By Tyler Maheu
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
WINDSOR, Vt. — “At the breakdown of every game, what do we cheer? Family. And it really seems like these four seniors have really put an emphasis on that throughout their four years,” said Windsor Women’s Soccer Head Coach Jeff Bachey following Tuesday’s Senior Night contest. Against Bellows Falls, the Yellow Jackets family showed their soccer prowess by dismantling the visiting Terriers, 10-0.
Prior to the contest on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, the Windsor coaches, fans, and families celebrated the team’s aforementioned seniors; Captain Skylar Thibodeau, Captain Ella Attwood, Ash Lavanway, and Audri Pettirossi. “These seniors have been amazing. The biggest thing they’ve done is helped with the culture of the team,” stated Bachey.
Entering the game, Windsor’s record sat at 7-2, while Bellows Falls was winless. The game’s action would prove those records an accurate depiction of both team’s trajectories. From the opening kick, the Jacks held control of the ball in the offensive end, getting many chances on goal. On an attempt merely two minutes into the action, Windsor’s Kenzie Wescott juked out the Terriers’ freshman goalkeeper Natalie Douglass, but missed a shot on the opening net. Throughout the game’s early action, Windsor’s Olivia MacLeay was getting good shot opportunities, but her big boot was sending them either just high or wide. She would sort this out, finishing with a team-high five goals.
A beautiful corner kick from Yellow Jackets’ Audrey Rupp found the head of Kemari Wildgoose, sending the fans into a frenzy and giving Windsor an early 1-0 lead that they would never relinquish. Moments later, MacLeay would finally find the back of the net off an assist from Wescott to make it 2-0. With 12 minutes remaining in the half, Rupp wound up from approximately 25 yards out, and flew one by the keeper to grow the lead to 3-0, before Wescott would assist on another goal off the foot of Bri Barton, giving Windsor a 4-0 halftime lead.
Bellows Falls was looking overmatched at the half, losing out on the 50/50 chances to the more aggressive Jacks, something Bachey said has been a point of emphasis. “I think the biggest thing that we did was that we pressured 50/50 balls,” he said. “By challenging 50/50 balls, it gave us the opportunity to play on our front foot versus our back foot, and it took away their time to really do anything at all.”
Unfortunately for the Terriers, the second half would present more of the same. MacLeay continued her stellar night with a goal five minutes into the period to make it 5-0, before another Rupp goal a few minutes later pushed the lead to six. With 27 minutes remaining, Bachey made the decision to switch up goal keeping duties, putting senior Lavanway into net.
MacLeay would reel off a series of three straight goals to reach her five for the night, making the lead 9-0, before Rupp would complete a hat trick of her own to finish the game with a 10-0 score.
After starting the season at 1-2, the Yellow Jackets have now rattled off seven straight wins. “I think we are just coming together as a team,” said Bachey after the win. “We are really young; I’ve got six freshmen and five sophomores. A lot of them see a lot of playing time on the field. So, I think those first couple of games it was a lot of trying to get the team chemistry figured out, where people are gonna play. Once we figured that out, it’s really clicked for us.”
Despite the team’s great season, Bachey knows there is unfinished business with playoffs on the horizon, and there are always ways to improve. “There is three things we need to work on: challenging 50/50 balls, making good, smart passes, and working on that communication. It is one of those things where if we clean those three things up, we are gonna be contenders in every game, if not winners,” he said.
The now 8-2 Yellow Jackets will wrap up the regular season with four games on the road, starting with a Thursday evening contest at Woodstock. For Bellows Falls, they drop to 0-11 and will be looking for their first win of the season on Saturday afternoon against visiting White River Valley.
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