THETFORD — Some of her teammates might not be thinking about it, but Madi Powers certainly is.
The Thetford Academy girls soccer program’s attention has, like every other high school team in the Upper Valley, been more focused on if there will be a season rather than when it will happen. Now that the Panthers are underway, they can concentrate on improving enough to go for a fourth successive VPA Division III state championship and fifth straight visit to the finals.
One Panther already has that idea at the front of her mind. And she thinks about it “a lot.”
“I hope we can do it this year,” Powers confessed after Thetford’s season-opening 2-1 win over Lake Region on Tuesday, a game in which she scored both of her team’s goals. “It would be a great year to do it. I think we have the opportunity to do it, so I think we just need to work hard and we’ll get there.”
There’s plenty of reason for optimism.
Now in his fifth season at the helm, coach Dave Williams has known nothing but success with the Panthers. Williams’ 59-8-3 mark with Thetford includes a ridiculous 15-1-0 record in the postseason with 12 straight state tournament victories. All but two of Thetford’s defeats during Williams’ tenure have come against D-I or D-II foes.
A carpenter by trade, Williams builds things for a living. He has a good foundation on which to construct another superior Thetford season.
“It’s the nature of high school sports; it’s kind of a neat thing,” Williams explained in a Monday phone conversation. “You get some carryover with the girls (coming back) and the new girls coming in. For us, it’s a fresh thing, an opportunity to bring new girls in and tell them, to a certain degree, what we’ve built. But every time a new season starts, you get to do it all over again — building a team, learning how to work together.”
Fronted by 23-goal Casey MacVeagh, the Panthers lost about half of last year’s offense to graduation. Powers has already shown herself to be capable of picking up at least some of that load.
The lanky junior had a team-high six shot attempts in Tuesday’s victory. Her first half included a what-the-heck 40-yard bid with Lake Region goalkeeper Kayleigh Coy off her line and a 35-yard free kick that both narrowly missed the target.
Powers buried a first-half penalty kick and notched the game-winner late in the second half with a quick turn on a Ranger defender to set up an 18-yard finish with her left foot.
“There were a lot of offensive players (lost), but I think we did a good job filling those roles in this year,” Powers said. “I love shooting. That’s the same.”
One lineup tweak should help with the Thetford defense, but at the expense of the offense.
Senior Namya Benjamin, like Powers, scored 10 times during last season’s championship run. Needing someone to take over central defense from the graduated Grace Davis, Williams moved Benjamin to the back line in preseason, reflecting his desire to put the Panthers’ strengths in the middle of the field. With senior Emma Berard back in goal and senior Emi Vaughan at center midfield, Williams feels he has a solid foundation.
“We tend to put players with the most experience and skill in central midfield and only go with two attacking players,” Williams said. “We rely on them quite a bit, and they have to do a lot of work.”
For all the Panthers graduated, plenty of leadership returns in the form of 10 seniors. It’s led Williams to give at least six players captain’s responsibilities, and more could provide similar direction, he said.
Recent history indicates Thetford eventually finds its stride. Last year’s team won its last 13 games in a row following a 2-3-0 start, with losses to D-I South Burlington and D-II Montpelier and U-32. Division III stood little chance — the Panthers outscored their last nine opponents, 55-1, en route to state crown No. 3. The 2018 title team won its last nine in a row; the 2017 championship squad won 13 of its last 14.
Powers might be thinking of the end goal, but Williams will keep Thetford focusing on the construction process.
“For me, it’s not the focus at all, and the girls don’t talk about it much,” he said. “I don’t walk to the field expecting to win. I just want to be as competitive as we can be game by game.”
Greg Fennell can be reached at gfennell@vnews.com or 603-727-3226.