Boys’ soccer teams ousted from season
ADDISON COUNTY — The local high school boys’ soccer season came to an end on Tuesday, when all four of the area’s teams came up short in first-round postseason action.
TIGERS
Middlebury came closest to advancing. The Tigers, seeded No. 10 in Division I, lost in heartbreaking fashion — on penalty kicks after 80 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime at No. 7 St. Johnsbury produced a scoreless tie.
The Tigers finished at 6-6-3 despite goalie Santiago Fernandez and the defense producing their fifth shutout of the fall. The Hilltoppers improved to 9-4-2.
COMMODORES
The rest of the games were D-II contests. The No. 9 Commodores lost at No. 8 U-32, 8-2. Harrison Bushnell scored three times for the 7-6-2 Raiders, who also converted two penalty kicks. Ezekiel Palmer and senior Max Ratti-Bicknell tallied for VUHS (5-9-1), which forced two U-32 goalies to stop eight shots. Commodore goalie Ethan Sausville made 12 saves.
EAGLES
No. 7 Montpelier (10-5) ousted No. 10 Mount Abraham, 7-2, scoring three times on penalty kicks. Eli Rickner andsenior Jack Willis found the net for the 4-9-1 Eagles, and goalie Ethan DeWitt stopped nine shots. Nelson Brown made four saves for the Solons.
OTTERS
No. 5 Green Mountain Valley pulled away in the second half to defeat No. 11 Otter Valley, 6-0. Nick Wilkerson, a Middlebury resident, made four saves in goal for the 7-2-1 Gumbies, who led by 2-0 at the break. Goalie Clay Hays stopped 10 shots for the 5-9-1 Otters.