Thetford
“It was our best game of the year,” Thetford coach Mark Weigel said. “They played their hearts out; right from the opening tap, we just played really well.”
Brown took a feed from Moses and converted for a goal in the 20th minute to put the hosts in front, 1-0. Moses added an insurance goal 15 minutes into the second half to give the Panthers (9-5-1) a 2-0 lead. The Marauders finally broke through on a goal with eight minutes left to play, but the Thetford defense held tight from there to preserve the victory.
“We had a lull from about the 18-minute mark to about the eight-minute mark (in the second half), and then we fended them off. It was one of those games where the coach says that this is a hard-working, well-deserved win,” Weigel said.
Keeper Anthony Stoffel had six saves for the Panthers. Brown, a senior, now leads the team with 19 goals and six assists this season. Thetford had lost two straight by shutout to close the regular season, but TA now looks ahead to a matchup at No. 2 seed Winooski in the quarterfinals on Friday at 3 p.m. The Panthers and Spartans did not play in the regular season.
Sharon
Olly Skeet-Browning led the attack with a pair of goals in the first half to help Sharon build a 4-0 lead at the break. Sam Knoerlein and Josh Amodeo also scored before halftime. Trabyn Fisk and Richie Morrill each scored in the second half. Amodeo, Willy Barnes and Harvey Kelley had assists.
Keeper Thatcher Morrison had two saves for the Phoenix. Counterpart Brandan Palmer finished with seven saves for the Eagles (5-7-0). Mid Vermont Christian, in its second season of varsity soccer, loses three seniors from this season’s roster in Palmer, Jake Roberts and Michael Weiler.
No. 6 seed Sharon (11-4-0) will play the winner of today’s game between Long Trail and Chelsea in the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon.
Groveton, n.h.
Cade Robinson put Sunapee (10-7-0) on the board first when he took possession of a loose ball and volleyed a shot into the upper-right corner with three minutes left in the first half. Groveton scored on Corey Gadwam’s header midway through the second half to knot things up at 1-1.
Mullen finally broke through for the Lakers after a tense back-and-forth sequence when he scored the game-winner past a diving Groveton keeper in the final minutes.
Sunapee coach Jack Iacopino praised the play of keeper Will Palin (four saves) and midfielder Will Austin. Hank Vincent played a strong game on the offensive side with seven shots, including three on goal.
The No. 9 seed Lakers visit No. 1 seed Littleton on Friday.
Orford
“I’m so proud of this team. It’s a tough way for them to go out; we were ready to play some more,” Rivendell coach Bob Thatcher said.
Robert Burgwedel put the No. 6 seed Raptors (10-5-0) in front in the 22nd minute, scoring with an assist to Taiyo Galli. Eleventh seed Peoples answered with goals by Mikell Mckenzie and Carr to lead 2-1 at halftime.
Collin Gould scored an equalizer in the eighth minute after the break before Mckenzie added his second of the day to put Peoples back up by one. Gould then scored another equalizer on a penalty kick with 12 minutes to play to set up overtime.
The Raptors had a pair of goals disallowed, including a would-be last-second strike off a Burgwedel corner, scored by Chris Gendron, that was deemed to have come after time had run out.
“I told them if you’ve done your best and have left it all on the field, I’d never criticize them. And that’s exactly what they did today,” Thatcher added.
The Raptors lose five seniors: Burgwedel, Gendron, Gould, Lucas DeSouza and Wiatt Suich.
Hardwick, Vt.
Hazen broke the ice with a penalty kick goal just before halftime. Tristan Robison answered quickly for Windsor, heading home a crossing pass from A.J. Wood two minutes into the second half to tie the score at 1-1. There it remained until the Wildcats scored the eventual game-winner with six minutes left to play.
“We had a lot of chances after we scored, had a real burst of momentum there,” Windsor coach Andy Tufts said. “We just couldn’t get another goal. It was a very good effort. This is our fifth loss by a 2-1 score this season, all against really good teams. We’ve been so close.”
Keeper Ryan Saucier played a strong game for the Jacks, according to Tufts. Windsor (4-10-1) graduates 11 seniors led by tri-captains Brandon Tillman, Brandin Napsey and Grady Gilman.
Bethel
Brianna Hillier scored in the first half and Hayley Mears added a goal after the break for Whitchester (7-8-0). Keeper Krista Townsend had 10 saves.
Up next for the eighth-seeded Mountaineers is a visit to top-ranked Sharon in the quarterfinals on Saturday.