Avery Tait takes the ball up the wing in the first half of action.
A high school sports season can be draining on a team’s starters, especially for a team entering a tough stretch of games. U-32 boys soccer, the No. 2 ranked team in D-II, were able to rest many of their starters as the Raiders rolled to a 9-0 shutout of Northfield, scoring seven times in the first half alone. Ohan Fillbach and Sam Thompson both scored twice for U-32, who saw five other players find the back of the net.
“Eight to ten minutes into the first half, we started to sync up,” U-32 coach Steve Towne said. “We created lots of opportunities and beat them down the flanks to the corners. It wasn’t just one player, it was a team effort.”
Russell Johnson scored nine minutes in, sending in a header off of a well-placed corner kick from Noah Elmore. With a strong posession game, U-32 was able to dominate over the next 30 minutes, scoring and shooting at will. Fillbach scored back-to-back goals just three minutes apart before coming out and playing limited minutes over the rest of the game.
Fillbach, who got the ball in the right corner off of a strong long ball from Gus Obeldobel, beat one defender coming across the middle of the field before slotting it into the bottom left corner, beating Northfield keeper Jackson Clayton. His second goal was more casual, as he used some nifty footwork to get right in front of the goal before effortlessly poking it past Clayton.
Thompson would push the lead to 4-0 just under three minutes leader. After his initial shot off of a free kick pass from Fillbach was batted away, Thompson stepped up and created space before sending home his rebound. Alex Capocchi would find the back of the net with seven minutes left in the half, as the sophomore exchange student capitalized on some confusion.
Clayton, who would finish with ten saves in just 33 minutes, went down on the play. The freshman keeper remained down but no whistle was blown by either referee, allowing Capocchi to send it home from the left side after maneuvering into position. This followed a hard foul on Capocchi that earned the Raiders a penalty kick, but defender Nate Lavigne was unable to send it home.
However, U-32’s second penalty kick was converted by Corrigan Collier, who hesitated and faked out replacement goalie Dylan Currier- who would finish with five saves- before sending it into the bottom right. It capped the first half scoring for U-32 at seven, as the Raiders let the foot off the gas and rested the likes of Johnson, Fillbach and Nik Killoran for extended periods of time.
The Raiders would still score two more goals, as Luke Carrier beat several Marauder defenders single-handely. After flicking it over one Northfield player on the sideline with a nifty kick, Carrier sprinted to goal, cut back inside and sent it flying off the unaware Curriers hand and into the back of the net. Thompson would cap the scoring with his second goal, a volley goal off of a nice redirection from Henry John. It was Thompson’s second multi-goal effort of the year.
U-32 goalies Derek Cote and Mackinley Shaffer each recorded just one save. It was Shaffer’s birthday, and the sophomore was next in line to take a penalty kick.
This game is now in the past however, Towne stressed. “The rest of the season is tough,” he said. “Both of the teams we play this week (GMVS and Stowe) are high-end teams, and we need to come and play.”
The Gumbies, who beat U-32 in 2013, are 4-1-1 since returning from their ski trip to Chile. They host the Raiders on Thursday, while U-32 travels to Stowe (8-3) on Saturday. Stowe, also the Raiders, tied U-32 last season.
U-32 is now 9-0-1.
ZSN 