THETFORD — It was a tale of two halves on Wednesday in the VPA Division III boys soccer semifinal matchup between Thetford and Winooski, as the Panthers let a two-goal lead slip away and lost 3-2.
Winooski, which trailed 2-0 after the first half of action, came out with a purpose in the second half and tied the game in about six minutes of in-game time.
Then, with just under 10 minutes to play, Thetford was called for a push in the back in their own box, setting up a Winooski penalty kick, which was buried by junior Stephan Stephano, giving the Spartans a 3-2 lead on what proved to be the game-winning goal.
“He (the official) had a better perspective, obviously, than I did. I saw from back here; he said it was full extension with the hand,” said Thetford head coach Jonathan Bicknell on the call that set up Winooski’s game-winner. “Honestly, I think everybody on the field was a little surprised by the call.”
A matchup that featured everything you could look for in a playoff soccer game, with a fired-up crowd, physical action, and goal scoring tilted in the Panthers’ favor early.
Just over four minutes into the contest, Thetford senior Emmett Terry had a long run and was taken down, drawing a penalty kick, and senior Henry Trage took full advantage, finding the back of the net to give his squad a 1-0 lead.
Trage’s offensive contributions were not done after the penalty kick. About six and a half minutes later, he scored again, and just over 10 minutes into the game, the Panthers had a 2-0 lead.
Offense was not the only thing clicking for Thetford early on, as it rebuffed pretty much all of Winooski’s chances.
The Spartans ramped up their pressure a bit more in the latter part of the first frame, but the Panthers’ defense stayed steady, and if a ball got through, junior goalie Matthew McGovern was there to make the save to carry Thetford’s 2-0 lead into the half.
“We had a hot start in the first half. Definitely dominated the first half,” Bicknell said. “I think giving life to any team is the difference.”
Life is precisely what Winooski got about three and a half minutes into the second half. Senior Abishek Dahal sent a long shot toward the Thetford goal, which looked like it was an attempt to clear the ball and keep it in the offensive zone.
However, the ball was misplayed and found its way to the back of the Panthers’ net, shrinking their lead to 2-1.
The Spartans used the momentum from their first goal and scored again about two and a half minutes later to turn the game entirely on its head and tie it 2-2.
“As soon as we gave them some life, they got that goal in, got a little bit of life, they get another goal in, we start to feel that they can get the edge,” Bicknell said.
With the game tied, both squads looked to gain an advantage, but it was the Winooski penalty kick that proved to be the dagger for the Panthers.
Bicknell’s message to his team after suffering a tough loss to end their season was, “Regardless of how the season went, regardless of what seed you are, semis are hard for every team.”
“(The) pendulum swung their way, and it could have easily swung our way,” he added.
When asked about his thoughts on what his team accomplished this season, which included making the D-III semifinal for the first time since 2016, Bicknell pointed to his squad’s mental toughness.
“Either being down one goal or up one goal, if you look at our season, we never really had much of a cushion,” Bicknell said. “So if the boys went down a goal early, they were tough to fight through, and believed they can equalize and then go ahead.”
