South Burlington roars to field hockey three-peat

TED RYAN
Free Press Correspondent
South Burlington celebrates after winning the DI field hockey championship against CVU played at UVM on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017. South Burlington won 3-0, capturing their third straight championship.

Brand new nickname, same old results.

The South Burlington High School field hockey team won the Division I field hockey state championships as the Rebels the past two years. Saturday, the top-seeded team became the first SBHS varsity to claim a state title as the Wolves, scoring a 3-0 win over No. 3 Champlain Valley at UVM’s Moulton Winder Field.

As they did as Rebels, so they continued to do as Wolves in stretching their championship streak to three. Blending speed and skill with strong defense, South Burlington (16-1-0) topped the Redhawks (12-5-0) for the second time in three finals.

The win contained a bit of revenge for the Wolves. Their solitary loss this year was a 2-0 decision forged by the Redhawks on Oct. 7.

That key first goal

For the game’s first 19 minutes, neither side could establish offensive consistency. Play ranged primarily at midfield with only occasional excursions into prime scoring territory. During that time, the Redhawks’ one sterling chance was a hard blast that Wolves goalkeeper Marissa Pelino kicked away.

When South Burlington finally cracked the scoring column, the Wolves turned the momentum of the first goal into an offensive surge that led to a 3-0 lead by the half. That was a lead South Burlington never had to increase and Champlain Valley never could challenge.

With 11:31 left in the first half, the Wolves pounced. Immediately prior, a South Burlington shot from outside the circle glanced off CVU goalkeeper Kristy Carlson into the goal. Since no SB player had touched the ball inside the circle, there was no goal but the inadvertent Carlson touch gave the Wolves a restart down deep instead of allowing the Redhawks settle and try to clear.

On the restart in the CVU end, South Burlington promptly worked the ball toward Carlson on passing by Emma Tolan and Joan Vera. That set up a scramble out of which Emma Liebegott put the shot past Carlson.

“We had some chances very early on that we just didn’t finish,” Wolves coach Anjie Soucy said. “The longer that goes on before you score, the tighter the girls can get but I think our girls were confident. They were persistent.

“After that, we had a lot better connections,” Soucy said. “It’s the championship game, both sides are nervous and that was just what we needed for momentum and confidence.”

The goal energized the Wolves over the remaining time in the half. With 5:52 left, Grace Hoehl inflated the South Burlington lead to 2-0. Liebegott was back again with 3:16 remaining, lashing a one-time drive of Hoehl’s long hit into the goal for the 3-0 edge that never changed.

“There were a couple of defensive errors on our part that allowed them to take advantage,” CVU coach Tucker Pierson said. “They have such strong offense and they have really good shooters. They capitalized on our mistakes and finished the ball well.”

“She’s been steady all season,” Soucy said of Liebegott, adding of Hoehl, “She’s been our center-mid for three years. Last year we got her involved in more offensive sets she was excited and continued to improve.”

Second-half defense

Center, South Burlington #16 Grace Hoehl celebrate after scoring during the DI field hockey championship played at UVM on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017. South Burlington won 3-0, capturing their third straight championship.

The Wolves did not assume a defensive posture in the second half. They remained aggressive offensively but made certain their defensive end was tighter and cleaner in holding CVU to one shot on goal.

That was pivotal since the Redhawks had produced more goals against South Burlington than any other team during the regular season. Their output in a 4-3 loss on Sept. 11 marked the most the Wolves yielded in any game. The second time around in the regular season, CVU won the 2-0 game that eventually kept South Burlington from a perfect season.

Saturday, with the title on the line, the Wolves were stellar defensively.

“We didn’t talk about anything in particular (at intermission),” Soucy said. “We said we had 30 minutes left and to keep playing hard. We didn’t want to go into the second half and just play defense. That’s when things can turn the other way. We wanted to keep our focus and keep pushing.”

“We just didn’t seem to get into our groove offensively. South Burlington possessed the ball in the midfield and we seemed to play off our normal rhythm, off our normal game,” Pierson said.

In the regular season, most particularly in the 2-0 loss to CVU, Soucy said, breakdowns by the Wolves allowed the Redhawks to with numbers. “This time we played as a unit and didn’t let them get any easy breaks."

Statistically speaking

South Burlington outshot Champlain Valley 10-2 in the first half and 16-3 for the game. Pelino made three saves compared to 12 for Carlson. The Redhawks had the edge in penalty corners, 5-4, but only one in the second, a total reflected by SB’s post-intermission defensive play.

Contact Free Press correspondent Ted Ryan at TedRyanVT@aol.com and follow him on Twitter at @TedRyanVT

South Burlington High School Field Hockey Coach Anjie Soucy gets the water cooler after her team won the DI field hockey championship against CVU played at UVM on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017. South Burlington won 3-0, capturing their third straight championship.