Staff Report
Julia Baer’s goal early in the 2nd period got the Granite Stater’s on the board and raced away with a 4-1 win on Friday at St. Michael’s College in Burlington, Vermont during the Twin State field hockey cup.
“It was very exciting to be playing with the best players in Vermont because there was so much talent around me and it was overall just so fun to be playing with so many good hockey players,” said Windsor’s Peyton Richardson.
The Vermonters would knot things late in the first half when Clara Andre of St. Johnsbury buried a penalty stoke, but New Hampshire put it in the back of the cage twice in the final quarter to grab the win. “We were working to get shots but couldn’t seem to put it in the goal,” said Windsor’s Karen Kapuscinski. “I had a great time; it was really fun to get to play with other girls that are on teams we play during the season,” said Grace Bazin of Bellows Falls.
Clara Gorman’s five saves led the way for New Hampshire, while Maddie Donaldson of Mount Abraham had 11 saves and Bellows Falls’ Jaia Caron stopped three shots.
“Emotions were definitely high knowing I was playing in my last high school game. I was sad to have been playing my last game with two of my Windsor teammates, but I was also excited thinking about the next time I’ll take the field for a field hockey game it will be with my team at Castleton as a college player,” said Richardson, who will be attending Castleton University in the fall and majoring in health sciences/dental hygiene.
“New Hampshire was fast, playing long ball with lots of long passes up the field and they were fast. We had practiced and gotten to know each other before so we had good team chemistry. Lots of good saves by our goalies. Good skills on both teams. Really exciting to play in, fun to play too,” said Kapuscinski, who will be headed to the University of New Hampshire this fall to study business.
“Although the outcome wasn’t what we were hoping for, over all it was a great experience. Also, it was nice to play for my coach Bethany Coursen one last time, along with the other players from Bellows Falls,” said Bazin.
Local players on the Vermont Twin State roster included:
Grace Bazin, Jaia Caron, Maya Waryas, Grace Wilkinson and head coach Bethany Coursen from Bellows Falls. Windsor was represented by Karen Kapuscinski, Reese Perry and Peyton Richardson while Yellow Jacket coach, Jody Wood was on the Vermont staff.
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