Season Review/Playoff Preview 2011 Girls Soccer

See my 2011 boys review/preview for an overview of what I'm doing here. Again, my apologies to the Richford teams, who I did not see compete this year.

BFA St. Albans Girls (Division I, #5, 10-4-0)

*Unlike the St. Albans boys, the Comets play as a unit every time they take the field. BFA got to 10-4 this year by playing together and free of ego. The players support each other both on the field and from the bench. The absence of a superstar has actually helped this team. Every girl knows she needs to play 100% if the team is going to have a chance of winning. Coach Jake Toof gets that maximum effort out of his team and because of it, BFA is in great shape heading into the playoffs.

*Toof has experimented at times this season with sweeper Kiah Hamner actually playing midfield or even up top. Hamner might be the best all-around player BFA has and she might be needed somewhere other than the back spot if the Comets are going to score against a CVU or South Burlington. It will be up to the rest of the Comet defense to fill that void if such a risk is going to work.

*Rarely do we see a two-goalie system used effectively in high school soccer, but BFA has a great tandem. Dani Schreiner and Allie Doe have both spent significant time in the net and neither seems to mind spending a half on the bench in favor of playing the other. If one suffers an injury at some point in the postseason, there's no drop off with the other coming in.

*The Comets do play a weak schedule and went 0-2 against Metro teams this season. But its strong showing against (#6)Essex proved BFA can beat anyone on a good day. If the Comets can find a way to score against the top teams, its goal prevention is good enough to hold off anyone in the state.

Milton Girls (Division II, #1, 12-1-1)

*The team I was most looking forward to watching this season didn't disappoint. After a season opening loss to South Burlington (#2, Division I), the Yellowjackets outscored opponents 40-11. Milton was the only team to even tie CVU (#1, Division I) until South Burlington defeated the Redhawks on the last day of the season. 

*Milton is playing for a fourth consecutive trip to the Division II championship. The Yellowjackets suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat to Harwood last year despite outshooting the Highlanders 21-2. For this prideful team, second place in 2011 will be considered a failure. 

*Sophomore Addison Wennar was involved in many of Milton's scoring chances in last year's title game. With the graduation of Hannah Fraser, Wennar was moved to the sweeper position (where she has been incredible) this season. But don't be surprised if Wennar works her way forward at the right time this postseason and provides a crucial goal.

*Unexpected scoring might be necessary for Milton. Senior Sam Rock is just three goals away from becoming Milton's all time leading goal scorer (she surpassed 150 career points in Milton's season finale against Vergennes). Rock may well get her milestone goal --and I hope I'm there to see it, she's one hell of a nice kid who absolutely deserves the record-- but don't be surprised if she struggles to score in the late rounds. If anyone on Milton doesn't think Rock will be double or even triple teamed this postseason, they're living in a dream world. There's no shame in losing to Milton, but opponents will at least want to see someone other than Rock make it happen. Rock is a capable playmaker and may best help Milton win a title by forgetting the goals and adding to her assist total.

*It's not like Milton needs Rock to score. Almost anyone else in a Milton uniform can score on any defense. Jenna Morrissey possesses the most lethal long distance shot I've seen by any high schooler of any gender. She'll have space to unleash that weapon if defenders concentrate on Rock.

*Brooke Phillips, Shannon Wells and Erin Turner can also score for Milton, especially if defenders aren't concentrating on them. Phillips is one of the fastest kids I've ever seen in any sport and earlier this season I wrote that players trying to defend her often end up looking like the white guy on the wrong end of an And 1 Mixtape highlight.

*If Gina Abbiati can stay healthy (and that's a big "if"), she's a huge game changer in the midfield. No other team in Division II (or maybe Division I for that matter) boasts a midfield duo like Morrissey/Abbiati when healthy.

*It's clear Milton has the talent to take home a third title in four years. All that remains to be seen is if this incredibly successful group can change its ways when necessary.

Missisquoi Girls (Division II, #13, 2-9-3)

*No team surprised me more than MVU this season, and I mean that in a good way. A Thunderbird team which struggled greatly last year lost some of its better players to graduation/moving and I was seriously worried about an 0-14 season. It takes a big man to admit when he's wrong, so, um, anyway, moving on...

*First year coach Adam Branon (and assistant Casey Toof) did a phenomenal job with these girls. So often this year, the players actually seemed to be enjoying themselves on and off the field. That attitude translated in to relaxed play and positive results.

*Its two wins don't tell the whole story. MVU put a serious scare into BFA and played Milton as well as any team not named CVU or South Burlington. The Thunderbirds only lost by more than a goal two times all season. Nobody, not even Milton, has a guaranteed win against this MVU team.

*Best of all for Missisquoi, only two players are seniors. Everything this team has built over the last 14 games and all it will learn in the postseason can be improved upon next year.

*No local team lucked out with its draw more than MVU. The T-Birds will travel to Mt. Abraham to face the (#4)Eagles (9-3-2). Mt. Abe probably doesn't feel like a 9-spot favorite since the best it could do was a 2-2 tie with MVU when the two met on September 27. Don't be surprised if MVU fights its way out of the first round or even further.

BFA-Fairfax Girls (Division III, #7, 10-4-0)

*This Fairfax team reminds me a lot of the St. Albans girls: no superstar but plenty of talent, a great deal of respect for teammates and the coach (Geri Witalec), capable of beating anyone or losing to anyone depending on the day, and most importantly, the girls seem to enjoy playing soccer every day. 

*One more similarity to the Comets: an unusual goalkeeper situation. Vocal leader and starting keeper Ruby Bushey suffered a horrendous jaw injury in a game this season (the x-rays showed the most brutal injury I've ever seen to a local athlete). Backup keeper Meghan Feerick has done an incredible job of filling in for the nearly irreplaceable Bushey and will continue to do so in the playoffs.

*Huge credit to Bushey (along with Witalec and the entire Fairfax team) for making it on to the field for her senior game. Bushey briefly standing between the goalposts at Fairfax one last time was a heartwarming moment no matter where your allegiance lies.

*One thing is always certain of Witalec's teams: they will not be outworked. Fairfax is sturdy defensively, dangerous offensively and always playing its best soccer when late October rolls around. Any opponent who takes the Bullets lightly will get to enjoy some extra rest before winter sports begin.

Enosburg Girls (Division III, #13, 2-10-2)

*Enosburg finished its season strongly with a great showing in a 1-0 loss to Division I St. Albans and double overtime win against MVU. If Enosburg can play with BFA, it can certainly upset (#4)Windsor.

*The Hornets are dealt the worst possible hand to start the season. Enosburg is the only Division III team in the Lake and is by far the smallest school in that league. The Hornets simply don't have the numbers (especially when an upstart sport like volleyball pulls away even a couple good athletes) to compete in the Lake on a yearly basis.

*The potential benefit to that comes now. Enosburg has spent the better part of the season trying to play with top tier Division II and even some Division I schools and will find itself more capable of controlling a game with a school its own size. 

*Whatever its final record or playoff positioning, this Enosburg team is a real team. In this blog and the previous one, I spent a lot of time talking about the importance of being a unit (which is why a team like Fairfax or St. Albans could overachieve and a team like Milton could fall apart). These Enosburg girls love eachother, to them "sister" is a synonym for "teammate." They enjoy practicing with each other, they spend a ton of time together off the field, they love their coach (Donna Flanders) and that feeling is obviously mutual. These Hornets would prefer a loss as a team to a win as individuals, and that's what high school sports should be about.

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*Finally, I would like to announce the first annual Kaufmann's Korner All County Team. This is a little different from other all star team selections for a couple of reasons. 1). Nobody really cares. 2). This is not a list of the 11 best players I cover, it is the team I think would have the most success playing together (If Vermont had a competition between each of its counties, this is the team I think would give Franklin Co. the best chance of winning). 

*So just because a good defender doesn't make the team doesn't mean I don't consider her one of the best four defenders I cover, it just means I think the combination I chose would play the best team defense.

* I also may have a player outside her typical position, I can do that since this is my imaginary team.

*The only rules I gave myself were to include at least one player from each school I covered (I'm taking the geographical liberty of moving Milton into Franklin County for this and giving Richford the temporary boot since I didn't see them at all) and to prepare for angry text messages from those I left out.

*I'd also like to note that this team was tougher for me than the boys team. I spent an extra 20 minutes adding/deleting names before settling on this lineup. If you feel like someone else belongs here, chances are good I had them here at some point in the last 20 minutes. There's plenty of deserving talent missing from this team:

Goalkeeeper: Ruby Bushey (BFA-Fairfax)

Defenders: Addison Wennar (Milton)

                  Kiah Hamner (BFA-St. Albans)

                  Amelia Dupuis (MVU)

                  Kaitlin Knoff (Enosburg)

                  

Midfielders: Jenna Morrissey (Milton)

                    Aly Hardy (BFA-St.Albans)

                    Elizabeth Qua (BFA-St. Albans)

Forwards: Sam Rock (Milton)

                 Anissa Hartmann (BFA-Fairfax)

                 Mallory L'Esperance (MVU)

                    

Season Review/Playoff Preview 2011 Boys Soccer

Sorry for the long delay folks, so many games and so little time to write. Before the playoffs kick off tomorrow, I wanted to post a little about each of the soccer teams I've covered (apologies to Richford, but I actually didn't cover a single Rocket or Falcon game this fall and therefore don't have much insight to offer). It's been a great season and I expect a few local teams to do very well in playoffs. Here's a team by team breakdown for the boys (blog for the girls coming later tonight):

MVU Boys  (Division I, #1, 12-1-1)

*The criticism of MVU's #1 seed is somewhat unfair. No, the Thunderbirds are probably not the best all-around team in the state and would probably have more than one loss had it played more games against the likes of CVU, Colchester or Burlington. But Missisquoi won every game it should have, and there's something to be said for that.

*It would have been fun to see MVU play a Metro schedule, but you can't say they absolutely should be in the Metro. Missisquoi had a high school enrollment of 637 for the 2010-11 school year, which would make it the smallest school in the Metro (Colchester is currently smallest with 754 students) and does not make it the largest school in the lake (that honor goes to 659-student Middlebury). So Missisquoi is small enough to justify its position in the Lake, not to mention the T-Birds would get killed in the Metro in years without the likes of Matt St. Amour, Caleb Lothian and Chasen La Shure on its team.

*That #1 seed (which went to MVU only because CVU lost its final game of the season) means plenty to the T-Birds. #16 Lyndon probably can't beat Missisquoi. #15 Brattleboro would have a much better shot at the upset.

*Top seed or not, MVU has to play its absolute best to beat the rest of the top 5 (Burlington, CVU, South Burlington and Harwood -- South Burlington handed MVU its only loss of the year).

*If MVU can pull off a second straight championship despite being moved up a division, it may be the first time a #1 seed has ever been referred to as "underdog" champs.

BFA St. Albans Boys (Division I, #13, 6-8-0)

*The Bobwhites picked up right where it left off after a dismal year in 2010, losing its first three games by a combined score of 9-2. Since that third loss, BFA closed its season on a 6-5 run and never lost two consecutive games again.

*Things turned around with a 2-1 overtime road win at Milton in September. Both Bobwhite goals that day came from someone making the "extra" pass, which was a trait missing from BFA's playbook for quite some time. The Bobwhites clearly applied the lessons learned that day in the rest of its season.

*BFA is an above-average team when they players and coaches are getting along and everyone is playing unselfishly, I don't think many other teams are aware of just how much talent the Bobwhites really have. But when playing individually and distracted by personal issues, BFA is almost unwatchable.

*As talented as some of its players are, BFA isn't talented enough to beat good Metro teams without 11 kids playing together.

*The Bobwhites proved with a 2-0 win at Essex and 2-0 loss to Burlington (who had beaten the Bobwhites 5-1 to kick off the season) its ability to play with and even beat top tier teams.

*BFA's range is unbelievable; on any given day BFA could beat the #1 team in Division I or lose 3-0 to a midlevel Division II team depending on which BFA shows up that day. The Bobwhites are fully capable of upsetting (#6)South Burlington in round one and even making a deeper run if all parties involved remember that they play for the same team.

Milton Boys (Division II, #8, 5-7-2)

*Milton had one of the unluckiest starts in all of Vermont. The Yellowjackets started the season 1-7-2 and only two of those seven losses came by more than one goal (a 2-0 loss to Division I Colchester and a 3-0 loss to Division I South Burlington).

*Since that brutal start, Milton ended its season with four straight wins and salvaged a home playoff game with rival Lamoille in the opening round.

*Milton's tough start can be blamed somewhat on its youth (7 freshmen/sophomores). The season began with a slew of overtime games, settings Milton's young squad might not have been ready for quite yet.

*The Yellowjackets have a great on-field leader in Chayce Phillips. A young team needs a leader with skill, heart and brains and Phillips has all three. Phillps' presence helped turn what was on pace to be a transition year into a potentially strong playoff run (Phillips' co-captains, Everett Gander and Taylor Gingras desereve credit for getting this team to an #8 seed as well)

*Regardless of what happens in these playoffs, expect Milton to be strong for the next few years. But never bet against a team which ended its season with four straight wins.

BFA Fairfax Boys (Division III, #1, 14-0-0)

*Fairfax was certainly the best team in Franklin County this year and perhaps in all of Vermont. From goalie to striker and every spot in between, the Bullets do not have a weak link. As good as the MVU boys and Milton girls are, both of those teams have weak spots which could be exploited in the coming weeks, I've yet to see such a spot on this BFA team.

*An opponent only came within a goal of beating Fairfax three times all season. BFA outscored the opposition 49-7 in its 13 played wins (Richford forfeited its second contest with the Bullets).

*BFA racked up 8 shutouts and only allowed more than a single goal one time.

*Fairfax's biggest advantage is its versatility -- BFA doesn't rely on one or two players for all its scoring. If Justin Bolam or Nicolas Figuera are being double teamed, anyone else on the field is capable of scoring.

*If someone does break through BFA's stellar defense (Nick Woodward, Luke Rebeor, Tyler McNall and Tim Rebeor), the Bullets boast one of the best goalkeepers around. Good luck slipping anything past Cameron Loller (who works harder in warmups than any goalie I've ever seen)

*BFA has some good young players, but this is a culmination season for the team. There are too many three and four year players on the roster who have experienced every kind of playoff heartbreak without a title to show for it. It was clear listening to the players after win #14 that 14-0 is a fine number, but it's championship or bust for these Bullets.

Enosburg Boys (Division III, #5, 10-4-0)

*If there's one team that should scare Fairfax, it's the Hornets. Two of Enosburg's four losses came at the hands of BFA, but a great late-season contest in Fairfax was destined for overtime until a late BFA penalty kick helped the Bullets escape with a victory.

*Enosburg was the only team to score 2 goals against Fairfax this year

*Enosburg absolutely wants to see Fairfax one more time, I'm not sure BFA shares the feeling. The saying goes that it's almost impossible to beat a good team three times in one year, the Hornets would love a chance to prove that adage right (Enosburg will likely need to beat #4 Rivendell on the road in the second round to earn a semifinal match with Fairfax).

*The Hornets play a smart brand of soccer and play fairly well as a team, but may depend a little too much on senior Gabino Hernandez for its scoring.

*This Enosburg team stays incredibly composed and doesn't lose its cool. That's thanks in part to perhaps the best coaching staff in the state (head coach Randy Swainbank and assistants Dave Fitzgerald, David Marlow and Steve Jette) but thanks even more to the spread of its senior leadership on the field (goalie Cody Couture, defender/midfielder Will Gleason and forward Hernandez).

*Enosburg is absolutely capable of winning a title this year. That could all depend on Hernandez's ability to transform from finisher to playmaker.

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*Finally, I would like to announce the first annual Kaufmann's Korner All County Team. This is a little different from other all star team selections for a couple of reasons. 1). Nobody really cares. 2). This is not a list of the 11 best players I cover, it is the team I think would have the most success playing together (If Vermont had a competition between each of its counties, this is the team I think would give Franklin Co. the best chance of winning). 

*So just because a good defender doesn't make the team doesn't mean I don't consider him one of the best four defenders I cover, it just means I think the combination I chose would play the best team defense (example: Chasen La Shure is one of the four best midfielders in the county, but I already had three offensive-minded midfielders so I made my fourth a blue-collar type player).

* I also may have a player outside his typical position, I can do that since this is my imaginary team.

*The only rules I gave myself were to include at least one player from each school I covered (I'm taking the geographical liberty of moving Milton into Franklin County for this and giving Richford the temporary boot since I didn't see them at all) and to prepare for angry text messages from those I left out.

Goalkeeper: Cameron Loller (BFA-Fairfax)

Defenders: Caleb Lothian (MVU)

                  Connor Walsh (BFA-St. Albans)

                  Everett Gander (Milton)

                  Will Gleason (Enosburg)

Midfielders: Matt. St. Amour (MVU)

                    Justin Bolam (BFA-Fairfax)

                    Camilo Cuadra (BFA-St. Albans)

                    Travis Yandow (BFA-Fairfax)

Forwards: Chayce Phillips (Milton)

                 Gabino Hernandez (Enosburg)

Girls Soccer 10-5-11, Lamoille: 0 Missisquoi: 2

*I'll add a photo from Wednesday's game later today*  


I've already written about the MVU girls and how pleasantly surprised I am with their play this season. So I won't go on too much, and this entry will be brief. But it was good to see the T-Birds finally rewarded with a win after so many well played losses and ties this year.

As well as a few certain girls played for Missisquoi on Wednesday, it really was nearly flawless team play which pushed the Thunderbirds over the top. Sometimes when I speak to a coach after a game, he'll name a few players he thought played well or even one he wants to see more from (using the newspaper interview to motivate or reward kids is something I find most of the best coaches do well). Missisquoi's Adam Branon doesn't usually hesitate to name a specific player or two, but after Wednesday's game was adamant that this was a total team victory. And I agree with him. So for purposes of this entry, I won't be naming any specific players and I hope any T-Bird players reading this understand any success they have this season will come from playing as a unit like they did Wednesday.

The term "110%" is one of the more overused sports cliche's I can think of, but not necessarily when it comes to this Missisquoi team. These Thunderbirds clearly are maxing out their effort, at least when I have seen them. It's made even more refreshing by the fact that these girls don't get down on eachother, whine about referees or play dirty.

If there's another team in the county as refreshing to watch as MVU, it's the BFA Comets. Like Missisquoi, BFA relies on united play rather than a single star for its success. Nearly all the compliments I just payed Missisquoi could be extended to the Comets. After missing the first meeting between the rivals earlier this year (BFA won in overtime at St. Albans), I don't plan on missing the rematch this Saturday at 10 a.m. in Swanton. BFA has a very slight edge in talent and a bigger edge in depth, but not enough that I'd make it a huge favorite on the road at Missisquoi. 

If you're looking for a game to watch Saturday, make the trip to MVU. You won't see a single Division I college prospect, but you'll see a couple of teams who play hard, stay positive and don't complain. In my book, that's more than enough to make an elite game.