DANVILLE – The Twinfield-Cabot-Danville (CCSU) boys’ soccer team saw both ends of the spectrum in Division IV soccer last week, splitting matches with Winooski and Blue Mountain to keep pace atop the Division III standings with an 8-2-1 record.
Omar Alkaiani and Oliver Mathys-Vallario scored a goal apiece to help Winooski stave off Caledonia United 2-1 on the road last Tuesday, in what was a battle between Division III and IV heavyweights. Alkaiani broke through the CCSU defense late in the first half, finishing a nice pass slotted past their center backs to make it 1-0.
Mathys-Vallario gave the Spartans a much-needed insurance goal midway throught the second half, before Omar Miksic-Knibb buried a feed from fellow freshman Judah Klarich to make it a one score match with seven minutes left in regulation. The defending Division IV champs held off a flurry of pressure from Cal United in the closing minutes to end the home team’s seven match unbeaten streak. Josh Petersen turned away seven shots in the loss. The Spartans improved to 7-4 with their seventh straight win.
“Winooski is a good team, and they played well. We had a solid first half in what was a very tight back and forth match. They had us on the back foot for a spell to start the second half and we started to absorb a lot of pressure by not maintaining possession in the center of the pitch. We finally clicked back with a great sequence between Eli Russell, Judah, and Omar. We were knocking on the door the last ten minutes and had our chances, but just couldn’t convert the equalizer. We were disappointed with the final result, but we will learn from it and get better,” said head coach Peter Stratman.
Darshan Eddleman scored a hat trick and Connor Winn, Jackson Giroux, and Russell each netted a pair of goals to lead CCSU to a 12-0 bounce back win at Blue Mountain on Friday. Landen Fournier, Bailey Huang, and Ori Astick all chipped in with a goal apiece in the win. Petersen made one stop on the day to earn the sixth shutout of the season for Cal United’s defense. Brody Scott recorded 15 saves for the Bucks as they continue to search for their first win of the season.
“We have three regular season games to go starting with a tough match on Monday. We’re pushing for a strong finish so we can carry momentum into the postseason,” said Stratman.
CCSU is ranked fourth in the current Division III standings and hosted a veteran Oxbow team on Monday. They welcome BFA-Fairfax to town on Wednesday and wrap up the regular season with a trip to Paine Mountain on Saturday for a 10 a.m. start.
