Rutland Herald Fall Sports Guide
Friday, October 6, 2017
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 understand-
able. 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 train-
ing 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
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
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
Coaches Scott French and Chris
Hughes
17
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 Schil-
linger 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,” McClal-
len 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,” McClal-
len 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 deliv-
ered 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 var-
sity 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 gradu-
ate like herself, as an assistant.
Rodolfy has a formula she hopes will take the green-
est 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.