HARDWICK – Local players from Hardwick, Craftsbury, Albany and Danville led their Black River soccer team to a victory over the Barre Stone Cutters on Sunday in the annual PolyWhey Cup.
photo by Dorothy Hill
The historic third annual PolyWhey Cup between an NEK Black River team and the Barre Stone Cutters was played by U14 girls, rekindling Vermont’s oldest soccer rivalry 100 years after it began..
NEK Warrior players joined with Orleans County FC, taking the field together for the first time to create the Black River team.
photo by Paul Fixx
The game was played almost 100 years to the day after the first match between Barre and Hardwick teams, on June 24, 1926. Elizabeth “Wiz” Dow’s research identified it as the oldest soccer rivalry in Vermont.
Players and supporters took a rain delay in stride after rumbles of thunder caused organizers to call for the 30 minute delay.
photo by Dorothy Hill
An opening ceremony featured the American flag spread flat in the air by a handful of youngsters and a spirited national anthem. Everyone took a long moment of silence for a pair of young girls who passed away in a tragic Woodbury crash last week, their friends and families.
Cadence Hansen’s (Coventry) brace proved to be the difference at Hudson Fields over the weekend as Black River survived a late charge from Barre to secure the PolyWhey Cup with a 2-1 hard-fought win.
After a scoreless first half, Black River took a 1-0 advantage off a Hansen strike at 54 minutes, set up by Danville’s Stella Cusack and Craftsbury’s Evelyn Patch. Black River is a youth soccer tournament team made up of players from both the NEK Warriors of Hardwick and Orleans County Football Club. The NEK Warrior soccer program is run by Steve Fortmann, who acknowledged that it took the newly-formed team a half of soccer to adjust to each other’s playing styles.
photo by Dorothy Hill
“The opening half was a slow burn for Team Black River. Taking the field for the first time together, it took time for them to settle into a rhythm. We survived the first half pressure from Barre thanks to the outstanding play from goalkeeper Cadence Hastings (Brownington). They began to find their footing late in the half, highlighted by great chances from Craftsbury’s Madison Amell and Ada Allen, but Barre’s keeper Solenne Marineau stood tall. The momentum had shifted by the second half, and the girls looked settled, confident and ready to push the pace,” said Fortmann.
Hansen struck again at 62 minutes to give Black River a 2-0 lead, sending the sideline into a frenzy. The Stonecutters broke through with under two minutes left in regulation when Faith Kingzett finished a perfect cross from Adelynn Dessureau. Hastings and her backline withstood a final push for the equalizer, securing the PolyWhey Cup for a second consecutive year.
photo by Dorothy Hill
The Black River team is coached by Jake Hastings, along with assistants Sarah Bathalon, Jon Amell and Darcy LeBlanc. The roster features local footballers Allie Ackermann and Kylie Smith from Hardwick, Amelia Rodriguez, McKenna Flint, Adrienne Robillard, Patch, Amell and Allen of Craftsbury, Olivia Petter of Albany and Cusack of Danville.
Research conducted by local historian, Elizabeth Dow, has cast a light on one of Vermont’s oldest soccer rivalries. Hardwick and Barre’s soccer history dates back to the early Nineteenth Century, then called the Scampini Challenge Cup. Hazen Union alumni Andrew Meyer helped resurrect the rivalry in 2024 to help support the growth of local soccer, sponsored by his company Vermont Natural Coatings.
