DANVILLE – Leland & Gray mounted a furious second half comeback to defeat the Caledonia United girls soccer team last week in the first round of the Division IV state tournament.
photo by courtesy of Jen Crocker
Sophia Hallock converted a penalty kick seven minutes into overtime to lift ninth seeded Leland & Gray to a first round 3-2 upset over Cal United last Tuesday. Lily Litchfield scored a pair of goals for the Lady Rebels as they clawed back from a 2-0 deficit with twenty-five minutes left in regulation to pull off the shocker. Eliska Siebenbrunner put Cal United on the board fourteen minutes into the match with a perfectly placed penalty kick. The home team returned from halftime with the same energy, and the versatile junior fed Cora Abetti eighteen minutes into the second half to give Cal United a two-goal advantage. Addison Eldridge found a streaking Litchfield in the 65’ minute to pull the Lady Rebels within one score. Litchfield buried a feed from Hallock eight minutes later for the equalizer. Leland & Gray continued to pressure Cal United down the stretch and into overtime, setting up Hallock’s heroics. Annabelle Brookes made six stops for the Lady Rebels in the win. Phoebe Crocker turned away eight shots for Cal United as their season came to an end at 4-10-1.
It was a rebuilding year for head coach Spencer Morse and his club, coming off two successful seasons as a three-school collective (Twinfield-Cabot-Danville) that included the program’s first ever playoff win in Division III. Morse was challenged this fall with replacing a large graduating class that included three-time Vermont All-State selection Sloane Morse. His young team was strong in numbers but lacked the experience of navigating the rigors of a rugged Mountain League schedule. Siebenbrunner emerged early as a future star for Cal United, leading the defense to three straight shutouts to start the season as a first-year goalkeeper. She continued her solid play throughout the season before a broken finger forced her out of action two weeks ago. She returned to the field last week, and her athleticism added instant offense to a struggling team. Her return next season, along with Abetti, Peyton Winn and a more experienced core of underclassmen has Morse and his coaching staff excited for the future. He will have the challenge however of replacing senior defensive stalwarts Crocker and Lauren Pecor.
“Losing Phoebe and Lauren will be hard, and their leadership will be missed, but numbers were up this season, and I am certainly excited for our future,” said Morse.
Leland & Gray’s Cinderella run continued on Friday as they knocked off top seeded West Rutland 3-1 in the quarterfinal round. They advanced to the Division IV Final Four and faced No. 4 Poultney on Tuesday.
