DANVILLE – Head coach Spencer Morse will tackle gaping holes in his Caledonia United (Twinfield-Cabot-Danville) varsity girls soccer team left by a talented graduating class with strong underclassmen numbers this fall, as they look to build off a pair of highly successful seasons as a three-school cooperative.
Morse guided Cal United to the program’s first ever Division III playoff win and home playoff match in their first two seasons. He will look to have more success this fall as they drop down to Division IV. To do so, he’ll have to fill the holes left by an experienced graduating class led by three-time Vermont All-State selection Sloane Morse, but his participation numbers are strong in preseason, and he likes his chances of the program continuing to ascend.
“We graduated five senior starters who earned All-State and All-Mountain League honors. They played pivotal roles in our team’s success, so this year is as good a time as any to move down a Division. Twenty-three players coming out for the team this fall is very encouraging. Included in that is eight freshmen and that will give us enough numbers to schedule some junior varsity games this season. The program’s future looks solid and I’m excited for our younger players to get a chance to step up and show what they can do as they take over more responsibility within our team,” said Morse.
Junior Captain Eliska Siebenbrunner returns for Morse and will take over as leader of the defense in goal. Fellow junior Trinity Madison will also be a captain for Cal United this season, along with sophomore Jaidyn Carson.
“Both of our new captains add not just skill and peer teaching but also exhibit the commitment and positivity that is so crucial in good leadership. We also have some great supporting cast throughout the lineup and some very coachable players. We expect to see great improvement as the season rolls on,” said Morse.
Morse’s program won 14 games in a rugged Division III the last two seasons and enters a wide-open Division IV this fall led by a defending champion Richford team that ran the table as an unprecedented #11 seed last fall.
Cal United opens their season at Danville on Friday against a Mountain League powerhouse BFA-Fairfax program that made it to the Division III state title match last season.
