In-depth previews of upcoming season
Who’s back and ready for another season? Who’s joining varsity ranks for the first time? Read on below as we delve into our Chittenden County team outlooks for high school girls soccer.
The in-depth previews include a look at key returning players, newcomers and storylines for each of the nine Chittenden County programs.
The 2023 campaign opens Friday, Sept. 1, and wraps for regular-season play by Saturday, Oct. 21. First-round playoff games are slated for Oct. 24 and 25, and championship contests across the four divisions are scheduled for the Nov. 3-4-5 weekend at sites to be determined.
Enjoy!
Burlington High School
Coach: Jeff Hayes (17th season)
Last season: 10-6; lost to Mount Mansfield in Division I quarterfinals.
Key returnees: Vivian Halladay, goalie, senior; Brooks DeShaw, midfield/forward, senior; Rosie Perkinson, midfield; senior; Scout Harper, defense, senior; Tessa Napolitano, defense, junior; Calista Simon, midfield, junior; Glenna Westbrook, midfield, junior; Amelia Dion, midfield, senior; Ava Tonizzo, goalie, sophomore.
Key newcomer: Too early to tell. Outlook: The Seahorses have the potential and promise to be Metro and Division I contenders again. The proof is in the team’s returning talent: DeShaw (19 goals, 5 assists in 2022) headlines a group of 13 veterans, seven of whom were starters a year ago when they fell in a close battle to Mount Mansfield in the quarterfinal round. “We are going to be right up there, we are going to be competitive,” Hayes said. Burlington’s strengths rest in the midfield and forward lines, although Hayes stressed the need to develop more goalscorers to take some of the load off DeShaw. Defensively, Scout, an all-star for Burlington’s championship Ultimate squad in the spring, and Napolitano figure to play key roles on a rebuilt back line for the Seahorses. “We are going to be a well-rounded team,” Hayes said.
Champlain Valley Union High School
Coach: Stan Williams (11th season)
Last season: 15-0-1; defeated Mount Mansfield for Division I championship.
Key returnees: Chloe Pecor, forward, senior; Ava Barron, midfield, senior; Stella Dooley, defense, senior; Zoe Klein, midfield/forward, senior.
Key newcomers: Too early to tell. Outlook: Heavy precipitation and CVU’s clay-based surfaces are a bad mix, and Williams’ crew missed some critical outside work during tryouts because of the school’s unplayable fields. Williams and his coaching staff landed on a 23-player varsity squad in time for scrimmages before the start of their title defense in Friday’s season opener at Mount Anthony. “We made it work, between getting indoors and figuring out other places,” Williams said. The Redhawks return seven starters from the 2022 championship game — 16 players overall — and bring on several talented newcomers who should find minutes to produce on this deep squad. “Team depth and speed is going to be really good,” Williams said. Of those returnees, CVU has the “spine” of its formation back in forward Pecor, central midfielder Barron and center back Dooley. Pecor is the reigning Free Press player of the year following a record-setting 27-goal, 7-assist season.
Colchester High School
Coach: Jeff Paul (23nd season)
Last season: 13-2-1; lost to Mount Mansfield in Division I semifinals.
Key returnees: Kelsi Pratt, midfield, senior; Isabel Benoure, defense, senior; Ava Moore, forward, junior; Emily Thompson, goalie, senior; Isabelle Winton, midfield/forward, junior; Brinlee Gilfillan, midfield/forward, sophomore; Elsie MacAuley, midfield, sophomore; Lilly Connor, defense, junior.
Key newcomers: Kate Bradford, defense, sophomore; Isabella Benson, defense, junior.
Outlook: With 11 returnees and about half-a-dozen starters back in the fold, the Lakers are motivated to end a 30year title drought. Colchester lost in the semifinal round for the third straight year last fall. “There’s definitely some hunger there. They want it to be a great year, but they also understand there’s a lot of work to be done,” Paul said. “We have our work cut out for us and we have a long way to go. We are excited about the opportunity.” The speedy and athletic Lakers are paced by Moore, who tallied 18 goals and 4 assists in 2022, and other weapons like Gilfillan, a track sprint champion, Pratt in the midfield and Benoure on defense. The graduation loss of all-state player Maeve MacAuley will be hard to replace, but Bradford has the confidence of the coaching to step in and fill a valuable piece on Colchester’s back line. “The key for us to play consistently,” Paul said.
Essex High School
Coach: Kevin Barber (seventh season)
Last season: 4-7-5; lost to CVU in Division I quarterfinals.
Key returnees: Breya Montague, defense, senior; Hailey Routhier, defense, senior; Kelsie Scanlon, goalie, junior; Avery Stockamore, midfield, senior. Key newcomers: Too early to tell. Outlook: It should be no secret: The Essex Hornets are a tough group defensively with three all-state players in Montague, Routhier and Scanlon, who made the Free Press first team as a sophomore last fall. Routhier returns to the lineup following a missed season due to an ACL injury to form a strong back-line duo with Montague. “We are going to be pretty good (on defense), that’s where our strength is,” Barber said. The Routhier-Montague pairing will likely allow Barber to move other key players around and push forward with high pressure to generate goalscoring chances. The loss of forward Sarah Hall to prep school also means Essex will need to focus on developing more offensive threats. “It will be scoring by committee and it might be a lot of messy goals,” Barber said. “We’ll be inspired to take risks because we are solid in the back.” Overall, Essex has seven seniors and 11 returnees plus the addition of four freshmen.
Milton High School
Coach: Cait Fogel (first season) Last season: 10-7-1; lost to Rice in Division II championship.
Key returnees: Holley MacLellan, midfield, junior; Cianna Tomasi, forward, junior; Ally Hoffman, midfield, junior; Savannah Monahan, forward/ midfield, sophomore.
Key newcomers: Logan Freeman, midfield, junior; Marlie Bushey, defense/midfield, sophomore.
Outlook: Under new leadership with alum Fogel now in charge, Milton returns a “strong foundation” and core group looking to put their stamp on the tradition-rich program. MacLellan, the reigning Lake Division player of the year, has added leadership responsibilities, and Monahan, the team’s leading goalscorer in 2022 with 16 tallies, will get looks up top and in the midfield. “The players know what I expect and I’ve let them know of the potential I see in the program,” said Fogel, who graduated from Milton in 2016 after winning a pair of titles. “But that doesn’t guarantee we will make (the final) again without putting in the work.” The loss of Hannah Smiley (ACL) and the graduation of Brooke Rouse puts into question who will step up on Milton’s back line. Depth off the bench is also a concern for Fogel. “After a week or so of preseason, I feel a little bit better,” Fogel said, “and I leave each practice more and more excited and confident for what the season is going to bring.”
Mount Mansfield Union High School
Coach: Peter Albright (second season)
Last season: 11-4-1; lost to CVU in Division I championship.
Key returnees: Finley Barker, midfield, senior; Maddison Doyle, defense, senior; Chloe DeJong, midfield, sophomore; Sofia Randall, midfield, sophomore; Tonie Cardinal, goalie, junior; Mallory Chicoine, forward, sophomore; Grace Hodgdon, midfield, senior; Katie Leach, defense, senior.
Key newcomers: Delilah Locher, sophomore, forward; Evie Keblin, forward, freshman.
Outlook: The return of nine starters following their run to the title game gives the Cougars the confidence they can be in the mix again this fall. “It’s always a danger when you make the state championship and you expect to be back again. A lot has to happen,” Albright said. “We have a good group and if we are able to build the cohesion we are trying to build and have the right mentality, we can be a team that can be competitive in the tournament.” Albright has made some positional changes to drive play through a midfield triangle of Barker, DeJong and Randall, who played out wide as a freshman. Doyle and Leach will anchor the defense and Chicoine, a key reserve last year, could be MMU’s top scoring threat. Hodgdon also emerged last year with her assertive play. “I want to be a team that is difficult to play against,” Albright said.
Rice Memorial High School
Coach: Aubrey Ouellet (seventh season)
Last season: 12-5-1; defeated Milton for Division II championship.
Key returnees: Izzy Bloom, defense, senior; Raven McCray-Fay, defense, senior; Sunshine Clark, goalie, senior; Sadie Levinson; midfield, junior; Margot Rinehart, midfield, junior.
Key newcomers: Megan Marroquin, midfield, freshman.
Outlook: The Green Knights have brought on eight newcomers to join 10 veterans as they chase a Division II three-peat. “We always expect to be in that final game, to be honest,” Ouellet said. “We don’t really think about what we did last year or the year before. What we did last year doesn’t really mean anything if we don’t earn it this year. The goal is pretty clear.” To arrive at that goal, Rice must retool offensively and find consistent scoring, especially with Berit Gross sidelined with an injury that might keep her out for the entirety of the season. Rice will lean on experienced center back Bloom, left fullback McCray-Fay and Clark in net as Ouellet finds defensive replacements for graduated standouts Claire Vincent and Annecy Blanck. In the middle, Marroquin will be an immediate impact. Rice will also continue its D-I-heavy slate to start the year, with six road games and just two home contests in September.
South Burlington High School
Coach: Lindsay Austin-Hawley
(fourth season)
Last season: 6-8-2; lost to Colchester in Division I quarterfinals.
Key returnees: Rachel Kelley, forward, senior; Oakley Machanic, midfield, senior; Elsa Ostby, midfield, senior; Yorda Gebreselasie, defense, junior; Reese Gordon, defense, sophomore.
Key newcomer: Julia Conway, midfield/defense, freshman.
Outlook: The Wolves only carried 16 varsity players last year. The good news for 2023? They are returning 14 of those players this fall. “We can pick up where we left off and I think that’s a huge asset,” Austin-Hawley said. “Everybody knows the drill, and that’s beneficial.” Austin-Hawley said this group will be at its best when connecting via short passing and developing a more physical presence. “I want to keep the ball on the ground. We don’t want to be a kick-andrun team by any stretch,” Austin-Hawley said. The addition of Conway in the midfield should allow Kelley to move back to her more natural position at striker. Machanic, a BFP all-state firstteam pick 2022, will be the Wolves’ vocal leader, Austin Hawley said. Gordon returns following an All-Metro campaign as a freshman back. “This team is fun to be around and they are respectful to each other,” Austin-Hawley said. “They are a motivated group.”
Winooski High School
Coach: Roger Prescott (11th season) Last season: 0-14; did not compete in D-IV tournament.
Key returnees: Jean Heintz, defense, senior; Moo Thay Htoo, goalie, senior; Mapenzi Selemani, attack, sophomore; Ketila Selemani, attack, sophomore. Key newcomers: Too early to tell. Outlook: The Spartans have a veteran leading the back line in Heintz and Thay Htoo, the team’s returning goalie. Sisters Mapenzi Selemani and Ketila Selemani form a nice duo for the Winooski attack. Last year, Winooski’s young squad included nine freshmen and three eighth graders, and all but one of those players is back this fall, according to Prescott. “Although we remain a young team, we are excited about the season and our prospects,” Prescott said. “The team has set the bar high in terms of past performance but within reach if they stay the course and continue to improve as the season unfolds.”