MIDDLEBURY — Despite some positive signs from visiting Otter Valley, Tuesday’s girls’ soccer game belonged to host Middlebury from the opening whistle in the Tigers’ 5-0 victory.

The Tigers limited the Otters, who were coming off a solid 3-1 opening victory at Hartford, to three shots on senior goalie Kassidy Brown as they posted their third straight shutout and improved to 2-0-1.

At the other end MUHS launched 31 shots at an OV goal protected by sophomore Ady Humiston, a newcomer to the sport who did well to stop 17 of the 22 shots that were on target.

Three of the shots she didn’t stop were by junior Tiger center midfielder Solstice Binder, two of them one-timers set up by senior back’s Meredith Horne corner kicks. Senior striker Lily Dame, from classmate Jazmyn Hurley, and junior midfielder Cooper Cannon also scored for MUHS.

MUHS Coach Reeves Livesay was just as pleased with his team’s patient ball movement as he was with the finishing.

“I liked that we came out and did what we talked about wanting to do. I think that we were very purposeful in the way we played. Our strikers did a great job of checking back to the ball and bringing our midfield into play. It was a nice change, because up to this point we’ve been playing pretty quickly,” Livesay said.

MUHS SENIOR STRIKER Lily Dame fires home the Tigers’ opening goal in their 5-0 victory over visiting Otter Valley on Tuesday. Jazmyn Hurley set the score up.
Independent photo/Steve James

It is also hard to argue with a back line (senior Elsa Burrows and sophomore Isabel Quinn joined Horne as starters on defense) and goalie who have kept three clean sheets.

“They’ve been playing really well all year,” Livesay said.

Another part of the game that he praised was a healthy dash of grit — the Tigers won far more than their share of 50-50 balls vs. OV.

“We have a lot of players who are terrific competitors, and it shows up in how often we come away with the ball,” he said.

OV Coach Tammi Blanchard noted her defenders made some good plays, and that at times her midfielders and forwards were linking up well. But she credited the Tigers.

“They have great passing, and they’re fast. We don’t see a lot of teams in the southern part of the state like Middlebury,” she said.

Blanchard also noted her team didn’t give up and attempted more shots in the late going.

“You know, I think the girls were a little bit down after the first half, but I feel like they came back and battled back,” she said. “And that’s all I can ask them to do.”

MUHS JUNIOR SOLSTICE Binder one-times home a Meredith Horne corner kick for the second of her three goals in the Tiger girls’ soccer team’s 5-0 victory over visiting Otter Valley on Tuesday.
Independent photo/Steve James

The Tigers threatened in the first 10 minutes. Binder nailed a direct kick from the left sideline that bounced off the upper far corner of the woodwork. Humiston soon afterward did well to deny a Cannon shot.

OV had a chance, too. A through ball up the middle appeared to give freshman striker Tegan Boynton a chance at a breakaway, but Quinn caught up and knocked the ball away before Boynton reached shooting range.

In the 13th minute Dame gave the Tigers the lead. Starting at midfield, Hurley, a champion sprinter, bolted past several Otters down the right side to the end line and served a strong cross into the box. Humiston got a hand on it, but the ball bounced to Dame near the penalty stripe, and she right-footed the ball into the left side.

Six minutes later Binder drilled a 40-yard laser of a free kick that Humiston had trouble handling, and it trickled in to make it 2-0. Less than three minutes later, Cannon left-footed a loose ball home to increase the Tiger lead.

OV had a couple chances on restarts. A Tiger foul deep in their end gave OV a free kick, but junior Skyler Choiniere blocked it out of bounds for a corner kick, which the Tigers cleared out of danger.

The Tigers kept the pressure on. Horne hit the right post on a free kick, and in the 33rd minute Humiston made back-to-back point-blank saves on MUHS senior Ada Weaber, and the lead was 3-0 at the half.

MUHS JUNIOR MIDFIELDER Solstice Binder touches the ball past OV freshman forward Tegan Boynton and goes on the attack during the Tiger girls’ soccer team’s home victory on Tuesday.
Independent photo/Steve James

Binder completed the hat trick in the second half, one-timing one Horne corner kick home with her right foot and heading in another.

Humiston made eight of her 16 saves in the second half, including her best, a diving stop on Quinn. She also smothered a sophomore Alice Livesay bid at the left post on a feed from classmate Jordan Rushton.

At the other end, Boynton got behind the Tiger defense with 11 minutes to go, but Brown came out to cut down the angle and snare what was OV’s best chance. Brown also stopped sophomore middie Allie Charbonneau from longer range with four minutes to go for her third and final save of the game.

Looking ahead, the Otters hope to defend their 2023 Josh Cole Tournament title in Ludlow this weekend, starting with Proctor on Friday.

TIGER SENIOR DEFENDER Meredith Horne carries the ball up the field during the MUHS girls’ soccer team’s Tuesday home game as OV junior Jazzy Madrigal defends.
Independent photo/Steve James

“We’re just going to focus now on the Josh Cole tournament,” Blanchard said. “Last year we won the tournament, so we’re hoping to do the same this year.”

The Tigers will face a challenge from visiting Spaulding on Saturday morning. Overall, Livesay said the Tigers are hopeful looking ahead.

“I think we have a really nice team with a lot of seniors who have a lot of experience, who are giving us a lot of great leadership right now,” he said. “So we’re excited to see where this season takes us.”