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Rutland Herald Spring Sports Guide 2019
LACROSSE
Area lacrosse teams hopeful
By Bob Fredette
Staff Writer
here are only three boys and
girls lacrosse teams in Rutland
County but they all boast a
strong veteran presence.
In Brandon, the Otter Valley boys see
a big infl ux of players from the feeder
system joining the veterans. Hopes are
high that the Otters can get deep into
post-season play in Division II.
The Rutland boys also have expe-
rience from front to back and if they
can iron out their transition game, the
Raiders will be a threat in Division I.
Their sister team, the D-I Raiders
girls, have a new coach in Matt Zmurko,
who will benefi t from having players
he’s already coached for three seasons.
T
Otter Valley
Coach Jessie Milliman tips his cap
to the co-founders of the seventh- and
eighth-grade program, Greg Bernhardt
and Bill Moore. Because of that system,
Milliman has more than a dozen
newcomers this season, and for the
fi rst time there will be a junior varsity
program.
And some of those incoming fresh-
men will be varsity contributors, like
Hayden Bernhardt, Nick Parker, Sam
Martin and Matt Moseley. Sophomores
Jacob O’Connell, David Williams, Jacob
Stevens and Kam Strickland, from the
fi rst crop of players to come through
the recreation department program,
will also have roles on this year’s varsity
squad.
OV has a program-high 24 players
out for the sport.
“It’s a nice feeling,” said Milliman.
“Some good things are happening in
Brandon.”
But it’s not all about the future.
Milliman has eight seniors back, includ-
ing all-staters Hayden Gallo and Tim
Kittler on the attack, Ethan Sulik-Doty
ROBERT LAYMAN / STAFF PHOTO
Rutland High School’s Elise Magro, left, during practice on Alumni Field Thursday.
at midfi eld and four-year starter Alec
Stevens in the net.
“Top to bottom, this is probably the
most talented team that I’ve had,” said
Milliman.
Zach Scarborough and newcomer
Josh Granger will be in the midfi eld.
This could be the year the Otters,
who lost to Milton in the fi rst round
of the Division II tournament last year,
fi nally break the glass ceiling and get to
the next level.
“We certainly have the talent,” the
coach said. “It comes down to their
dedication and heart. We’ll see how
resilient they are.”
The Otters have a challenging sched-
ule with opponents like Brattleboro,
Woodstock and Rutland. Rutland,
Hartford and Brattleboro are their fi rst
three opponents.
The Otters open at Rutland on
Monday.
Rutland boys
Transition offense is something
coaches teach but it’s largely up to the
instincts of midfi elders. That’s some-
thing the Raiders are trying to improve
and they’ve got capable players to carry
it off.
Joe Anderson, Dillon Moore, Ryan
Melen, Jacob Lorman and Conner
Ladabouche will man the midfi eld and
coach Rob LaBate likes that crew.
Anderson is a good faceoff man and
Moore and Melen are sophomores “but
I expect a lot of them,” the coach said.
“(Long stick Ladabouche and Lor-
man) are excellent athletes,” LaBate
said.
Ladabouche and Lorman are two
senior leaders in a veteran crew.
Rutland has good pieces to work with
in the front, middle and back.
Ryan Hayford is a Green and Gold
(a system ranking the top players in
the state) player and Griffi n Plante a
Rising Star (a very competitive summer
league). They are in the back on
defense to take the heat off returning
goalies Chris Wilk and Joel Muscatello,
who are having a spirited competition
for the starter role.
“We’ve got two solid goaltenders,”
Lacrosse continued on page 15