Friday , October 6 , 2017 Rutland Herald Fall Sports Guide 17
in . “ They have lots of room to grow , but that ’ s exciting to watch ,” he said .
The Otters endured a 5-9 season in 2016 and will look to improve on that .
PROCTOR
If Isabel Valerio has an identity crisis , it ’ s understandable . She was a goalkeeper as a freshman , a field player as a sophomore and an All-MVL goalkeeper as a junior . This year ? The answer is a little more complicated .
Freshman Rachel Stuhlmueller and Valerio are training together under the watchful eye of goalkeeper coach Scott French .
“ We ’ ll see how it goes ,” coach Chris Hughes said . “ It ’ s a great situation in a way . If Rachel is ready we can move Isabel up into the field .”
The field is Valerio ’ s preference and she would give the Phantoms some added punch on the attack .
The schedule is difficult early and if Stuhlmueller is not ready , Valerio will be in the net and Stuhlmueller can continue to progress and move into the goal when ready .
“ Both are doing very well . Scott ’ s been pleased ,” Hughes said .
Maddie Flanders is the top returning goal scorer with 13 . Midfielder Erica May is also a potent scorer .
There are three solid defenders returning in Allie Almond , Emma Shaw and Ariel Oechslie . Almond and Oechslie strike the ball with authority . Oechslie hangs effective corner kicks in front of the goal consistently . She will take most of the corner and direct kicks . Almond
Proctor Girls Soccer 0 / 11 Isabele Valerio 1 / 25 Rachel Stuhmueller 2 Arielle Oechslie 3 Maddie Flanders 4 Grace Tate 5 Allie Almond 6 Katelyn Storey 8 Erica May 9 Amanda Reynolds 10 Sarah Pecor
13 Sydney Wood 14 Victoria George 15 Janaya Richardson 16 Lucy Tate 18 Meredith Parker 17 Maddison Lee 19 Emma Shaw 20 Cheyenne Giddings 22 Kiersten Williams 24 Catherine Cameron 26 Sawyer Perkins
made the deciding penalty kick in the quarterfinals to touch off a wild celebration at Taranovich Field last fall .
Meredith Parker is back from her ACL injury and will be a midfielder or defender . Grace Tate returns at midfield .
Sarah Pecor and Amanda Reynolds are also expected to play prominent roles .
“ A big thing will be getting our nine freshmen up to speed with the pace of the varsity game ,” Hughes said . “ There is real potential with this group .”
The Phantoms are gunning for their fifth consecutive state championship .
RUTLAND
The opening of the season is running the gauntlet for the Raiders . They are on the road for four straight games and they are all against strong teams from the northern tier of the state . It begins at CVU on Sept . 5 and then comes trips to Colchester , Burlington and Essex .
“ It ’ s a tough start . The northern teams have more depth than we do and they play a faster game ,” coach Lori McClallen said . “ We just take it game by game and half by half .”
It also helps to get the Raiders ready for the Marble Valley League with the likes of Brattleboro , Mount Anthony , Burr and Burton Academy and Hartford . “ The MVL has gotten tougher , too ,” McClallen said . Last year ’ s goalie Loren Henderson has graduated and taken her skills to Castleton University so her backup Elise Magro will get her chance . Magro stepped in last
Coaches Scott French and Chris Hughes year when Henderson was injured and did the job . There are four other goalies in the Raider system at different levels . “ The first few days she has looked good ,” McClallen said of Magro . Two senior defenders return with Caitlin Rowe and
Megan McGee .
Brianna Beauchamp is back for her senior season . Her versatility allows McClallen to plug her in where needed . She brings skill to both the defense and the midfield area .
Returning players Megan Hamilton , Maggie Schillinger and Logan Kinsman bring a lot to wherever they will be moved between the midfield area and the line . The trio are capable of being key pieces of the defensive effort while also generating scoring .
“ They were moved around quite a bit last year ,” McClallen said . “ They can find the back of the net .”
The Raiders graduated eight seniors , but the cupboard is hardly bare .
“ We still have a core with varsity experience ,” McClallen said . “ We have a lot of potential .”
There is also that windfall . Erin McClallen was one of the top players on the MSJ team that went to the Division IV quarterfinals before being ousted by eventual state champion Proctor on corner kicks . The player that delivered the goal for MSJ to extend that game to overtime was McClallen .
WEST RUTLAND
Deanna Rodolfy is a first-year coach entrusted with building a program back up that just lost one of the most talented classes in school history . Last year ’ s West Rutland senior class made deep playoff runs in every sport every year and those eight seniors won ’ t soon be forgotten .
But Rodolfy likes the enthusiasm she has seen in the preseason and a stern test comes early — the Division IV Golden Horde opens the season with Division II Fair Haven at home on Sept . 1 .
Shelby Grabowski is the only senior returning with varsity experience and she stood out as an offensive threat even among all those talented seniors last fall .
Not surprisingly , one of those graduated was the goalie . Kasey Serrani has shown interest in playing the position .
Others on the roster are Rebecca DeKalb , Alyssa Carey , Sam Callahan , Jenee McGee , Kiana Grabowski , twins Lily Turner-Burrell and Isabella Turner-Burrell , Kiera Pipeling , Deanna Kenyon , Beckey Sanderson , Hannah Bates , Abby Thomas and Alana Raymond .
Rodolfy has Marisa Kiefaber , a Rutland High graduate like herself , as an assistant .
Rodolfy has a formula she hopes will take the greenest Westside team in years to some success .
“ For us it is passing and moving ; give-and-goes and triangles all the way down the field ,” she said .
Last year ’ s season ended on a heart-breaking late goal by Proctor . The Phantoms will be the Horde ’ s Homecoming opponent on Sept . 16 a highlight of every soccer season in Westside .
A complete version of article was originally published at the start of the fall season .