By Tom Haley
Staff Writer
Everyone wants to take that victory lap with the state championship trophy in front of adoring fans.
The No. 1 seeds in the field playoff pairings released on Tuesday are Bellows Falls, Mount Abraham and Windsor, but players on those teams know that victory lap is far from guaranteed. There are plenty of teams with designs on hoisting the hardware but the road to get there is never an easy one to navigate.
Here is a look at the three divisions:
DIVISION I
The favorites: No. 1 Bellows Falls is 8-0 and gunning for a sixth straight state championship game appearance. The Terriers lost in the state final game last season and would love to get back there but it is hard to call them a prohibitive favorite because Essex looks like a formidable No. 2 seed and CVU might be even more dangerous at No. 3.
Essex (5-1) has won its last three, all by shutouts, and 8-1 CVU beat Essex convincingly, 4-1.
The dark horse: Rice has a modest 4-4-1 record but look out for the No. 5 Green Knights. They own the only win over Mount Abraham and lost to CVU each time by a goal.
Most intriguing matchup: The battle of South Burlington. The quarterfinal pairing that has No. 5 Rice and neighboring rival and No. 4 South Burlington should be a good one. They met twice during the season. The Wolves defeated Rice 1-0 in the first meeting and the next game produced a 1-1 tie.
The history book: Rutland has won three state state crowns (two outright). But there has been a long drought in the Marble City. The Raiders’ last title came in 1995.
DIVISION II
The favorites: No. 1 Mount Abraham is a team that is always steeled by that difficult schedule peppered with Division I opponents. The 4-1 Eagles won the state crown last season and will be a tough out again.
No. 2 Burr and Burton Academy is 6-1 and the only loss was by a goal to Bellows Falls. It does not hurt the Bulldogs that they play all their home games on turf, a surface that the championship game will be played on. BBA and Mount Abe would be a dream matchup in the final game.
The dark horses: No. 3 U-32 started slow, losing its first two games by finished by reeling off five straight wins. BBA and Mount Abe are likely the cream of the field but U-32 is dangerous with a potent scoring attack led by Caitlyn Fielder (eight goals, three assists), and sisters Alaina and Natalie Beauregard, each with four goals and two assists. Cady Burgess is a tenacious midfield player who is tough when dropping back on defense. You don’t want to sleep on traditional powers Woodstock or Otter Valley either.
The Otters are capable of controlling possession with the skill of the talented Alice Keith at midfield.
Most intriguing matchup: The quarterfinal contest between No. 3 U-32 and its neighbor, No. 6 Spaulding, could be a doozy.
When they met on Oct. 12, U-32 earned a 1-0 victory.
These are teams on different trajectories. No. 6 Spaulding started the season 3-0 but wound up 3-3.
Midfield player Bella Bevins leads a balanced Spaulding attack.
The history book: Woodstock has been in the state championship game 18 times. The Wasps have won nine, seven of them outright. Their last state crown came in 2007 when the Wasps defeated Mount Abe 5-0 in the big game.
DIVISION III
The favorites. No. 1 Windsor 6-0) and No. 2 Stowe (6-1) just might be several notches above everyone else. Coach Jody Wood has brought the Windsor program back from the dead. They only played at the JV level due to lean numbers several years ago and now the Yellow Jackets are the defending state champions and the Cadillac of the division.
Stowe can score. The Raiders knocked in 10 goals over their last two games. Skyler Graves is a veteran and one of the Raiders’ top scorers.
The dark horses: There might not be a dark horse in this division because Windsor and Stowe could simply be too good to even be threatened. But No. 5 Montpelier (3-3) bears watching. The Solons have an experienced goalie in Erin Kelley. Eli Muller-Moore controls the midfield.
Another dark horse is a surging Harwood team. The 2-5 Highlanders closed the season by winning two games, both by shutouts. Harwood must travel to Lyndon to play a team that defeated them 2-1 during the season.
Most intriguing matchup: Montpelier hits the road to take on No. 4 Missisquoi. The Solons have already beaten the Thunderbirds in Montpelier and now they must do it in Swanton.
The history book: Nobody has a field hockey history quite like Stowe. The Raiders have appeared in 32 state championship games, capturing 18 state crowns with 16 of them being outright titles.
The program produced Gretchen Scheurmann. The 1991 Stowe graduate was awarded the Honda Broderick Cup, college field hockey’s version of football’s Heisman Trophy, when she strared at Northwestern University.
tom.haley @rutlandherald.com
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