ROLLER COASTER SEASON ENDS WITH ROLLER COASTER TITLE WIN FOR HORNETS
By Ben Kaufmann
County Courier
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – Adversity, by nature, forces a change of direction. In team sports, those obstacles either push a team closer together or drive it into chaos. In the case of the 2021 Enosburg boy’s soccer team, it would have been easy for the talented squad to fall off the deep end. But after accusations of abusive behavior put a spotlight on the Hornets, who in turn became victims of online vitriol from people outside the program, this Enosburg team drew even closer and put its best foot forward. Following all the drama throughout the season and a semifinal played without spectators due to the abuse allegations, Enosburg arrived at Maxfield Sports Complex on Saturday afternoon aiming to upset top-seeded Green Mountain and claim its first championship since 2006.
Fittingly, Saturday’s game was more of the up-and-down No. 3 Enosburg (16-1) has learned to get through as a team. The Chieftains (14-2-1) dominated play for the game’s first half-hour and Enosburg only hung around because of brilliant play from keeper Ethan Jackson and a miraculous goal-line save from Danny Antillon. Even after Silas Kane punched in a goal to give the Hornets a 1-0 halftime lead, it seemed unlikely that the Hornets could hold that lead with the way things were going.
But the second half didn’t play out like the first. Blair Archambault headed in a Levi Webb corner kick just four minutes out of the break and Webb finished a pair of breakaways to give Enosburg a 4-0 lead with only 22 minutes remaining.
A 4-0 lead is usually safe territory, but Enosburg’s opponent was the top seed in Division III – the same team which eliminated the Hornets in last year’s semifinals and was playing in a third straight title game. A penalty kick, then a goal from a rebound and one more from a tough angle rocked Enosburg, which had to hold a 4-3 lead for the final 3:24 and did just that to claim its second outright title in program history.
“To have a season like that under any circumstances is impressive,” said EFHS coach Randy Swainbank. “For them to hold it together through all of the Winooski stuff and still maintain their momentum and just keep working hard in practice and executing in games, hats off to them. It’s a great group of kids.”
“It’s unbelievable,” said Webb, a senior co-captain who will leave Enosburg with the record for most goals in a career. “We knew we were capable of it all year. I’m not surprised that it happened but we’ve had a couple of setbacks this year, we just kept our heads in the game and played our game.”
“This team is the closest team that I’ve ever been on,” Archambault said. “We’ve got so much chemistry, we’re all best friends and hang out all the time. On the field, off the field, it’s all great. These are my best friends and we’re going to remember this moment for the rest of our lives.”
It wouldn’t be much of an Enosburg game if Webb didn’t score a goal or two, but the highlight Saturday was the Hornets showcasing the team-first mentality which helped them end a most challenging season with a trophy presentation. Jackson was a brick wall, especially in the first half. He ended up with 13 saves, which is probably close to the same number of shots he faced all season if you remove the contests with Winooski.
“The only time we get that busy is against Winooski,” Jackson said. “This game is definitely the hardest game I’ve ever played, the hardest game these guys have ever played.”
In front of Jackson, the defense was top-notch. Senior trio Ethan Hogaboom, Gavin Combs and Lawrence Harness limited Green Mountain’s good chances and cleared a number of threats before they got to Jackson. When their linemate Peter Stiebris went down injured on a valiant attempt to score in the first half, classmate Shea Howrigan came back from the midfield and helped hold the defense together.
In the midfield, Antillon, Archambault and Foster Hutchins, who scored the game-winner in the semifinal, kept things calm and capitalized when chances appeared. Jacob Boucher and Kane worked tirelessly wherever they were needed and Webb was his ever-dangerous self up top.
Kane was the ultimate team player Saturday, racking up a rare achievement by recording two saves, a goal and an assist in a championship game. Jackson went down hard with six minutes left and while the collision earned a Green Mountain player his second yellow card and an ejection, it also briefly knocked Jackson out.
“No, not at all,” Kane said when asked if he’d planned to venture into goal Saturday, though he did take a stab at guessing how many players had tallied a save, goal and assist in a title game. “Probably not very many I don’t think.”
“We were able to hang on,” Swainbank said. “We had some guys playing some different roles today because we had a couple of injuries and everyone stepped up. Ethan took a hard hit at the end and Silas came in and came up big for us. Ethan, hat’s off to him for coming back in and just being able to close the door at the end finally”
Kane’s goal broke the game with just 2:32 left before halftime and Green Mountain was fully in control to that point. Webb sent a dangerous cross from the right side and the Chieftain keeper punched it away, but Hutchins stepped to it and blasted a shot off a Green Mountain defender on the goal line. Green Mountain didn’t get a third save as Kane pounced on the rebound and gave his Hornets a shocking 1-0 halftime lead.
With those in attendance expecting to see Enosburg try desperately to hang on to a 1-0 lead, the opening of the second half was a shock. Less than four minutes had passed when Archambault jumped for a Webb corner and headed it perfectly in for a 2-0 EFHS lead.
“I’ve never gotten a ball off a corner kick,” said Archambault, who scored for just the fourth time this season. “Levi sent it right to me and I was like ‘Holy crap it’s coming right at me!’ I saw it hit the back of the net and it was just the happiest, best moment.”
“Huge goals, they haven’t scored a lot this year – I think that was Silas’ first goal,” Swainbank said of Archambault and Kane finding the goal. “And then Levi is Levi, he’s had a great season and continued today.”
The good times kept rolling for Enosburg, which made the memory of Green Mountain dominating possession seem years old. Kane flicked a header to lead Webb on a breakaway with 11 minutes gone in the second half and Webb, of course, finished. Six minutes after that, Antillon led Webb on another breakaway for an improbable 4-0 EFHS lead with just 22 minutes to go.
“It gave us so much momentum and it led us to where we are right now. I don’t know what to say, it’s amazing,” said Archambault, who admitted he did not expect at that point to end up winning the game by a single goal. “No. We sort of slowed down at the end but we pulled through and finished the game strong. That’s all that matters.”
The penalty with 13 minutes left kicked off a stunning run of three goals in 10 minutes for the Chieftains, but Enosburg was able to hang on and escape with the win, giving the Hornets a 2-0-1 record all-time in championship games.
“That’s a great team. They’ve had a great season, they’ve had a great three seasons in a row,” Swainbank said of Green Mountain, which has a title and two runner-up finishes in three seasons. “Once the door got cracked open with a penalty kick I knew they were going to keep coming in waves and they did.”
At the conclusion of play, many Enosburg players went to celebrate with their teammates and fans, but a few hung back to console the distraught Green Mountain players.
“They got us out last year so it’s a matter of respect for me,” said Jackson, who arrived at the celebration late after sticking around his goal to hug a pair of Chieftains. “Those guys came at us with all they got and we went at them with all we got, you’ve got to respect it.”
Enosburg finishes the year with an astonishing 78-11 scoring advantage over its opponents. Jackson and Kane combined for 11 shutouts, including 8 in the 12 games following the Winooski loss. Saturday’s triumph is the final game for Enosburg’s remarkable class of seniors: Harness, Hutchins, Boucher, Archambault, Webb, Hogaboom, Howrigan, Combs, and Jackson. They’ll leave a mark on the Enosburg program of an incredible example of how to lean on one’s team in the face of adversity.
