Two days before the four HHS boys teams gather to celebrate the season, 30 players representing those teams gathered on the sunny Merriman-Branch turf and celebrated in their own perfectly-appropriate way, playing a competitive and spirited NH-VT game. This is the 12th year of this contest, originated by former Head Coach Chris Cheney, and it continued the tradition of seeing unexpected players rise to stardom.
New Hampshire eventually won the contest 5-2, but for the majority of the game it was a tight 1-0 defensive chess match, characterized by excellent defensive play and sparkling goalkeeping, particularly by Reserve netminder Arturo Johnson. New Hampshire grabbed an early lead when Freshman team phenom Ben Parrado won the ball at midfield and fed the ball to Griffin Johnson on the right flank. Griffin hit a nice centering pass and Roger Danilek rose to meet it and hit it unerringly into the Vermont goal. Unfortunately, Roger was playing defense for Vermont, and the own goal gave the Granite State a 1-0 lead.
Each side saw a potential scoring play come to naught. Vermont striker Jamie Dinulos went down in the box and the please for a penalty fell on deaf ears. Shortly afterwards, NH striker Seth Stadheim put the ball in the net but the goal was called back for offisdes. The margin for NH remained one when Arturo Johnson made a nice save on a Stadheim bid.
Things heated up in the second half after a few position changes on both sides. New Hampshire replaced Connor Edson in goal with Owen Brooks, allowing NH to use Edson as a central defender, where he paired effectively with Parrado. New Hampshire fielded a midfield of Konrad Mitchell and Noah Kahan, and this trio helped their side dominate. Johnson made a pair of great diving saves on Mitchell, and on the other end Addison Wanner made a great defensive play on Dinulos, who was a constant threat, just missing a great shot past the left post.
New Hampshire saw several chances just miss. Stadheim hit the post, and then the duo of Robbie Murdza and Sam Ives created two glittering chances, but could not seal the deal. Ives picked Luke Strohbehn's pocket, but his subsequent shot was saved by Arturo, who was feelin' it in goal.
Hope blossomed for Vermont when defender Lucas Adams-Blackmore figured out Daylight Savings Time and jumped into the action. New Hampshire would not be denied, however, and Noah Kahan's outstanding play resulted in a 2-0 lead when he broke in alone, had his shot saved by Johnson, and Stadheim potted the rebound. Following a New Hampshire corner kick that almost saw Edson HEd in the cross from his fellow goalie Mitchell, Kahan drove home a loose ball and the New Hampshire led jumped to 3-0. Vermont talisman Asa Berolzheimer helped pull a goal back with a nice assist on Jake Acker's goal.
Trailing 3-1, Vermont increased the pressure. Avery Kravitz hit a hard shot over the ball, and Will Smith hit the side of the upright following a free kick. Ian Caldwell, a stabilizing force all game at midfield, moved to center back and helped slam the door, along with Ben Sobel, who sat in as a sweeper in front of the back four. Acker missed a second goal when he couldn't convert a cross from Tim Alibiozek.
Back in the Vermont end, Johnson made a nice save on a shot by Luke Messersmith, promoted to midfield after a solid first half on defense. The ball found its way out to NH defender Adam Pikelny, and Mr. GoPro made no mistake, blasting a long shot high into the net. Vermont kept pressing, and got a second goal by Avery Kravitz, but NH had the final word when Kahan collected his second score of the afternoon, going bar down before rushing home to launder his uniforms, all the better to turn them in on Wednesday.
Arturo Johnson was the very deserving winner of the Most Valuable Player Award. The dazzling Simon Pearce trophy will be presented to NH Captain Kahan at the Soccer Celebration on Thursday. See you there!
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