MONTPELIER – Head coach Harry Besett’s young Hazen Union soccer team showed grit in a pair of losses to Division II Montpelier and U-32 last week, falling to 6-5-1 on the season.
Django Matchstick set up Will Curtis for the only goal of the contest as Montpelier withstood a game effort from the Wildcats to escape with a 1-0 home win last Wednesday. Curtis banged home his 16th goal of the season for the game winner early in the second half and withstood several scares late from the Hazen to post their eighth straight win. Julian Leendertse turned away a pair of shots, including a low diving save late to his near post to preserve the fifth shutout of the season for the Solon defense. McNaughten continued his rock-solid season for the Wildcats, posting 10 saves in the loss. Montpelier remains near the top of the Division II standings with a 10-1 record.
“Montpelier is a strong Division II team, and their coach was complimentary about how far our program has come after the match. We did well in the middle of the field and in the back but need to transition better into the final third! That’s what we’ll continue to work on as we hopefully get back to scoring some goals,” said Besett.
The offensive woes continued for the Wildcats on Saturday as U-32 blanked the Wildcats on the road 2-0. Brandon O’Donnell converted a second half penalty kick for the eventual game-winner and Carlie Pickel added an insurance goal late as the Raiders reeled off their fourth win in five matches. Riley Cadorette earned his second shutout of the season with six saves and McNaughten stopped five shots in the loss. It was a reunion of sorts for Besett coaching against current U-32 head coach Mike Noyes as he played his high school soccer career for the Wildcats under Noyes.
“There were some glory days memories for sure but after halftime honors they pressured us with their frontline, leading to the penalty in the box. Its concerning losing four in a row without being able to find the back of the net and we just looked exhausted at times, unable to create quality chances. We knew going into the season that our schedule would be challenging in October. We’re prioritizing playoff preparation in our last two matches as we hope to remind ourselves how to find the back of the net and react positively on the field when things don’t go our way,” said Besett.
Hazen hosted Peoples Academy Tuesday on Senior Night and travel to Lyndon Institute on Friday in a regular season finale matchup that could determine whether or not the Wildcats will host a home playoff match. All home games can be streamed on Hardwick Community Television (hctv.us).
