State Championship Harwood vs Woodstock!
Saturday, November 3 - 1:00 p.m. -
South Burlington High School
$8 for Adults, $5 for Seniors/Students
Harwood 2, Lake Region 0
In the semifinal game for the Division II title, Harwood hosted Lake Region High School on October 30 for a chilly match that would send one team home.
Lake Region took control early and kept the ball in the Harwood defensive zone for the better portion of the first half. Lake Region showed no mercy, as they took quick shots making Highlander senior goaltender Max Hill work hard in the net. Hill made his first save just four minutes into the game.
Harwood tried to connect passes, their strong suit, by switching the field and sending the ball cross field for a waiting offense man to be sent in the crease to shoot. Lake Region picked the ball off those passes and drew Harwood in for offsides calls.
Fancy foot worker Markus Baird maneuvered around Lake Region’s defense after an assisted pass from Jesse McDougal, to give a light kick that would trickle over the goal line past Lake Region’s keeper to put Harwood up 1-0.
Ten minutes later in the first half, Harwood scored their second goal with a shot outside the goalie crease for another slow shot, netted by senior Duncan Weinman. The score would remain 2-0 going into halftime.
Harwood and Lake Region were aggressive on the field with their tackles, with an abundance of body contact to gain possession of the ball.
Harwood, after the half, came out hungry for the win and maintained the possession they lacked in the early first half. They would control the ball for the first 10 minutes in the second half before Lake Region could get the ball past the 50-yard line.
Harwood would run out the clock to maintain their lead, their efforts going to the final buzzer with the scoreboard reading a 2-0 victory to send them to the championship game.
Head coach Joe Yalicki on the game: “Lake Region came to play and gave us a valiant effort. The two early goals opened up the game for us and I was very happy with the composure in the second half. We kept the ball and attacked at smart times. I hope we can do a lot of the same stuff on Saturday, but ultimately we need to find the back of the net a few times.”
The championship game will be Saturday, November 3, at South Burlington High School against the No. 2 seeded Woodstock.
QUARTERFINAL
Tuesday’s game came after an October 26 game against Milton that Harwood won 1-0.
In the quarterfinal round of the Division II boys’ soccer, No. 1 seed Harwood and No. 8 seed Milton faced off in a game that would go into overtime.
Milton came into the game with a fierce determination to win and put an end to Harwood’s undefeated season. The game was equally matched throughout its entirety, as Milton matched Harwood stride for stride.
In both teams’ intensity, they were aggressive in their pursuit of the ball, grabbing at each other to better their odds at possession. Milton was carded early in the match as the first half came to an end with the game scoreless.
In the second half, Harwood had ample opportunities for goals as they would get fast breaks up the field and shoot as they reached the goalkeeper. Their shots proved not to be hard enough to get past Milton’s keeper.
Harwood senior goalkeeper Max Hill saved a penalty corner kick at 11:40 in the second half and took on another one at 5:57 that his team helped out with by knocking down.
At the end of the second half, still scoreless, the game went into overtime.
Harwood made fast tracks down the field, trying to keep the ball in the offensive zone. With 15 minutes to go in overtime, Harwood received a corner that would be kicked in by sophomore Hayden Adams that would soar high and be deflected off the head of fellow sophomore Will Lapointe to score.
