HANOVER, N.H. – Despite a sweep at the hands of New Hampshire in both the boys and girls matches over the weekend, Twinfield-Cabot’s Jola Otten took home honors for his Vermont team in the 51st Lions Cup All-Star Soccer Match.
The Granite State seniors raced past Vermont’s best in the boys match 5-1 and completed the series sweep with a hard-fought victory in the girls match. Five different players found the back of the net for New Hampshire in the opener as they took a 2-0 advantage into halftime and never looked back. Montpelier’s Will Curtis scored the lone goal for the Green Mountain State seniors and earned the 12th Player Award for his play off the bench. Sebastian Bronk earned team MVP honors for Vermont, and Otten was given the Sportsmanship Award.
Otten had a breakout senior season for Caledonia United (Twinfield-Cabot-Danville) last fall, earning him All-State recognition along with top honors in the rugged Mountain League. He posted a career high in goals (14), helping Cal United to its first undefeated regular season (16-0) before falling to top-seeded Twin Valley in the Division IV State Championship match.
In the nightcap, a pair of first-half goals from Sarah Frye proved to be the difference as New Hampshire held on for a 2-1 win. Ava Francis (Vergennes) brought Vermont within a score with a tally seven minutes into the second half, but the visitors couldn’t find the equalizer. Milton’s Marlie Bushey was named team MVP for Vermont, Reese Billings of Rice earned the 12th Player Award and North Country’s Randi Fortin was given the Sportsmanship Award.
