Colonel girls struggle through a tough soccer season

The Brattleboro Colonels girls' soccer team has been battling injuries and hard luck all season. Friday's game against Hartford at Tenney Field was no exception, as the Colonels were beaten by the Hurricanes, 3-1.

Bethany Bouthillier, Clara Leister, and Jesse Gofberg all scored for Hartford before Linnea Jahn tallied Brattleboro's only goal off a Chiara Leven throw-in.

The Colonels had plenty of chances, but Hartford goalkeeper Jen Mariotti shut down Brattleboro in the first half, and her understudy, Ava Simond, did almost as well in the second half.

Brattleboro finished the week at 2-4-1, and the girls hope that October will be a lot better than September has been.

Girls' soccer

• Green Mountain edged Twin Valley, 2-1, last Monday in Chester. Savannah Nesbitt was the Wildcats' only goal scorer.

On Wednesday, the Twin Valley girls found themselves in the same fix as the boys - forced to play a home game on the road. The Wildcats journeyed to Bennington and lost to Mill River, 6-2. Sammy Cunningham and Jordan Niles scored in the first half, but Mill River broke the game open with 4 goals in the second half.

• Leland & Gray is in an awful slump. They were beaten by Proctor, 5-1, last Tuesday. Nicole Sherman got the only goal for the Rebels. On Friday, they were shut out, 4-0, by Black River to fall to 1-5.

Boys' soccer

• Matt Marchica scored 3 goals as Bellows Falls beat Green Mountain, 4-3, last Monday. Drew Guild added another goal as the Terriers survived a tough match with plenty of agressive play.

It looked like the Terriers would get another win against Windsor on Friday, but BF let a 2-0 lead get away and settled for a 2-2 tie in a game cut short by thunderstorms with 5 minutes to play. In a rematch on Saturday in Windsor, BF lost, 1-0.

• Leland & Gray lost a 1-0 match at Windsor last Monday, and continued to struggle on Saturday with a 6-1 road loss to BFA-Fairfax.

• Proctor clobbered Twin Valley, 6-1, last Monday. Keegan Reed got the Wildcats' lone goal. On Wednesday, Twin Valley had to take on Green Mountain in Brattleboro because there wasn't a field in the Deerfield Valley that was playable due to days of rain. Green Mountain ultimately prevailed, 4-3. Ricardo Pereira, Reed and Colin Lozito got all of the Wildcats' goals in the first half.

Football

• Bellows Falls made it two wins in a row after three straight losses with a 24-0 win over U-32 in East Montpelier on Friday night.

Bruce Wells ran for 113 yards and had a pair of 47-yard touch­down runs to lead the Terriers. Will Bourne added a 26-yard touchdown run, and quarterback Jeremy Kilburn scored on a one-­yard sneak.

The Terriers' defense held U-32 to just 85 yards of total offense as both Wells and Bourne each intercepted a pass. Now 2-3, the Terriers will host North Country on Saturday at 1 p.m.

• Brattleboro kept it close, but a fourth quarter touchdown run by St. Johnsbury's Sam Hutchins gave the Hilltoppers a 12-7 victory. It was Hutchins' second touchdown run in the game.

The Colonels got their only score of the day on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Higley to Hassan Cansler. The 1-4 Colonels host Burlington on Friday night.

Field hockey

• Anna Clark scored with 6 seconds left in the game to give Bellows Falls a 1-0 win at Fair Haven last Monday. It was the first victory of the season for the Terriers. BF then lost 2-1 in overtime to Windsor on Friday. The Terriers ended the week at 1-4-1.

• Brattleboro started its week with a 6-0 loss at Rutland last Monday.

Cross country

• In a six-team meet in Woodstock last Tuesday, the Bellows Falls boys came in second, while Brattleboro was third.

BF placed five runners in the top 15, led by John Punger and Jamie Moore, who finished fourth and fifth, respec­tively. Tim Jones, Willie Moore and Collin Johnson wound up 10th, 11th and 12th, respectively.

Brattleboro's Jacob Ellis won the boys' race in 18:14, while Spencer Olson was ninth in 19:27. Allen Unaitis was 15th in 20:40, while Austin Nichols was 18th in 21:10, and Connor Chisolm was 22nd in 21:44.

Bellows Falls' Anna Clark was the girls' winner. Brattleboro's Helen Manning was 12th in 26:10 to lead the Colonels.

• In the Thetford Woods Trail Run on Saturday, Ellis came in fourth in 17:48, despite a fall on the muddy course just 50 yards from the finish line.

More than 1,300 runners from around New England competed in the event, which is Vermont's biggest cross country race outside of the state championship race that ends the season.

In the girls' race, Silverman sloshed across the finish line in 25:30 to lead the Brattleboro girls. Hannah Reichel was close behind in 25:33, Manning finished in 25:42, and Emma Straus ran a time of 28:13.

Women's ice hockey meeting on Oct. 6

• There will be an organization meeting for the Brattleboro Riverhawks women's ice hockey team on Thursday, Oct. 6, at 6:30 p.m., on the second floor of the Marlboro College Graduate Center on Vernon Street.

This is the annual all-team meeting for new and returning players. The Riverhawks' season runs from late October to the end of March. Practice starts on Oct. 22 and their first game is on Oct. 29. For more information, contact [email protected] or go to www.river­hawks.teampages.com.

Withington Rink opens on Oct. 22

• The Brattleboro Recreation & Parks Department will open the Nelson E. Withington Skating Facility for the season on Saturday, Oct. 22.

The public skating schedule is as follows: Mondays, 7-9 p.m. (Dollar Night); Tuesdays and Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. to noon (Adults Only); Fridays, 10:30 am to noon and 7-9 p.m. (Adults Only); Saturdays, 10:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.; and Sundays, 1:45-4:45 p.m., 7-9 p.m., and 9:15 to 10:15 p.m. (Adults Only)

The daily rates for using the Skating Facility for Brattleboro residents are $2 for students, and $3 for adults. Non-residents pay $1 more. Season passes for Brattleboro residents are $35 for students, $45 for adult, and $75 for families. For non-residents, the cost is $50 for student, $60 for adults, and $100 for families. If you purchase your season pass on or before Thursday, Oct. 20, you will receive a 10 percent discount.

Skate rentals are available at the rink for $2.50 per rental. A wide variety of sizes is available. Call the rink at 802-254-2311 for more information. For all other questions. call the Recreation & Parks Office at 802-254-5808.

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