BRISTOL — The No. 4 Mount Abraham Union High School field hockey team prevailed on Thursday in a shootout over visiting No. 5 Spaulding, 2-1, after a 1-1 tie after regulation and overtime. The Eagles advanced to a Monday Division II semifinal date with top-seeded U-32.
Mount Abe (5-6-2 with every game except Friday’s and a regular-season date at U-32 against D-I competition) are set to face the 14-1 Raiders at 3:45 p.m. on South Burlington’s turf field.
The Raiders edged the Eagles, 1-0, in East Montpelier on Sept. 11. U-32’s only loss came by an 8-2 count vs. D-I Rice, the defending D-II champion. The Eagles’ and U-32’s only common opponent is now Spaulding: U-32 twice defeated Spaulding by margins of 2-1.
Monday’s winner will play in the D-II final on Saturday at the University of Vermont at a time to be announced. No. 2 Otter Valley (10-2-3) and No. 3 Burr & Burton (9-3-2) are meeting on Monday evening at Castleton State College in the other semifinal.
On this past Thursday, both Mount Abe and Spaulding tallied in the second half. Hannah Wahl scored for the Eagles, with an assist from Jackie Reiss, and Danielle Petrie scored for the Tide (7-6-2).
In regulation and overtime, Eagle goalie Danielle Morse stopped seven shots, while Spaulding’s Madison Hewitt made nine saves.
In the shootout, where field players start with the ball outside the circle and have a set amount of time to put the ball past the goalies, only Spaulding’s Lauryn Bedard beat Morse. The Eagles advanced when both Reiss and Danielle Bachand found the back of the cage for Mount Abe.