Orford
In a close match that came down to just a few plays, Raptors defenseman Kendyl Boisvert played a crucial role. Boisvert scoredand assisted, as both goals came off direct kicks right outside the 18-yard box to propel her team to the quarterfinals.
Rivendell (12-3-0) will travel to the fourth-seed Peoples (11-3-1) on Saturday in the next round.
The first goal came 11 minutes into the match, when Mikayla Stever was fouled going down the right side of the field, which led to Boisvert’s first direct kick. She struck the ball hard and on a lob, it bounced down right in front of the net where Stever finished it off.
“Kendyl has been doing that all year long,” Rivendell coach Tim Goodwin said. “She’s a threat out there. She is a defensive player for us, but when she can take those kicks and get them up there, it’s always a close play.”
Stever had prepared for moments such as this one in the days leading up to the game. She saw the opportunity to help her team pull in front, and capitalized.
“In practice all of this week, we have been focusing on crashing,” Stever said. “So I realized ‘OK, this is my chance to crash,’ and it worked to our advantage.”
After the opening goal, the Wildcats’ Grace Lafromboise took control and pushed the offense. WRV had four corner kicks and two shots in the first half. Lafromboise tried to create plays with aggression and crisp passing, but the Cats couldn’t get the ball through Rivendell’s stout defense.
Lafromboise was nothing but positive following the loss, which ended White River Valley’s first varsity season following the summer merger of South Royalton and Whitcomb high schools. She was proud of her team’s performance against a tough opponent.
“It was the first Wildcat season,” Lafromboise said. “There have been ups and downs, but I definitely think it’s the start of something great. We have a lot of young players and we didn’t have any seniors on the field, but I think there are good things in the future for us.”
The final goal was scored by Boisvert off another direct kick. It was a high, arching kick blowing around in the wind and ended up in the net. Stever was right there in search of another rebound.
The Raptors outshot the Wildcats, 7-3, but the Wildcats controlled the ball more frequently in the offensive portion of the field.
Although WRV had threatened with some scoring chances, it ultimately was stopped by the Rivendell defense, led by senior defender and captain Jenna Gilbert, who made her impact felt by her ability to be a coach on the field.
“It has been a great season so far, and we’ve grown a lot as a team,” Gilbert said. “I’m excited to see what we are able to do in the quarterfinals. It’s going to be fun.”
White River Valley (6-6-1) graduates its only senior.
Although the Raptors are excited to see what happens next in playoffs, they are taking it one game at a time and enjoying the ride.
“The road is the goal,” Goodwin said. “Everyday we are on the road which is where we want to be. So, we just keep moving forward.”