THETFORD — Thursday marked the first day of high school soccer practice in Vermont, and Thetford Academy’s girls team arrived at tryouts with the goal of winning a third consecutive VPA Division III state championship.
The Panthers — who have gone 43-6-2 over the last three seasons, including the 2016 campaign, which culminated with a loss in the title game — have every reason to believe they can three-peat.
Eleven seniors, 11 juniors and 16 freshmen and sophomores reported to Thursday’s workout, and only three players graduated from last year’s squad.
Dave Williams, the Panthers’ fourth-year coach, recognizes the important role diligence will play in TA’s quest for a third consecutive crown.
“I think they know how to work hard, so we just have choices in front of us, like how hard do we want to work?” Williams said after practice. “Because we know we’re not going to surprise anybody. People know we’ll be competitive.”
Many of TA’s players participated in summer soccer, which included weekly informal sessions as well as scrimmages with Rivendell, Hartford, Hanover (twice) and Lebanon (twice).
The Panthers open their season on Sept. 3 at home against South Burlington, one of three non-Capital League opponents on their slate. Rivendell and Leland & Gray are the others.
Senior Sophie Williams is back on the field after spending her junior season studying abroad in Africa.
“I thought it was once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing,” Williams said of the sojourn. “So I took it. … It was an amazing experience.”
The center midfielder kept track of her team’s progress while overseas.
“I knew they made it to the championship, and I know the day of it, the championship game, I just kept thinking about it,” she said. “But I knew they had it in the bag. Something in me just sensed that they were going to win it again.”
Sophie Williams’ intuition proved to be sound as Thetford defeated Vergennes, 2-1, at Randolph Union High School.
Casey MacVeagh, who led last year’s team with 27 points (14 goals) and delivered both assists in the championship game, expressed enthusiasm about her senior season, which she plans to relish.
“It’s just really exciting,” MacVeagh said. “(There’s) a little bit of pressure, but I think, at least in the beginning, we’re going to focus on just enjoying the season.”
MacVeagh’s twin sister, Lily, is still recovering from a knee injury suffered early last season.
Lily MacVeagh did some light passing on the side with teammate Namya Benjamin on Thursday while scrimmages took place on two short fields. Benjamin, a junior who scored a goal in last November’s championship game, is recovering from a foot injury sustained during summer basketball and is hoping to be cleared for the first game of the season.
Like several of her soccer teammates, Benjamin also plays hoops for TA, which has claimed three D-III championships and three runner-ups in the last six years.
The TA girls have become known for their championship pedigree, on both turf and court, and they intend to keep it that way.
“Yeah, I think we totally have the firepower,” Sophie Williams said when asked about the Panthers’ chances at a soccer three-peat. “We just need to work hard through practices. We’ve always been a really good group when it comes to practicing hard and, yeah, I think we’ll put it all out on the field this season and it’ll be really good.”
Notes: The CVU girls (Division I) and Arlington girls (D-IV) are also two-time defending champs. … The Division II Milton girls are aiming for a five-peat, and Stowe’s boys will try to make it eight straight titles in Division III this fall.