BRADFORD, Vt. — After a flurry of chances and offensive pressure, the Oxbow High Olympians were able to break through the Thetford Academy defense on Wednesday on the way to securing a 3-0 victory over the visiting Panthers in a VPA Division III girls soccer matchup.
Goals from Oxbow’s Ainsley Smith, Kayleigh Davis and River Gardner secured the Olympians’ first win of the season. Oxbow tied Springfield, 1-1, in its opener on Saturday.
Unity has been the theme that has stuck out to Oxbow head coach Shannon Gould as she and her team begin the 2025 season.
“We’re just a great team as far as being united,” Gould said. “They all get along, they all love each other, it’s like one big family, and it’s awesome. They come every day to practice, and they’re ready to work; they come out here and really want to do well.”
Early on, Gould has been aiming to build confidence in her team and emphasizing the importance of focusing on things they can control, and not on the inevitable hiccups that come with the sport such as bad touches or poor shots.
“I’m really trying to teach them to let that go and continue to play, keep pushing through, keep pushing through,” Gould said.
During a tightly contested first half that saw both Oxbow and Thetford have their chances, Smith was finally able to get one past Panthers’ goalie Natalie Perry, with less than five minutes remaining before halftime.
With a 1-0 lead heading into the second half, Gardner had some great open chances, yet was unable to find the back of the net.
Gardner took a breather and had a conversation with her coach on the sidelines.
“I know she was really upset. She is one of those girls that just wants to play well all of the time,” Gould said. “I wanted to pull her off just to have that conversation with her, like, listen, these things happen, and if you’re just going to be hard on yourself, it’s going to make it more difficult the next time that ball comes to your feet.”
After Davis put one in the back of the net to make the game 2-0 with around 12 minutes remaining, Gardner finally got the monkey off her back in the waning minutes of the matchup to seal Oxbow’s 3-0 victory.
“I’m so proud of her,” Gould said.
While Thetford opens their season with a loss, first-year Panther head coach Kevin Brooker was encouraged by his team’s ability to translate things they have worked on in practice into a game setting.
“They took risks, they took chances, they self-corrected… the girls talk amongst themselves and they are collectively learning how to be better soccer players, and it’s really encouraging to see,” Brooker said.
Brooker said the team has already made progress since the beginning of the preseason, calling it “amazing.”
“Their confidence is significantly higher,” Brooker said. “I think they trust each other more; the few tenets of play are no idiots, trust your teammates, and embrace discomfort, and they’re doing all those things.”
“You can see it coming together. They’re better than they realize,” Brooker added.
The Panthers will look to rebound and secure their first win of the season when they host Spaulding on Saturday.
Oxbow will also take to the pitch on Saturday when they go on the road against Lake Region in hopes of their second straight victory.
