-In 2022, the Twin Valley Wildcats girls' soccer team had a 0-14 record and did not score a goal all season. Last year, the Wildcats had a 6-7-1 record and lost 2-0 to Winooski in the first round of the Division IV playoffs.
Can the Wildcats continue their improvement this season? Against Sharon Academy, a team that upset Leland & Gray in the first round of the Division IV playoffs last year, the Wildcats dominated from start to finish in a 5-0 win in their season opener at Hayford Field on Aug. 30.
"There's a lot of discipline and togetherness with this group, on and off the field," said Wildcats head coach Taryn Lawrence, who was the coach during that winless 2022 season.
The last active player from that team is senior Alejandra Bevilacqua. She is the lone senior on this year's team, a team that has seven sophomores, three ninth-graders, and two eighth-graders. Lawrence said Bevilacqua, who anchors the Wildcats' defense, has taken the leadership role on this year's team.
"We've been working on playing together and distributing the ball," Lawrence said. "Last year, we focused on playing hard for 80 minutes. This year, we're focusing on being creative with the ball."
That showed in the first half of the game. Despite having the wind at their backs, Sharon failed to have a shot on goal while Twin Valley cashed in three goals.
Sophomore forward Scarlett Cimino opened the scoring for Twin Valley with 26:33 left in the half, and eighth-grade forward Nella Warner followed with a pair of goals. Her first came with 17:37 to play, and she would score again with 90 seconds left in the half.
Twin Valley kept the momentum going in the second half as sophomore midfielder Carla Sprague scored with 29:01 to play and Cimino would get her second goal of the day with 35 seconds left in the game.
As was the case in the first half, sophomore goalkeeper Kate Oyer had very little to do as the Twin Valley defense kept Sharon from putting together any good chances to put an effective shot on goal.
At press time, the 1-0 Wildcats were set to host Poultney in the first night game of the season on Sept. 3.
Girls' soccer
• Brattleboro has a busy first week. The Bears opened the season with a 2-1 loss at Burr & Burton on Aug. 29. They were set to play their home opener on Sept. 2 against Pioneer Valley Regional before heading to Bennington for the annual Lady Patriot Tournament on Sept. 4 and 6.
Brattleboro is hoping for a breakthrough year in 2025. They have 20 players on the varsity squad, 12 of them returnees from last year's team that was upset by Mount Mansfield in the quarterfinal round of the Division I playoffs. It was a disappointing end for a team that finished 10-4 in the regular season, but the core of that team is back this season and they are determined to make a deeper run in the playoffs.
Senior striker Reese Croutworst, Brattleboro's all-time leading goal scorer, is back for her final season. She is one of the best players in Vermont; fast and tenacious with a nose for the goal. Every opponent has keyed their defense on Croutworst ever since her eighth-grade season at Twin Valley, and if she doesn't score, she finds ways to help her teammates score.
With last year's goalkeeper Abigail Henry transferring from BUHS, junior Naima Wade will step in. It will be her first year on the varsity, but if she can play in goal as well as she rebounded during her time at forward during the Bears' 2024-25 basketball season, there won't be any need to worry. Wade will have an experienced defense in front of her led by junior Sadie Cheslawski.
• Leland & Gray opened its season in Townshend on Sept. 2 with the Rebels hosting Springfield. The Rebels are also trying to put a first-round playoff upset in the rear view mirror. Last season, the fourth-seeded Rebels lost 1-0 to No. 13 Sharon Academy. This season, the Rebels hope for another shot at the Division IV state title.
It's not an unrealistic hope. Before last year's early exit, the Rebels reached the state finals in 2021, 2022, and 2023, with a championship in 2022. The Rebels have 15 returning players and a solid goalkeeper in senior Annabelle Brookes. They play a tough schedule, with a lot of Division III opponents, but they should do well this season.
• Bellows Falls opened its season on Aug. 29 in Dorset with a 3-2 win over Long Trail School. The Terriers' home opener is set for Sept. 5 against Poultney.
Boys' soccer
• Twin Valley's season last year ended with a 4-3 overtime loss in the Division IV final to two-time defending state champion Winooski.
Trips to the finals are expected for Twin Valley, but this season could be tough for the Wildcats. Longtime coach Buddy Hayford lost four starters from last year's team and several other players are battling an assortment of injuries.
But the Wildcats have a total of 26 players on the varsity and junior varsity rosters this season, with nine seniors and four juniors and a host of talented sophomores and ninth-graders. That depth was key to the Wildcats' 7-0 win over White River Valley on Aug. 29 at Hayford Field.
Sophomore forward Alex Sullivan scored three goals and junior midfielder Brayden Brown had two goals and three assists. Junior midfielder Niko Gerding had a goal and two assists and senior striker Carson McHale also scored. Ninth-grader Liam Mathiau picked up an assist.
Twin Valley led 3-0 at halftime and cruised from there as Wildcats goalkeepers Kaelyn Lackey and Davis Cole needed to make only one save each for the shutout victory. The Wildcats outshot White River Valley, 15-4.
• Brattleboro began its season with a road game against Pioneer Valley Regional in Northfield, Massachusetts, on Sept. 2. Pioneer put itself on the Bay State's sports map in the 2024-25 school year with undefeated seasons in boys' basketball and baseball, going a combined 52-0 in winning state championships in both sports. In other words, for a small school, they have a lot of good athletes.
The Bears' home opener is Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. against Woodstock, followed by a trip to Bennington for the annual John James Tournament on Sept. 11 and 13.
• There won't be a boys' soccer team in Bellows Falls this season. According to Athletic Director Rob Weltz, not enough players signed up and the school was unable to field a team. Weltz said that three or four BF players have received approval from the Vermont Principals' Association to play this season at Green Mountain High School.
• Leland & Gray opens its season in Townshend against Grace Christian School on Sept. 3.
Field hockey
• Brattleboro got the field hockey season started with their season opener against the Woodstock Wasps on Aug. 29. The Bears lost, 2-0.
Woodstock scored both goals off penalty corners in each half. Betta Cirovic had a goal and an assist, Grace Perreault also scored and Alexis Audsley picked up an assist. Wasps goalie Paige Stone made four saves. Bears goalie Erika Fletcher kept her team in the game with five saves.
The Bears will host the Bellows Falls Terriers on Sept. 3 at 4:15 p.m. at Sawyer Field. Bellows Falls, which had a busy preseason with two scrimmages against Burr & Burton and another against Woodstock, will have their first home game against U-32 on Sept. 6 at 11 a.m. The Terriers then host Brattleboro on Sept. 9 for a 4 p.m. game.
Brattleboro has most of the team back from last season's squad which won a first-round Division II playoff game against Mt. Abraham and lost to the eventual state champs, Hartford, in the second round. The Bears will have plenty of depth, with 22 players out for field hockey this season - plenty to fill the varsity ranks, but not quite enough to also have a full junior varsity team. This means everyone will see action this season, with the younger players splitting time between the two teams.
Fletcher, a senior, will anchor the defense, and the offense has plenty of speed with seniors Basma Rifaiy, Destiny Thibault, and Isabel Young; juniors Mary Cady, Elizabeth LaClair, and Suha Rifaiy; and sophomores Kennedy Unaitis and Anastasia Moshovetis all in the mix in the midfield and forward positions.
Senior bowling roundup
• The spring/summer season of the Brattleboro Senior Bowling League at Brattleboro Bowl concluded on Aug. 28 with Team 7 (62-28) having a 5-0 week to clinch first place. Slo Movers (56.5-33.5) had a 4-1 week to take second place. Dims (52-38) had a 5-0 week to move into third place, followed by Cyclones (48.5-41.5), Leftovers and Wayne's World (both 45-45), Having Fun (39-51), I.D. Care (38-52), 4 Queens (34.5-55.5), and Strikers (29.5-60.5).
Darlene Latabouche had the women's high handicap game (240) and Mary Piluski had the high handicap series (689). Kevin Napaver had the men's high handicap game (248) and series (686). Wayne's World had the high team handicap game (893) and Slo Movers had the high handicap series (2,474).
Napaver had the men's high scratch series (686), with games of 248, 227, and 211, while Chuck Adams had a 547 series and Milt Sherman had a 538 series with a 217 game. Stan Kolpa had a 523 series with games of 197 and 193, Rick Westcott had a 512 series, and Mike Pavlovich had a 190 game.
Pam Greenblott had the women's high scratch series (466), while Nancy Dalzell had the high scratch game (178). Greenblott had a 173 game, Deb Kolpa had a 171 game, and Carol Gloski rolled a 164.
• And, in case you missed it, Sabine Poux of Vermont Public did a nice feature story on the Senior League last week. You can see and hear her story at vermontpublic.org/local-news/2025-08-25/brattleboro-senior-bowling-league.
Randolph T. Holhut, deputy editor of this newspaper, has written this column since 2010 and has covered sports in Windham County since the 1980s. Readers can send him sports information at [email protected].
This Sports column by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.