T-BIRDS ADVANCE TO WINDSOR ON WEDNESDAY
By Jay Cummings
For the County Courier
They say revenge is a dish best served cold, But on Monday that could have meant cold, damp, and wet.
Monday’s quarterfinal high school pairing between Montpelier and Missisquoi Valley Union was also a rematch. The Thunderbirds played the Solons earlier this fall, ultimately finding themselves down 3-0 at the end of the third quarter. The T-birds got their mojo back in quarter four but the clock ran out before their time 3-2 loss to Montpelier.
From the start of Monday’s rematch, there was no question the Thunderbirds were all in. After a several minutes of sizing up each others’ tactics, MVU’s sophomore Bella Bigelow started drilling shots on Montpellier goalie Erin Kelley. Kelley saved several shots until Bigelow hit the back of the net 1-0 with 5:12 left in the first quarter. Center Middle, Senior Co-Captain, Rhianna Sweeney was also instrumental in creating scoring opportunities for the Thunderbirds and bounced one in of her own with only 1:41 left in Q1. Seconds later MVU received a 5-yard penalty card leaving them down a player. Montpelier got one shot on MVU Goal tender Kali Favreau-Ward before ending the quarter.
Montpelier’s #1 Eli Moller-Moore took the self pass start to begin the second quarter, dodged several MVU players to stuff one past Favreau-Ward, with only using 24 seconds off the clockmaking the score 2-1 i favor of MVU. Montpelier certainly gained momentum and fired several other shots on the MVU goaltender with an amazing shot from Montpelier’s Zoie Masure two minutes later. MVU heeded the warning and started marking up on their opponents much better slowing the Solons’ pressure deep in the MVU zone. The half ended 2-1 MVU.
The second half was mostly dominated by MVU keeping the ball in Montpelier territory. That’s when MVU found a gear or two more to apply relentless pressure on the Solon goalie Kelley. MVU had simply rotated from the advantage of multiple penalty corners, with shots on net. Montpelier then turned the tide and MVU just looked out of place and flat. The Solons capitalized on this and made a sudden breakaway with Moller-More beating Favreau-Ward a second time, knotting the score 2-2. MVU quickly regrouped and there was no way they were going to let this game slip away. MVU applied tremendous pressure deep in Solon territory. Freshman Maddie Chevalier slipped one by Kelley with six minutes remaining in the third quarter. MVU started a series of shots on net, with none crossing the goal line. The quarter ended 3-2 MVU.
The fourth quarter started with the Thunderbirds easily mowing over any Solan that came within reach. This initiated a Blitzkrieg of shots on net, followed by a corner penalty against Montpelier. Shot after shot could not find the back of the cage. Every time a Montpelier defender tried to clear the ball a MVU player stopped the advance and returned to the circle with another shot on net. They repeated this a dozen times. Of the 15 minutes of the 4th quarter Montpelier only got over their 50 yard line three times for just a few seconds. One thing is for sure by sheer math. If the ball never leaves your opponents’ end of the field, it’s never going to land in your own goal. Securing the MVU win was now imminent. After a whopping total 20 corner penalty plays and over 25 saves by Kelley, Rhianna Sweeney fired her second goal of the day with a blistering shot from the right side of the circle past Montpelier’s Kelley. The crowd roared, partially for seeing such a blinding drive-by Sweeney and partially, the entire population on the field knew the T-Birds were going to the Semis. Relief to the MVU players and fans, a collective sigh to Montpelier.
MVU took the win, 4-2, in regulation and will head to Windsor for the semifinals after only one day rest. MVU Varsity head coach Mel Hurlbut was proud of her team. “We used the entire field and the entire team. It’s really difficult to say who our best player is. Each athlete contributes when called upon. We even brought up a JV player who has been in a groove lately, #8 Freshman Lindsey Gagne. We had her start and she was so key, she earned a spot playing the entire game. We really wanted to see what she had under the hood and she did not disappoint.”
The #4 ranked Thunderbirds travel to #1 ranked Windsor, Wednesday, for a semifinal game at 3:30 pm on Wednesday.
