WELLS RIVER – Two matches couldn’t have gone anymore differently for the Hazen Union boys’ soccer team last week as they blew the doors off Blue Mountain before suffering the same fate against Division II perennial contender U-32 on the road.
Sully Laflam tallied two goals and assisted on four others to lead the Wildcats to a dominant 9-0 road win over Blue Mountain last Tuesday. Sophomores Jeter Demers and Levi Higgins broke out in a big way, scoring two goals apiece, with Demers adding an assist on the day. After Laflam and Demers assisted on each other’s scores late in the first half to make it 2-0 Hazen, Kobe Smith buried a feed from Laflam minutes later to give the visitors a three goal cushion entering halftime. Damien Morrison and Morgan Michaud got in on the action for the Wildcat offense to round out a balanced scoring attack. Craftsbury Academy junior Grayson McNaughten continued his outstanding play in net for Hazen, making 1 save to earn the shutout. Brody Scott made 18 stops in the loss for the Bucks as they fell to 0-4.
“Coming off our first win of the season at Lyndon Institute, we came into the game confident after a strong tactical practice on Monday. We controlled the game from kickoff through possession, using passing and possession to keep the ball in the attacking thirds to drive into the box. Early on several scoring attempts fizzled, but unrelenting adherence to the game plan finally saw us breakthrough late in the first half. It was great to see first time varsity goals from Morgan and Levi, along with some great offensive contribution from Nathaniel Brandt in just his first season ever playing soccer!” said head coach Harry Besett.
Maddox Heise recorded a hat-trick and added a pair of assists to lead U-32 to an 11-0 home win over the Wildcats on Friday. Eight other Raiders found the back of the net in the one-sided affair and the defense posted their second straight shutout. U-32 looks poised to be a Division II contender once again this fall, outscoring their last three opponents 20-1. McNaughten made 24 saves in the loss for Hazen.
“This was our first real test in the Capital League and after back-to-back wins our standards in practice and preparation slipped. We were missing some regulars in the defensive line, and it showed, making multiple errors that forced us to pull our offensive players backward. Grayson made several outstanding saves, but he was let down by poor defensive coverage in front of him. This team has the opportunity to show in the next two practices that they can raise their standards and get their season back on track. Everyone on this team is left with much room for improvement to make sure this poor performance isn’t repeated during the rest of the increasingly challenging schedule,” said Besett.
Hazen will look to get back on track this week as they host Thetford Academy on Wednesday before welcoming Lamoille to Hudson Fields on Saturday for Homecoming Weekend.
