NORTHFIELD – The Hazen Union girls’ soccer team rebounded from their first loss in more than a month with a win against Paine Mountain and a hard-fought draw against Division II Missisquoi Valley (MVU) last week.
Lady Cat freshman Ursa Goldenrose (right) heads for an airborne ball followed by Missisquoi players Josephine Maguire (center) and Leah Thompson (left). The October 9 Hazen Union home game ended in a 2-2 tie with the Division II Thunderbirds.
Sophomore Mya Lumsden notched the equalizer and junior Isabelle Gouin scored the game-winner to lead Hazen to a come from behind 2-1 road win over Paine Mountain last Monday. Down 1-0 early after a defensive miscommunication, Lumsden’s long distance smash to the far post from the right wing made it 1-1 eighteen minutes into the match. With 11 minutes left in regulation, Julia des Groseilliers found a streaking Gouin with a perfect lofted pass behind the defense for the game winner.
Sophomore Kelsie Rivard made three stops for the Lady Cat defense to preserve the win. Paine Mountain fell to 3-7-1 on the season.
“Mya combined on a great give and go with Ella Renaud and uncorked a rocket from well outside the 18-yard box to even the match. We did a good job applying constant pressure, unleashing chance after chance in the second half. That hard work paid off when Julia found Isabelle and we came away with a well-earned road win. Adelina Augsberger, Autumn Dailey, and co-captain Brianna Holbrook had solid displays on defense to close out the win,” said head coach Jay Terrien.
Hazen Union sophomore Mya Lumsden (center) works the ball toward the goal as Lillian Loiselle (left) attempts to take possession at Hazen, October 9. At right is Lillianna Fournier. The game ended in a 2-2 draw.
Dailey and Gouin each found the back of the net for an early two-goal advantage on Wednesday, but MVU came screeching back to come away with 2-2 draw on the road.
After Gouin made it 2-0 Lady Cats with eight minutes left in the first half, Avery Guyette broke free for the Lady Thunderbirds to cut it to a one score game heading into the break. Abby Wilcox found the second half equalizer and both teams would come up empty in overtime. Lizi Bourdeau and Leah Thompson combined to stop 12 shots as MVU improved to 4-7-1. Gouin has now doubled her scoring output from last season and the junior co-captain is on pace to lead the team in goals scored for a third straight year.
Hazen Union’s Isabelle Gouin (left) advances the ball up Hudson Field as Aleigha Wilson of Missisquoi looks to steal during a match in Hardwick, October 9. The game ended in a 2-2 tie.
“My personal confidence is up this season, and I think being in better physical condition as a team allows us to play deeper into matches at a high level. I’ve had the opportunity to play varsity soccer since eighth grade and overall, that experience has been my biggest skill builder. I’m so much more comfortable on the field as an upperclassman and it has helped me be able to lead and mentor the younger girls. Jays coaching style has been a little more strenuous and technical this season and by constantly working on our fundamentals and mindset, we’ve been able to grow and mesh into a better team this season. We’ve all been playing together in different school sports and AAU for so long that we all get along great and support each other as one team unit. Some of our roles may be different in basketball, but we can count on everyone to do their job, and we trust each other. That really helps when things get hard. I think those of us that were on the state title team last winter really understand that we can do it in soccer too and we want to make that happen. We all work together to score these goals, and my individual scoring is also because of the team!” said Gouin.
The Lady Cats remain in the No. 3 spot in the current Division IV standings and wrap up the regular season with a busy week. Hazen Union hosted Richford on Monday and Oxbow on Tuesday before traveling to undefeated BFA-Fairfax on Saturday for an 11 a.m. start.
