HARDWICK – The top of the Capital League showed their teeth against the Hazen Union boys’ soccer team last week as powerhouse Harwood and Peoples Academy (PA) blanked the Cats, dropping them to 3-7 on the season.
\Hazen Union sophomore Lincoln Hill (right) controls the ball against Cyrus Wallack (No. 4) followed by Aiden Slayton (No. 3) of Peoples Academy during play at P.A., October 5. The Wolves beat the Wildcats 6-0.
Brycen Scharf scored a hat-trick and assisted on two other scores to power Harwood to an impressive 8-0 road win over the Wildcats last Monday. Anthony Caforia added a pair of goals for the defending division II champs, who ran their unbeaten streak to 27 straight matches. Harwood didn’t face a shot in the match, securing their sixth shutout of the season. They ran their record to 10-0-1 and look poised to defend their state title, outscoring their opponents 75-5 on the year. Craftsbury Academy’s (CA) Grayson McNaughten made 15 stops in the loss for Hazen.
“Harwood highlights the top of the competitive thread in the Capital League. It was more than a challenge facing their 22-man varsity roster as we continue to develop our program with no seniors on the team. We defended well to open the match, but gave away an early goal with a penalty 10 minutes in. Our heads dropped a bit allowing five first half goals, but I liked how the boys finished the game strong defensively,” said head coach Harry Besett.
Hazen Union Wildcats (from left) Seville Murphy, Lincoln Hill, Oryon Hart and Nathaniel Brandt return to play after half time at Peoples Academy, October 5.
Harrison Frazee scored two goals and added an assist as PA blanked Hazen at home over the weekend 6-0. Zander Waskuch and Aiden Slayton combined for two more scores and four assists as the Wolves marched to their third straight win. Sam Stutz made three stops on the day for the Wolves and McNaughten and Chayse Newell combined to turn away 10 shots for Hazen. PA improved to 8-2 on the season and the 2022 state champs look primed to return to the Division III state title match for a third straight season.
“We defended well for the opening 10 minutes, but we were down two of our starting defenders and made a mistake in the middle of the field 10 minutes in that led to a one on one. Grayson was a strong part of organizing and setting up our limited chances, but he didn’t have his best game in net, making some uncharacteristic errors. Chayse did a nice job in the second half. We will look to regroup this coming week,” said Besett.
The Wildcats looked to get back on track on Tuesday with a home tilt against Lake Region before traveling to Spaulding on Thursday.
