Friday, October 6, 2017
The Times Argus Fall Sports Guide
11
Exit 5 Boys Soccer
2 Jacob Preston
3 Gonzolo Noguerol
4 Garrett Bean
5 Ryker Townsend
6 Nolan Bean
7 Colby Gingras
9 Manny Mercado
11 Jacob Tassie
14 Conner MacDougall
16 Nick Medow
20 Garrett Metcalf
21 Rob Clark
22 Derrick Ruel
23 Nathan Poulin
24 Jon Myles
27 Bryce MacDougall
to fuel a 3-2 victory over Lake Region.
This year Scharf and Max Kissner will compete for
time in net, and Towne must weigh the impact Scharf
could have offensively. The U-32 coach has allowed
previous goalies to either split time or alternate games,
and that could be in the cards again.
The Raiders have earned a reputation as a perennial
Capital Division power and are usually in the D-II title
hunt. But this year’s team will struggle to match the
offensive production of 2017 graduate Noah Elmore,
who paced last year’s squad with 14 goal and eight
assists.
Facing such a glaring offensive void, Towne isn’t too
worried. He’s curious to see which younger players
emerge as starters, and the future is promising with
lots of competitive underclassmen.
This year’s Capital schedule features additional
matches against Harwood, Lake Region, Lamoille,
Lyndon, Montpelier, North Country, Peoples, Ran-
dolph, Stowe and Thetford.
The Raiders have won four titles in the past 12 years,
pulling off the feat as a No. 6 seed in 2015 and as a No.
5 in 2005 and 2008. U-32 saw top-tier Division I talent
during a preseason scrimmage at St. Johnsbury in
addition to holding a training session with Montpelier.
HARWOOD
If there is one team defending Division II champ
Lake Region may be worried about, it’s Harwood.
Last year the Highlanders carried an 11-1-1 record
into the semifinals, but they were the No. 3 seed and
had to hit the road. They traveled to face No. 2 Lake
Region, which plays on a much smaller field than
Harwood, and the Rangers coasted to a 3-0 victory.
The Highlanders will have a chance to earn payback
Oct. 10 when they host the Northeast Kingdom pow-
erhouse on a more expansive pitch. The late-season
match could have a big impact on the Capital Division
standings as well as D-II playoff pairings.
Harwood coach Don Haddox is going to miss Ethan
Riddell. The Highlanders will switch up their style this
fall but are likely to still produce a winning formula.
Forty-two players showed up for preseason tryouts,
which is a lower turnout than normal. An early condi-
tioning test reinforced the message that fitness will be
huge for Harwood’s players, who have to cover lots of
territory on a field that’s long and wide.
The Highlanders were strong defensively during
most of 2016 and should be just as stingy this year. Max
Hill and Ollie Hammond are vying for the starting
goalie spot, and that should remain a healthy competi-
tion all fall.
Another big bright spot for Harwood is at center
midfield, where Duncan Weinman is ready to shine.
Haddox is usually particular with positions and how
far players can roam, but he’s willing to make an
exception and give Weinman a green light to run free.
Winning the Capital Division is a clear goal for Har-
wood, which has only suffered one losing season since
2006. The Highlanders will travel to play U-32 on Oct.
21 in a solid tune-up for playoffs. Harwood will play its
lone non-league match Oct. 7 at GMVS.
NORTHFIELD/WILLIAMSTOWN
Die-hard Northfield and Williamstown fans can
breathe a collective sigh of relief. Forming an alliance
never felt so good.
The Marauders and Blue Devils have been on fire
during preseason, outshooting opponents by laugh-
able margins. More impressive than their 16 goals is
the fact that nine players have scored.
“We have a lot of depth and a lot of ability to change
players in positions,” coach Chris Amell said. “Obvi-
ously when you have Nick Medow and Nathan Poulin
on the same team, that stands out. You add Nolan and
Garrett Bean, and then Jacob Tassie from William-
stown. And then we have a Spanish exchange student
named Gonzalo who is very good. He’s a 6-foot, fast
forward, so when you mix him in it’s a lot of offense.
He’s very technical and probably the fittest kid on
the team.”
This will be the first time competing in the Capital
Division for the Williamstown contingent, but Amell
doesn’t think the learning curve will be overly steep.
Communication has been the team’s biggest hurdle,
with athletes still learning each other’s names and
playing styles.
Thirty-five players have remained in the program
following tryouts, giving the schools a solid base for
a junior varsity team. The fact that there were even
tryouts at all was also something new.
Northfield owns eight titles and 13 runner-up tro-
phies, while Williamstown made its first championship
appearance last