U-32’s Russell Johnson (#14) battles with Stowe’s Lars Haagensen (#8) for possession of the ball during the second half. Haagensen had an assist and Johnson had a goal in the game. Photo by Bradley Smart.
Following two first-half goals, Stowe and U-32 remained in a deadlock through regulation and into overtime. The two Raider-named squads battled back and forth, and it appeared it would eventually end in 2013’s result:A 1-1 draw.
That didn’t happen, however, as Stowe senior midfielder Alec Wehse got his head on a corner kick from fellow senior Vince Van Patten in the 97th minute and sent it into the back of the net for the game-winner in a 2-1 victory.
“This is a very big win for us,” Stowe coach Brian Buzcek said. “U-32 is a really great club and you have to give a lot of credit to (U-32 coach) Steve Towne. His kids played really well, and their was no time today that I felt secure that we were going to win.”
U-32 (10-1-1) outshot Stowe (9-3), and drew first blood just four minutes into the game, but Wehse’s header sealed the deal in a back-and-forth, physical matchup. It ended U-32’s six-game winning streak and bid for an unbeaten season.
“I’m not upset; obviously you’d love to have the win,” Towne said. “But it’s not like we were outplayed. Both teams had opportunities and it came down to them getting that loose ball at the end. There’s nothing to hang your heads about.”
U-32 struck first when senior defender Kyle Vercherau sent a high, deep free kick from almost midfield that deflected around the box off of a Stowe defender. Russell Johnson leaped up when it bounced to him on the far post, powering it past a frozen Mark Infante in net for the 1-0 lead.
It was all Infante would let up as the sophomore keeper, wearing a Captain America-style jersey, was almost wielding a shield of his own. He racked up 13 saves over the course of the game, turning away several huge U-32 opportunties. He was matched, however, by fellow sophomore and U-32 keeper Mackinley Shaffer, who finished with 11 saves of his own.
Stowe was able to find an equalizer in the 21st minute. After a U-32 foul, one of many in a rugged match, Lars Haagensen played a free kick from the right side into the middle of the box. Teammate Chad Haggerty was there, lunging between a pair of defenders to head it in past a flat-footed Shaffer.
The two teams then played almost 80 minutes of scoreless action before Wehse’s header ended the game. There were plenty of chances for both teams, as U-32 and Stowe dueled for posession and racked up plenty of near-scoring opportunties.
They battled early in the second half, with U-32’s Ohan Fillbach and Russell Johnson both picking up yellow cards. Johnson’s rough tackle set up a dangerous free kick from Haagensen just outside the 18, but it was headed away by U-32 defender Erhan Cross, who enjoyed a productive game in the back.
“Erhan (Cross) was solid all day long in the back,” Towne said. “They kept pushing numbers down the sides and he was under pressure a lot, but he handled it really really well.”
U-32 had several chances of its own. Luke Carrier one-timed a deep through ball from Avery Tait that hit the side netting, and Henry John unleashed a ball that appeared to be heading into the back of the net but Infante displayed keen reflexes to snag it out of the air. It sent the game into overtime, U-32’s second in as many games after a dramatic win over GMVS.
They weren’t able to pull out the same heroics, however, against Stowe. Sam Thompson sent in a good deep ball on a corner kick, but it was cleared out. After a costly foul from Nate Lavigne deep in U-32’s defensive third, Haagensen sent in a beautiful shot that could have ended the game 5:00 into overtime.
Shaffer, however, leaped up and punched it away with one hand. He saw increased pressure after that, but the U-32 defense bent and didn’t break in front of the sophomore. It was a second consecutive stellar effort in goal as Derek Cote turned in 10 saves against GMVS.
He wasn’t able to get to Wehse’s finish 7:00 into the second overtime period. The ball deflected and Shaffer turned for it but Wehse was there for the finish on Stowe’s homecoming in front of a rowdy student crowd.
“It was as much of a 50-50, back-and-forth game as we’ve been a part of for sure,” Buzcek said. “We’ve been thinking a way that we need to get better was to look for a far post cross, and we scored both of our goals that way.”
It dropped U-32 to 10-1-1. The Raiders continue their tough stretch of games with a matchup against divisional rival Harwood on Wednesday, with the Highlanders sitting at 4-7.
“As a whole the team played well today,” Towne said. “This was kind of like a playoff game, and we still have a good team in Harwood. They’re going to challenge us.”
Stowe improved to 9-3. They face 3-7-1 Lyndon on Wednesday as well.
“It’s really exciting for us to put ourself in place to compete against a top level D-II team as a D-III team,” Buzcek said. “It gives us some momentum for the final portion of our season. We’re really excited for our chances once we get into playoffs.”
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