HARDWICK – Hazen Union boys soccer head coach Harry Besett and his senior goalkeeper Grayson McNaughten received top Capital League honors last week after a revival season by the Wildcats on the pitch this past fall.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
The Capital League boasts some of the best soccer programs in the state of Vermont, and making their end of the season honors list has been a tall task for Hazen since joining the league five years ago. Besett helped guide the Wildcats to their first regular season winning record since 2019 in his second year on the sidelines and was named Capital League Coach of the Year for his efforts.
The Capital is a who’s who of perennial state champions that include the likes of Stowe, Peoples Academy (PA) and Harwood. Hazen has struggled to post-competitive matches within the league in their first four seasons, but that narrative changed under Besett this past fall.
The Wildcats lost one score matches to Division II power Montpelier and perennial Division III contenders Thetford Academy and PA. All their wins came out of division, including a signature road win over Division I North Country back in September.
Besett’s transformation of the program into a more ball control possession type playing style is still a work in progress, but the defense anchored by McNaughten was on point all season. McNaughten led the Wildcat defense to six shutouts on the year and was named to the Capital League First Team for his outstanding play. Since coming over from Craftsbury Academy as a lanky sophomore, McNaughten has matured into a physical force. He filled a highlight reel over the course of the season with his acrobatic saves and turned his right leg into an offensive weapon with booming kicks that traveled box to box.
Joining the senior Wildcat keeper with First Team honors were: Ian Nolan, Miles Lane, Jack Clearly and Jaden Baird of PA, Brycen Scharf, Felix Kretz, Cole Shullenberger and Oliver Reilly of Hardwood, Colby Sterling-Prouix, Will Curtis and Michael Vitti of Montpelier, Graeme Jostrand, Luca Rovetto and Eli Young of Stowe, Jon Giroux and Liam Wood of North Country, Braen O’Donnell and Aien Huston of U-32, Lamoille’s Ethan Rossi, Lake Region’s Ben Thompson and Henry Trage of Thetford Academy.
Hazen seniors Sully Laflam and Justin Montgomery earned Second Team honors for their stellar play this past fall. PA’s Gavin Jolly, Noah Brown and Charlie Isselhardt, Lamoille’s Ben Turner and Estes Rodriguez and Declan Coggins and David McLaughlin of Stowe rounded out local Second Team selections. Fellow Wildcat seniors Seville Murphy and Ari Jurkiewicz earned honorable mentions.
Harwood’s Brycen Scharf joined Besett with top honors in the Capital League, taking home the Player of the Year award.
