WILLIAMSTOWN, Vt. - Thetford girls soccer’s season ended Wednesday afternoon with a 1-3 loss at fifth-seeded Paine Mountain in the first round of the playoffs. Junior Ruth Brooks scored the Panthers’ goal.
Hailey Denton scored twice for Paine Mountain, which improves to 8-4-3 and moves on to a quarterfinal at fourth-seeded Fair Haven on Saturday.
The 12th-seeded Panthers finish 4-10, and that record tells a story. A year ago, Thetford went 0-17. This fall the Panthers won four times, beating Oxbow 4-0, Windsor 3-0 and Lake Region 3-2 before a wild 4-3 win over Bellows Falls on senior night on Oct. 14.
Brooks won that one, hitting a long shot with 7:29 left in regulation after Bellows Falls had rallied from two goals down. “Oh, it was excellent,” coach Kevin Brooker said that night.
Before the season, Brooker said, “Last season we had a season untarnished by wins. This season we have a 100% return of last year’s players plus a few more.” The Panthers turned that returning group into a playoff team.
Other relevant play on Wednesday, October 21:
Hazen (4-8-3) 1 at Peoples Academy (10-5) 3 Peoples, which beat Thetford 2-0 on Saturday, advanced at home.
White River Valley (5-9-1) 0 at Fair Haven (8-5-2) 2 Fair Haven moves on to host Paine Mountain, the team that ended Thetford’s season.
That wraps up the day for Thetford Academy sports. We’ll see you next time!