ENOSBURG FALLS, Vt. - Thetford boys soccer pushed seventh-seeded Enosburg to the brink Tuesday afternoon before falling 0-1 in double overtime in the first round of the playoffs.
The 10th-seeded Panthers and the Hornets played 80 scoreless minutes of regulation and a scoreless first overtime. Enosburg’s Wyatt Monette finally scored 58 seconds into the second overtime, on a feed from Blake Teague.
Senior goalkeeper Matt McGovern was the reason the game went that long. He made 10 saves, including a stop on an early breakaway and a fingertip save to tip a dangerous corner over the bar in the second half. Thetford had chances of its own: Jay Hill forced an early second-half save, and the Panthers hit the post with 22:23 left in regulation. Enosburg keeper Daniel Murphy finished with eight saves.
Thetford finishes 4-9-2, while Enosburg improves to 10-5 and moves on to a quarterfinal at second-seeded Peoples Academy.
The Panthers reached the semifinals a year ago, then had to rebuild. “With nine seniors graduating last season, we have a lot of spots to fill,” coach Jonathan Bicknell said before the season. Thetford started the season 3-1, and its last win was 3-1 over Spaulding on Sept. 24.
Other relevant play on Tuesday, October 20:
White River Valley (6-7-1) 0 at Woodstock (7-6-2) 2 Woodstock advanced to a quarterfinal at top-seeded Stowe.
Hazen (2-10-3) 0 at Winooski (10-5) 6 Winooski rolled past a Hazen team Thetford tied 1-1 in September.
That wraps up the day for Thetford Academy sports. We’ll see you next time!