Losing seasons are never any fun, but Bellows Falls girls' soccer coach John Broadley has coached long enough to know that success in high school soccer is cyclical. Some years, you have lots of players coming out for the team and a talent pipeline filled with young successors. Other years, the cupboard is bare.
In 2010, the Terrier girls were 1-12-1. The following year, BF went 11-4-1 and made it all the way to the semifinals.
This year's edition of the Terrier girls have lost 10 straight games, the latest loss a 5-0 decision on Oct. 7 against Leland & Gray in Townshend. They have been outscored, 66-6, in those games. They have been shut out six times.
But Broadley knows if his underclasswomen can make it through this year, better days might be ahead.
“We've got big classes in the middle school and our numbers will be back up,” he said. “It won't always be like this.”
All the Rebels' goals came in the first half and came off scrambles in front of the BF goal.
Hannah Buffum broke the ice in the third minute with an unassisted goal. Jesse Stockwell then scored twice with her first coming from Ashley Bates in the 10th minute, and her second from Sierra Fillion in the 15th minute. Bates got a goal of her own from Mackenzie Boyle at the midpoint of the half, and Skylar Nupp got an unassisted goal in the 37th minute.
But the surprising thing was that even though they were down five goals and had no chance of winning, the Terriers came out in the second half and played with more confidence on defense, especially goalkeeper Alyssa Dejesus, who finished with 21 saves.
“That was a sterling performance in the second half,” Broadley said. “If they play every half like that, we'll get good results.”
Most important for Broadley was that his players “witnessed themselves playing that well. They know they have to fight for every ball and keep working.”
For Rebels coach Lucas Bates, he was happy to have his team take care of business and avoid an upset as goalkeeper Anna Jutras made four saves for the shutout. The Rebels finished the week at 4-7-1.
“It's always dangerous facing a team hungry for a win,” he said. “We know we have to play for a full 80 minutes to win games, and we really didn't do that today.”
Field hockey
• On Oct. 5, Bellows Falls found themselves in a situation they have not been in for three years - losing back-to-back regular season games.
The Terriers did not lose a regular season game in 2013 or 2014, but Hartford snapped the streak on Oct. 5 with a 1-0 home win. Morgan Horne scored the only goal of the game at the four minute mark for the Hurricanes, and Rachel Loseby made six saves in goal to make Horne's tally stand up.
BF traveled to Brandon two days later to play Otter Valley, and the Otters came out on top, 2-1. After giving up a goal in the first 19 seconds, the Terriers tied the game three minutes later when Lela Robinson scored. But the Otters scored again at the midpoint of the first half and held on for the win.
While the Terriers finished the week in first place in Division III with a 6-2-2 record, they are starting to hear footsteps from their rivals.
• A 0-0 tie normally isn't cause for excitement, but for a young team like Brattleboro, it's cause for celebration.
After a senior night ceremony to honor Laura Freeman and Hannah Wilson, Colonels goalie Olivia Weeks made six saves to earn the shutout against the Springfield Cosmos on Oct. 8 at Tenney Field.
Goalie Aunna Parker made nine saves for the Cosmos, and withstood the pressure of the Colonels in the 10-minute 7-0n-7 overtime period.
Penalty corners were even for both teams at eight apiece.
Brattleboro is now 2-7-2 and still has a chance to make the Division I playoffs.
Girls' soccer
• Green Mountain's Avery Prescott scored with 10 minutes left in the game, and the Chieftains held on to defeat visiting Twin Valley, 1-0, on Oct. 5.
Brianna Rafus made 15 saves for the Wildcats, as Twin Valley was outshot, 16-4, by Green Mountain. It was the sixth time in 10 games that Twin Valley was held scoreless.
Two days later, the Wildcats lost a 4-3 match to Windsor. Maddy Morse scored three goals for Windsor, and the Twin Valley defense added an own goal. Karlie Walkowiak scored two goals for Twin Valley, Kaylea Niles added another as the Wildcats fell to 3-8.
Boys' soccer
• Brattleboro rallied from a two-goal deficit on the road to beat Hartford, 3-2, on Oct. 5. The Colonel comeback started with a header by Tanner Bell in the 62nd minute. Jeremy Rounds tied the game six minutes later and Anthony Piergentili put away the game-winner in the 77th minute. Declan Lonergan, Piergentili and Rounds all had one assist. Brian McCarthy got the win in goal.
• Leland & Gray traveled to Windsor on Oct. 5 and came away with a 3-1 win. The Rebels dominated from start to finish, with just a last-minute goal by Windsor's Tanner McMullen to spoil the shutout. Aaron Claussen and Owen McDonald scored in the first half, and McDonald also scored in the second half.
• Twin Valley blanked Green Mountain, 2-0, at Hayford Field on Oct. 6. The Chieftains were held to one shot on goal in the first half as Chris Robinson scored for the Wildcats. Green Mountain put a little more pressure on Twin Valley in the second half, but the Wildcats kept their cool and Justin Hicks scored the insurance goal in the 67th minute.
Football
• The Essex offense exploded for four second-half touchdowns as the Hornets cruised past Brattleboro, 34-6, in a Division I game last Friday night in Essex.
Essex never trailed in this game. Liam Coulter had a two-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Brattleboro came close to tying the game late in the first half when Tony Martinez connected with Taylor King with a 21-yard touchdown pass. However, the extra point was blocked and Essex held on to a 7-6 at the half.
Things went downhill fast for the Colonels in the second half. After a Cheick Diakite fumble at the goal line, Essex took the ball 80 yards for a score as Eli DiGrande found Otis Crock for a 25-yard touchdown pass.
DiGrande, Elliot Boutin, and Jordan Hines all ran in touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Hornets improved to 2-5.
Diakite finished with 58 yards of rushing for 3-4 Brattleboro. The Colonels travel to Bennington this Friday night to take on Mount Anthony.
• The Bellows Falls Terriers stayed undefeated in Division II with a 32-14 win over Burlington at Buck Hard Field last Friday night.
Ball control was the key to this victory. Burlington made BF work for the win, but in the end, the ground-and-pound Terriers offense put the game away with a 13-play, 94-yard scoring drive in the third quarter that gobbled up more than seven minutes of the clock.
The Terriers racked up 400 yards of offense on the ground. The 1-2 punch of running back Jahyde Bullard and fullback Jacob Lober did the bulk of the damage. Bullard ran for 163 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, while Lober added 125 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
BF jumped out to a 22-0 lead on touchdown runs by Bullard, Lober, and Chris McKeen, but Burlington came back to make it 22-14 before the Terriers went on that 94-yard drive that was capped off by an 11-yard touchdown run by Bullard.
The Terriers are still on top in Division II with a 7-0 overall record, 6-0 in the division. But they will have a stiff test this Saturday night in Manchester against the high-scoring offense of Burr & Burton.
Cross-country
• The Bellows Falls boys were winners of a six-team cross country meet on Oct. 6 at the North Springfield Dam.
BF's Cody Tallent won the boys race in 18 minutes, 27 seconds as part of a dominant performance by the Terrier boys. The Terriers had four other runners finish in the top 10 - Nick Potter (fourth in 20:34), Jackson Purdy (fifth in 21:05), Ian Wallace (seventh in 21:29), and Cameron Joy (10th in 21:55).
BF won with a score of 27, followed by Thetford (49) and Springfield (92). Green Mountain, Hartford, and Windsor didn't have enough runners tor a team score.
In the girls' race, the lone BF runner, Lia Clark, was the winner in 22:55. Thetford won the team event with 43 points. Springfield was second with 70, and Green Mountain, Hartford, and Windsor didn't have enough runners tor a team score.
• Brattleboro's Isaac Freitas-Eagan finished third in a Marble Valley League meet in Manchester on Oct. 6 as the Colonel boys finished first overall.
Freitas-Eagan covered the course in 18:51, while teammate Josh Meachen was sixth in 19:13, Jonah Koch was 10th in 19:24 and Trevor Kipp was 12th in 20:16.
New youth bowling program begins
• Brattleboro Bowl on Putney Road is now taking registrations for a new youth league this year. The first session will be held with a choice of either Tuesday or Friday nights at 6 p.m. and begins this week.
The cost will be $10 per week which includes three games, shoe rentals, and a free bowling ball at the end of the session. If payment is made in full at the start, the bowling ball can be ordered for use during the session. Boys and girls under age 18 may register. Stop by Brattleboro Bowl or call 802-257-1177 and ask for Kim for further details.
Creepy-Crawl race to benefit Guilford Central School
• Guilford Central School is hosting a 5K run on Saturday, Oct. 24. The Creepy-Crawl begins at the school and takes you through the haunted hills of Guilford. Runners are encouraged to wear costumes. Prizes are awarded for all ages.
Registration opens at 8:30 a.m., and the race starts at 9:30 a.m. The entry fee $10 is per person. Register by Oct. 20 to receive a free T-shirt (courtesy of Olympia Sports). For more information, contact Lisa at [email protected].