Dorset, Vt.
That’s when the pride showed.
Senior forward Will McCullough factored in both goals, including the assist on Oisin Harrington’s 62nd-minute game-winner, to lead second-seeded Long Trail past No. 3 South Royalton, 2-1, in a VPA Division IV boys soccer semifinal on Tuesday.
With the win, the senior-laden Mountain Lions (14-2-1) secured the first state boys soccer final in school history while permanently ending the Royals’ lengthy — and successful — run.
The victory affected Smith in numerous ways. His nine seniors saw four years of work rewarded. Smith himself saw 11 years of coaching validated.
But the 1991 Woodstock Union High School graduate choked up most when recalling his father and high school coach, Don Smith, and the influence he had on his son’s life and coaching philosophy.
“He had a mantra that you play for your teammates,” the younger Smith said. “I’ve carried that as a coach for a long time. These guys bought into it, and they bought into it for four years. And this is the result of it: Good things happen when you believe in that philosophy.”
South Royalton (13-2-2) is headed for a different, undefined future. An imminent merger with neighboring Bethel likely will lead to a new name, mascot and identity. The White River Unified School District, with the South Royalton School housing high school grades, takes effect in July.
SoRo coach Alex Montano admitted his players have talked during the fall about being the last group of soccer Royals and wanting to go out on a high note. South Royalton had its share of the play on Tuesday, but was ultimately undone by a lack of on-ball pressure over the final 20 minutes.
“That played a role in the pride that they took in this season, knowing that it was the last South Royalton season,” Montano said. “It was a theme that kept coming up repeatedly: ‘This is the last time a South Royalton team is going to do this and this and this.’ I think it helped inspire them.”
While the Long Trail School has been around since 1975, its varsity soccer program is only 14 years old. As Saturday’s final will be a Mountain Lion first, so was Tuesday’s semifinal. Prior to last weekend’s elimination of No. 7 Cabot, Long Trail’s four previous quarterfinals had all ended in defeat, including last year’s excruciating 13-12 penalty-kick tiebreaker dismissal to Sharon Academy.
The Royals had more of the first-half chances, but McCullough made Long Trail’s only serious bid of the opening 40 minutes count. Seemingly unable to have the ball separated from his feet, McCullough churned through a half-dozen SoRo defenders on the right side of the penalty area, finally clearing enough space to slot a 12-yard wormburner past Sam Fisk, the Royals’ adventuresome goalkeeper, at 19:55.
“He’s a competitor, sometimes a little too much,” Smith said with a grin. “But he’s got a really good package for this level of soccer. He’s got a good touch, he’s fast, he’s fit, he knows the game and he’s a distraction for a lot of teams.”
Paraguayan exchange student Alvaro Sanabrio has been much the same for the Royals this fall, enough so that Smith had senior center back Eli Sanderson shadow him all over the field. The shifty striker found it difficult to shed his marker, but still managed to level the match at 34:32.
South Royalton’s Eric Taylor started the play with a right-wing rush and crossbar-high blast that Long Trail goalkeeper Luc Carmel slapped into the air. Sanabrio came racing in from the weak side to turn the rebound through the scrambling goalie’s hands and into the net for the deadlock.
“His typical goal would be getting past defenders,” Montano said of Sanabrio, who potted his 17th goal of the season. “That was just the team philosophy of always having to be there and working hard.
“They did a good job of marking him. They’re good defensively. I feel like we wasted our chances. We didn’t capitalize, basically. We didn’t cash in on them.”
SoRo’s opportunities waned as Long Trail gained control of possession, and the match, in the second half. Fisk (two saves) commanded his area without fear, occasionally racing outside of the box to beat Mountain Lions to loose balls.
Fisk was helpless with Long Trail’s go-ahead strike at 61:55. McCullough served up a right-wing corner kick that just beat Fisk’s outstretched arms for Harrington to bundle home off his shoulder.
Fisk kept it a one-goal match with a spectacular, diving, point-blank denial of Long Trail’s Sean Bottomms two minutes from time. Carmel (four saves) had little else to do, however, with Sanderson and fellow senior Levin Coe marshalling a stout defense.
Their teary-eyed coach couldn’t have been prouder.
“My dad passed away basically the day that I accepted this job,” an emotional Smith said. “I’m a loyal person, and that means a lot to me. Hopefully, we get it done on Saturday.”
Corner Kicks: Smith also is a history teacher and Long Trail’s athletic director. … Although his coaching season is done, Montano gets to be a supportive dad today when his son, Emilio, plays for Woodstock in a D-II semifinal at Harwood. The match was supposed to take place on Tuesday, but was moved at the host school’s request. … Sanabrio and Sanderson had a physical, but sportsmanlike, joust all match long. After apparently catching Sanabrio in the nose with an inadvertent first-half forearm while also pulling up lame, Sanderson looked back at his mark and said, “I feel your pain.” … McCullough drew a yellow card in the 66th minute for tugging a Royal down by his jersey. SoRo’s Dominick Small received similar attention about a minute later for tripping Long Trail’s Ocean Tang on a counterattack. … Snowflakes fell at the Bromley Mountain ski area during the drive to Dorset. … Assuming the school district merger goes as planned, South Royalton boys soccer ends with a 40-52-1 all-time mark in VPA tournament play. The Royals won a D-III title 1991 over Northfield in overtime, a D-IV crown by blanking Danville in 1988 and shared the 1981 D-IV title with now-defunct Sacred Heart. … South Royalton graduates four: Small, Ryan Jones, Connor Lambert and Chris McCullough.
Greg Fennell can be reached at gfennell@vnews.com or 603-727-3226.