7:20 remaining and a wide shot by Brigham with 2:50 to play — but couldn’t solve Cassels-Brown couldn’t.
“We started off a little slowly, but I think we really controlled stretches of the game,” said New Hampshire coach Cydney Scarano, of Portsmouth High. “We played really hard and had some solid ball movement.”
Bedford High teammates Mike Kitsis and Josh Bauer connected for the winning goal 5:54 into the second half as the Granite State held off Vermont for its second straight win in the series.
As in the girls game, Vermont scored in the fourth minute to take a 1-0 lead, an unassisted strike from Montpelier’s Paul Farrell, but New Hampshire rallied for goals in the 13th and 20th minutes.
The Granite State tied it on a brilliant individual effort by Manchester Central’s Evan MacDonald, who danced through two defenders before poking it across the crease and into the opposite corner to beat Vermont’s Leland Gazo, of Rice.
New Hampshire’s second goal was also highlight worthy, Hopkinton’s Nick Fleury launching a cross-crease pass for a one-timer header falling forward by speedy Nate Gaw, of Londonderry.
“We knew Gaw was going to be an impact player for us; to be honest we were expecting something like that from him,” said New Hampshire coach Mike Hachey, of Windham High.
New Hampshire rode momentum until late in the second half. Four successive corner kicks bore no fruit for Vermont, but a few minutes later, on its sixth corner of the half, Kieran Bhave’s offering resulted in an own goal to make it 2-2 less than three minutes before halftime.
“That was an unfortunate play, but we didn’t let is deflate us,” Hachey said.
New Hampshire showed as much less than six minutes into the second half, Bauer converting an indirect kick from Bulldogs teammate Kitsis on the right side to make it 3-2.
“Restarts are always important,” said Hanover’s Ian Caldwell, who received the 12th player award after the game. “Part of what we talked about was not allowing an early goal, so when we allowed one, it was a little tough but I think we settled in.”
Added Lebanon’s Chris Morse: “It was the same thing after we allowed the own goal; we had to kind of reset. But I think once we did we were very organized, did a great job backing each other up.”
Free kicks: Colby College-bound Asa Berolzheimer, of Hanover, took many of the New Hampshire boys’ restart kicks. … Woodsville defender Chris Sarkis was part of a Granite State defense that thwarted Vermont for much of the second half, while Lebanon’s High Townsend saw time at midfield. … Rivendell’s Riley Thomson and Mikayla DeBois were managers during the girls game, while Raptors assistant Mel Emerson joined Goodwin on the sideline. … Hartford defender Kayla Lancor and Woodstock twins Abby and Lauren Kaija saw action for the Vermont girls, as did the Wasps’ Cole Dalton and Alex Crompton for the Vermont boys.
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.