HARDWICK – The Hazen Union girls soccer team put a punctuation on an impressive regular season with a pair of shutout wins last week that included the celebration of a special group of seniors that came through the Lady Cat program.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
Taylor Thompson broke out with the first hat-trick of her career last Wednesday to lead the Lady Cats to a 3-0 home win over Caledonia United. Thompson literally took it coast-to-coast on her first goal, beating several Cal United defenders along the way to make it 1-0 with five minutes left in the first half. Thompson’s perfectly placed direct kick from 25 yards out made it 2-0 five minutes into the second half and added an insurance goal off a Cal United defender with fifteen minutes left in regulation. Cal United’s defense did a good job marking Lady Cat scoring leader Isabelle Gouin, but Thompson stepped up and showed why she was a Vermont All-State selection as just a sophomore. Kelsie Rivard made six saves to preserve the shutout.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
“It took a while for both teams to literally warm up in the match, and Taylor capped off a phenomenal night scoring in three different ways. Cal United’s Phoebe Crocker kept them in the match with a great night in goal,” said head coach Megan Mercier.
Kelsie Rivard and Mya Lumsden provided the offense on Saturday, powering Hazen to a 2-0 home win over BFA-Fairfax on Senior Night. Rivard gave the home team a 1-0 advantage on an unassisted goal nine minutes into the match. Lumsden finished a pass from Gouin with sixty seconds left to play in the half in what would be the final score of the match. Gouin nearly made it 3-0 in the second half when she rocketed a penalty kick off the post, and fellow Craftsbury Academy senior Adelina Augsberger just missed the far post on the rebound. Ella Renaud made eight stops and Rivard, one, to record the ninth shutout of the season for the Lady Cat defense. Emily Dearborn made five saves for Fairfax, who finished up the regular season at 5-10. Julia des Groseillers, Brianna Holbrook, Gouin, Augsberger, Renaud, team manager Danica Patridge, and Hazen cross-country runner Chloe Dyer were all honored before the match for their outstanding high school careers. Gouin posted her second straight season with 20 plus goals scored for the Lady Cats and will finish her career with the school record. The 2024 Vermont All-State selection was honored earlier in the week with a game ball by Kaitlyn (Forant) Jacobs, who had held the previous school record for 16 years.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
“That special group of seniors will be tough to replace. It was great to see them end their final regular season game on a high note,” said Mercier.
Mercier has led the Lady Cat program to 11 wins in her first season at the helm, earning the No. 5 seed in the upcoming Division III state tournament. Hazen will match up with Fairfax for a third time this season on Wednesday in the opening round at Hudson Fields. If they advance, they will likely travel to fourth seeded Fair Haven on Saturday in the quarterfinal round. All home matches can be streamed live on Hardwick Community Television (hctv.us).
