ADDISON COUNTY — As the high school postseason opened on Tuesday the Middlebury boys’ soccer team posted a Division I home win and earned another game on Fucile Field, while in D-II both Mount Abraham and Otter Valley were ousted, the Eagles in overtime. In D-III the Vergennes boys also played on Tuesday; see story on Page 1B.
One area high school field hockey team and all four girls’ soccer squads were set to open play on Wednesday after the deadline for this issue of the Independent. Two football and at least two field hockey teams will play on Friday; see below. Wednesday results will be published online on Thursday morning at addisonindependent.com.
Cross-country squads will run in the Division II championship meet at Thetford on Saturday.
BOYS’ SOCCER
The No. 5 Tiger boys’ soccer team improved to 11-3-1 with a 4-0 first-round win on Tuesday over No. 12 Mount Anthony (7-8). MUHS will next host No. 13 Burlington (6-6-2) on Friday at 3 p.m. The Seahorses upset No. 4 South Burlington, 1-0, on Tuesday. Burlington and MUHS did not meet this fall.
On Tuesday the Tigers took charge vs. the Patriots with goals from Tucker Moulton andBen Turner in the sixth and seventh minutes, respectively. Owen Palcsik andEben Jackson added second-half insurance goals, and goalie Lucas Palcsik stopped four shots as the Tigers picked up their eighth straight win. MAU goalie Jack Rogge made eight saves.
In D-II visiting No. 10 Stratton knocked out No. 7 Mount Abe, 2-1, in overtime. Weston Allred picked up a loose ball and finished in the 57th minute to give the Eagles the lead. But with three minutes left in regulation Stratton’s Bobby Stevenish took advantage of an Eagle failure to clear effectively after a corner kick and knotted the score. Lucas Wiacek knocked home a loose ball five minutes into overtime to give Stratton (7-4-1) the win.
In goal Mt. Abe’s Ethan DeWitt made seven saves, while Stratton’s Alex Abdow stopped nine shots. Mount Abe launched 21 shots at goal in regulation in a tough setback that left the Eagles with a 5-8-2 mark.
The No. 15 Otters lost for the third time this fall to No. 2 Woodstock (10-3-1), this time by a 3-0 count on the road. OV Coach Dick Williams said Patrick McKeighan andEthan Sulik-Doty played well for the 3-11-1 Otters.
FIELD HOCKEY
All three local field hockey teams play in D-II, and if the tourney follows the seeds will face each other.
On Wednesday No. 8 MUHS (1-11) was set to host No. 9 Springfield in a first-round D-II game. The winner of that game will visit No. 1 Mount Abraham (8-3-3) Friday at 3:30 p.m.
Neither the Eagles nor Tigers faced Springfield this fall, but the Eagles twice blanked MUHS, 2-0 and 4-0.
The No. 4 Otters (9-5) open play on Friday at 3:30 p.m., when they will entertain No. 5 Brattleboro (6-7-1). The Otters and Colonels did not meet this fall. Nor did OV face the Eagles, whom they would meet in an Oct. 29 semifinal at South Burlington High if both prevail on Friday.
GIRLS’ SOCCER
The four local girls’ soccer teams play in three different divisions.
The Mount Abe girls (7-5-2) closed the regular season with a four-game winning streak to earn the No. 6 seed in D-II. The Eagles were set to host No. 11 Mill River (4-9-1) on Wednesday.
If they defeated the Minutemen the Eagles will almost certainly visit seemingly annual playoff rival Harwood (at 11-2-1 the No. 3 seed) on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Eagles have not met Harwood this fall, but have played the top teams in D-II tough, including potential semifinal foe Rice — No. 2 seed Rice and Mount Abe have twice tied at 1-1.
In D-III VUHS (6-5-2) earned the No. 6 seed and were scheduled to host No. 11 Windsor (7-7) on Wednesday. If the Commodores prevailed on Wednesday they would play again at Saturday at 1 p.m., either at No. 3 Green Mountain Union (13-1) or at home vs. No. 14 Enosburg (6-8).
Also in D-III OV won six of its final eight games to finish 7-7 and earn the No. 13 seed. The Otters were set to travel to No. 4 Peoples (10-3-1) on Wednesday at 3 p.m. If OV pulled off the upset that would mean a Saturday game at either No. 5 Rivendell (11-3) or No. 12 White River Valley (6-5-1).  
In D-I MUHS received the No. 13 seed with a 3-11 mark and traveled to No. 5 Burr & Burton (8-4-1) on Wednesday. If the Tigers upset the Bulldogs they will play on Saturday at 1 p.m. against either No. 5 South Burlington (9-5) or No. 12 St. Johnsbury (4-10).
FOOTBALL
Football pairings were announced over the weekend. Only MUHS (5-3) qualified for the playoffs among the three local squads, having earned the No. 5 seed in D-I. The Tigers will travel to No. 4 Rice, also 5-3, for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday. The teams did not meet in the regular season.
If the Tigers prevail they will next weekend either travel to meet No. 1 Mt. Mansfield (6-2) or host No. 8 Colchester (5-3).
OV (1-7) will play a D-II bonus wild-card game this Friday at Mount Anthony (2-6). The Patriots defeated OV, 21-14, in Brandon this fall.