NORTHFIELD – Senior Vermont All-State selection Isabelle Gouin scored four more goals last week to break the all-time school scoring record as her Hazen Union girls soccer team ripped off their fifth straight win to improve to 9-2 on the season.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
Gouin recorded her fourth hat-trick of the season last Tuesday while powering the Lady Cats to a 4-0 road win over Paine Mountain. Craftsbury Academy’s Adelina Augsberger fed Gouin on a throw-in sixteen minutes into the match to give Hazen an early 1-0 advantage. Gouin finished off a through ball from Kelsie Rivard to make it 2-0 heading into the break. Kennidee Gouin fed Mya Lumsden just under fifteen minutes into the second half for a three-goal cushion. History was made just 10 minutes later when Gouin finished off a beautiful pass from Lumsden for her fifty-fifth career goal, making her the all-time leading scorer for the Lady Cat program. Ella Renaud made four stops, including a pair from point blank range to preserve the shutout. Hazel Knox recorded nine saves in the loss for Paine Mountain.
It was more Gouin and the Hazen defense on Thursday as they gutted out a tough road win against Oxbow 1-0. Lumsden fed Gouin once again just ten minutes into the match for the eventual game-winner. Rivard matched Renaud’s efforts two days earlier with eight tough saves to nail down the fourth straight shutout for the Lady Cat defense. Hazen snapped Oxbow’s three match winning streak, dropping them to 6-3-1.
Kaitlyn Forant held the school scoring record at Hazen for 17 years, scoring 54 times in three seasons before tragically breaking her leg in a scrimmage before the start of her senior season in 2008. Forant went on to set more scoring records for her Southern Vermont College women’s soccer team. Following their first trip to the Division IV state title match in over three decades, Gouin joined head coach Harry Besett’s Lady Cat program rebuild as just an eighth grader. She has been Hazen’s leading scorer since her freshman campaign, culminating in a 20-goal season last fall that earned her a Vermont All-State selection. The speedy striker has already found the back of the net 21 times in eleven matches this season and credits her team for a lot of her personal success on the pitch.
“It really hasn’t set in yet. It’s so exciting, but sort of surreal at the same time. I’m thankful, fortunate, and attribute a lot of my success on the soccer field to our team. I knew I was getting close to the milestone for some time now, but it sort of came along quicker than I anticipated. Our team has been so supportive all the way through. I’m sure when I look back on this someday, the fact that I broke the record in my senior year with my younger sister (Kennidee) up on varsity playing alongside of me, will make the memory extra special! She’s been working very hard and hopefully will be on pace to lead the future Lady Cats as a captain and high scorer too,” said Gouin.
Hazen remains in the mix atop of a highly competitive Division III leaderboard in head coach Megan Mercier’s first season. Her team will get a full week of practice before traveling to Enosburg on Friday.
