WOODSTOCK — A year after a one-win season, the Woodstock High boys soccer team continued its turnaround on Tuesday, advancing in the VPA Division III playoffs by defeating White River Valley High 2-0 in a first-round matchup.
The No. 8-seeded Wasps topped the No. 9-ranked Wildcats thanks to senior Luke Hecker, who scored and added an assist. Freshman Henry Freyer also scored, and sophomore goalkeeper Grayson Hughes provided standout play between the posts.
“I think we made it a little tougher than it should have been. We need to take our chances better than we have. But overall, we’re super happy with this and where we are,” said Woodstock head coach Alex Montaño.
The Wasps’ sideline boss had a couple of goals for this season: finish at least .500 and host a playoff game — both of which Woodstock accomplished and then some.
While completing those objectives has Montaño happy, his team’s continued hunger has him encouraged.
“I think if you had told us in the beginning of the year that we were going to accomplish these goals, then win a home game — we might be over the moon,” he said.
“We just took it in stride. I was just telling the guys: I think that says a lot about how we’ve grown to expect more and more from this team.”
More is exactly what Woodstock will get, but in the form of a quarterfinal matchup at No. 1 Stowe, the same program that knocked the Wasps out of the postseason a year ago.
“We’re gonna have to defend, obviously,” Montaño said. “We’re gonna have to change our game plan. Be very, very organized, and just, you know, in a game like that, anything can happen. But we just have to cut down on mistakes and cash in on any chances that we get.”
The Wildcats started with pressure, drawing a couple of free kicks in the first few minutes of the match. They also had a nice opportunity to take a lead after getting a man free in the box, but Hughes denied them from point-blank range.
The Wasps gained momentum as the first half continued, dominating possession and ramping up the pressure before the eventual breakthrough.
With less than 16 minutes remaining in the first half, a scramble in the box ended with the ball careening off another player to Hecker’s feet, allowing him to rifle a shot from just inside the 18-yard box to give his squad a 1-0 lead. Hecker wasn’t done there, helping extend Woodstock’s lead seven minutes later with a nice pass to Freyer, who finished the ball to put the Wasps up 2-0.
That goal ended the scoring for the rest of the contest, as White River Valley couldn’t even things up despite a strong push, especially in the second half.
“The score is disappointing, but you know, in the first half they got out on us, and the second half I thought my boys fought back well, but we didn’t create enough promising chances, and the ones that we did, that young goalie of theirs stood his ground well against a couple of dangerous ones,” Wildcats head coach John Olmstead said.
White River Valley’s coach praised his seniors — Jack Hughes, Issac Kinsely, Iden Burt and Lucas Hatch — for their work in shepherding a young team that Olmstead acknowledged probably exceeded expectations.
Ultimately, Olmstead indicated the future is bright for his young Wildcats, who had multiple freshmen grace the pitch this season, including their goalkeeper, and will add players from the middle school level.
“I’m excited for our future,” he said.
Although the Wildcats’ season has ended, Woodstock’s playoff run continues on Friday when it visits the Raiders for its quarterfinal matchup at 3 p.m.
