FAIRFAX – It’s never easy to head north out of division to play BFA-Fairfax and Enosburg in the same week, but the Twinfield-Cabot-Danville (CCSU) boys’ soccer team came out the other side with a win and a draw to improve to 3-1-1 on the season.
Junior Sean Lehoe scored a goal and added an assist to lead Cal United to a decisive 5-0 road win over BFA-Fairfax last Wednesday. Freshman Omar Miksic-Knibb opened the scoring for the visitors eight minutes into the match off a feed from Sam McLane and Eli Russell assisted Lehoe just eight minutes later to make it 2-0. Lehoe assisted sophomore Jackson Giroux with three minutes left in the first half to make it a three-goal advantage and the rout was on.
Darshan Eddleman found the back of the net midway through the second half to make it 4-0 and senior Bailey Huang finished a feed from Connor Winn with 13 minutes left to end the scoring on the day. Josh Petersen made two saves for the CCSU defense to earn his second shutout of the season. Mason Sander made 13 stops for the Bullets, who fell to 1-5-1.
“We were missing several starters during a week of illness and injuries and had to adjust our lineup and game plan. Despite having players in new positions, the boys adjusted well and played a solid match. BFA played hard, but they are a young team this year and couldn’t generate much offense against our back line. Connor, Alijah Andrews, Landen Fournier, Kaiden Rogers, Oliver Searles, and River Thibault deserve credit for helping keep a clean sheet on defense. Josh made a couple of nice saves in key moments,” said head coach Peter Stratman.
Brody Wells found the equalizer with six minutes left in regulation to help Enosburg salvage a 1-1 draw with CCSU at home over the weekend. Miksic-Knibb converted on a textbook fast break in the first half, burying a give and go from Sam McLane to give Cal United the early 1-0 advantage. Wells won a scrum in the box off a Sawyer Bentley corner kick late to end the scoring on the day. Petersen was stellar in goal once again for Cal United, turning away 10 shots. Daniel Murphy made 5 saves for the Hornets, who improved to 2-3-2.
“The boys controlled the tempo of the match for a big stretch of the first half. Enosburg started to beat us to the ball the last 40 minutes, generating a lot of corner kicks and long throw-ins into the box. The boys left it all on the field today and it was tough to concede a goal so late in the game. Josh came up with some monster saves and he kept it close, showing a lot of poise. Playing a full match along with overtime period with very few subs was tough. I’m super proud of them!” said Stratman.
Cal United moved up to the third spot in the current Division IV rankings and faced another challenge on the road against Oxbow on Tuesday. They are scheduled to host Blue Mountain on Friday at Danville.
