BRADFORD – The Caledonia United (Twinfield-Cabot-Danville) boys soccer team gutted out a road win against Division III Oxbow last week, before blasting Richford with 13 goals to stay perfect on the season at 7-0.
Jola Otten and Sam McLane scored two goals apiece to power Cal United to a 4-2 road win over Oxbow last Monday. After a 1-1 stalemate through the first half, Otten found the eventual game-winner in the 57th minute. McLane gave the Cal United defense some breathing room minutes later with a top corner rocket before Jayden Huntoon netted his second score of the day on a laser from 25 yards out to make it 3-2 with seven minutes left in regulation. Otten put the match away, finishing off a beautiful header from Connor Winn. Josh Petersen made five saves for Cal United. Landon Welch made nine stops for the Olympians, who fell to 1-6 on the season.
“We started slow in the first half. Oxbow came out aggresse and we just weren’t stepping to the ball quickly enough. We made some adjustments at halftime, and the boys did a better job dictating the pace of the match. The defense stepped it up in the second half as well, limiting them to one shot and Josh made some critical saves for us early on in the match,” said head coach Peter Stratman.
It was all systems go for Stratman’s club on Friday as Otten, Eli Russell and Sean Lehoe each recorded hat-tricks in a 13-0 blowout home win over Richford. Sam McLane added two more goals to his impressive start to the season. Hunter Eastman and River Thibault got into the action with their first goals of the season. Russell and Connor Winn each tallied four assists apiece on the day. Petersen turned away a pair of shots to preserve the shutout. Syrus Gendron made 9 saves as Richford fell to 1-4.
“The boys did a good job attacking with precision and pace in what was a clinical performance. Their effort in the first half was relentless. Their keeper was phenomenal, making several acrobatic saves. It was great to get our younger players some valuable time and experience in the second half, with Hunter delivering several dangerous crosses and converting a nice penalty,” said Stratman.
McLane has returned with a vengeance from a season ending injury late last fall to lead the team in scoring with 15 goals. Russell has backed up his 2024 Vermont All-State selection with 14 scores of his own and Otten has had a breakout senior campaign with 10. Cal United remains perfect near the top of the Division IV standings behind perennial powerhouse Twin Valley (9-0). Grace Christian sits third at 5-0-1 and Proctor rounds out the top four at 5-2.
Stratman’s club should have gotten a true test on Tuesday with a home match against Division III Vergennes. The Commodores have posted shutout wins over Middlebury and Enosburg already this season. They wrap up a busy week with road match-up against Sharon Academy on Thursday before hosting Paine Mountain on Friday.
