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)
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