White River Junction
The third-seeded boys pinned an 11-4 defeat on No. 6 Milton, and the third-ranked girls beat No. 6 St. Johnsbury Academy, 11-3. The male Canes host No. 7 U32 on Tuesday in the semifinals, while the girls visit No. 2 U32 the same day.
Boys: Hartford 11, Milton 4
Hunter Hutchinson had three goals and two assists, Reece Thompson had three goals and an assist and Jacob Derosier and Dawson Nalette each had two goals and an assist. Joey Batchelder also tallied. The Hurricanes (11-5), finalists in now-defunct Division III each of the past two seasons, enjoyed a 6-0 halftime lead over the Yellowjackets (8-9).
Notable other than the outcome was the admission by ninth-year coach Bill Elberty that he may not return in that role next season, and the revelation that Thompson, a junior and one of the area’s top talents, doesn’t plan to continue his playing career at the college level.
Elberty, who coached at Woodstock before taking over the Hurricanes in 2010, lifted the latter program out of mediocrity before welcoming former UMass player Grant Whiteway III as his co-coach this spring. Whiteway, 26, began working with emotionally challenged students at the Hartford Middle School last fall, Elberty said.
As the campaign has progressed, Elberty has purposely stepped into the background. On Saturday, he picked up trash and arranged balls on the end line, leaving the offense to Whiteway and the defense to assistant Sam Polas, a former Hurricanes and Castleton University goaltender.
“Bill’s kind of let Grant take the wheel,” said Derosier, who’s blossomed under the new coach’s touch. “We have new plays, and he really drives us and keeps us in motion. It took some getting used to, because practices are tougher and (Whiteway) expects a lot in games. It’s been a big switch.”
Elberty said Whiteway has installed more than a half-dozen offensive formations. The former high school All-American and Polas have a “fluency” in the game that, combined with their youth, has moved the program forward, the older man said.
“The ball’s moving constantly, and we have better players, athletes and coaching,” said Elberty, who’s in his mid-60s. “A raw talent like Reece, he’s all of a sudden got as many assists as goals. The development of the team concept and the freedom for kids to go one-on-one have opened things up.
“To hand kids I love so much over to these guys is a gift. I’m more like a general manager now.”
Elberty said he will decide his future with the program after the season. Asked where Thompson might take his lacrosse talents, the coach said the midfielder doesn’t plan to attend college. That stance was backed up by Thompson’s father, third-year Hurricanes assistant Keith Thompson, in brief, subsequent comments.
“Reece is a blue-collar worker, and he wants to own his own business,” Elberty said. “He’s happy, and he’s a leader.”
Should Hartford face undefeated and top-seeded Harwood in the finals, it would be the rematch of a May 14 clash won, 20-4, by the Highlanders. The Hurricanes beat U-32 (7-7), 12-3, on May 2.
Girls: Hartford 11, SJA 4
Tayler Simmons had four goals, Zoey Pfeiffer had three goals and two assists and Michaela Ricker had two goals for Hartford. Morgan Pero had a goal and two assists, Alice Dwyer scored once and Greer McCarty had an assist.
“I was excited to play at the next level this season,” said Pfeiffer, a freshman who was guided in youth lacrosse by Jen Wheatley, the Hurricanes’ coach from 2015-17, who stepped down last fall because of health concerns. “I think I have a good eye for what’s happening on the field, and I like to look up and see my options.”
A lacrosse player since second grade, Pfeiffer was often on youth teams with older girls. She’s also played indoors with a club team operating out of Kimball Union Academy and for an outdoors squad in western Massachusetts. One season, her coach there was Heather Hartford, who took over the Hurricanes earlier this year and has them at 13-3.
“Besides improving our skills, Heather has brought such a good attitude and vibe,” Pfeiffer said. “She’s intense, and she loves lacrosse so much, so we love it, too. Her expectations are high but not unreachable, and she believes in you and pushes you.”
The Hurricanes surrendered Saturday’s first goal but scored the next four and led, 5-3, at halftime. Hartford scored four times during the second half’s opening six minutes and dropped the Hilltoppers to 8-9. The Hurricanes lost to U-32, 6-5, on May 8.
Hartford is making its semifinal debut a year after going 6-11, when it reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 2008. Entering this season, the Hurricanes were 15-99 during the previous nine campaigns.
Notes: Watching the games from a car just outside the field’s west end zone was former Hartford teacher and athletic trainer Luna Ricker, no relation to Hurricanes players Michaela and Emily Ricker. The onetime Hartford softball star, who played at Emporia (Kan.) State, was forced into retirement earlier this year by health issues. Her education career spanned 48 years, the last 42 at Hartford. … Pfeiffer helps coach Hartford’s fifth- and sixth-grade girls lacrosse team and was rushed by a trio of youngsters demanding hugs after Saturday’s game. … Hulking Milton defender Andrew Karlin blocked five shots, each time purposely stepping in front of the ball and either turning his side or back to the rubber. “It kept making a loud thud,” said Derosier, who had several efforts denied in such fashion.
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com or 603-727-3227.