By Christopher Shaban
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CLAREMONT — Evan Kirdzik gave the Chieftains the lead as they held off Stevens to grab a 2-1 win in a very physical match under the lights on a slick pitch at Monadnock Park.
If only the NHIAA and VPA would change the rules to allow local schools to play one another without being penalized for standings and no voting allowed for all-state selections, this is the type of games that we need more of.
Green Mountain goalie Derek Hodgdon was tested early with blasts coming off the multiple Cardinals corner kicks until Maison Ferland planted his header into the twine to give Stevens a 1-0 advantage. Ferland nearly got a second one the same way, but Hodgdon came up big for the save.
The midfield play was rugged all evening with Jason Demars and Tanner Swisher going toe to toe while in the Chieftain defensive zone, Trystan Lane and Noah Cherubini were pushing and shoving all over the field. “This game was hot, a solid effort from both teams,” said Demars.
Connor Miles would square the match midway into the first half after a wild scrum in front of Cardinal keeper Nevin Marsh. Miles’ shot whistled through a pile of players at the 16-minute mark to tie it 1-1.
With play getting testy, a couple of yellow cards stopped the yapping, but the intensity didn’t slow down at all. Stevens looked to grab the lead back, but Hodgdon came off his line to swallow up a Lane bid as the half ended 1-1. “We were doing so many things right, we definitely played hard but Green Mountain is a solid team,” said Cardinals coach Jason Stone.
Most of the second half was centered around midfield play where the referees were letting the boys play but with limited scoring chances from both sides. The best looks at the net early in the half came off the feet of Green Mountain’s Ben Munukka and Stevens striker Landon Norton-Avery but neither found their marks.
Kirdzik’s boot gave the visitors from Vermont the lead that held up with lots of hard tackles and rising emotions over the last 15 minutes. “Finally, we put it together, I think we’ve had five overtime games and we just couldn’t get a win, but this was huge for us, Stevens is a very good team” said Eben Mosher after the game.
Green Mountain improves to 4-7-1 with the win with two games remaining. “This was such a big win, Stevens made us earn it tonight, a great game and a solid effort from everyone tonight,” said Chieftains coach Jake Walker.
Stevens (2-13) will head to Manchester West on Tuesday before closing out their season hosting Conant on Thursday. “We are really close, our mental toughness is the only thing lacking right now but with all the injuries we’ve had, this team just doesn’t stop giving 100%,” said Stone.
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