On paper Milton faced a Herculean task heading into Tuesday’s Division II boys’ soccer semifinal at No. 2 Harwood.
The No. 6 Yellowjackets used a combination of nine freshmen and sophomores in their starting lineup and matched up against the two-time defending champs, who had scored 28 unanswered goals and hadn’t lost to a D-II opponent for three years. And the visitors’ ambitions of climbing that mountain grew even tougher after conceding an early goal.
But steadily the winds started to shift in favor of Milton, which put Harwood on the back foot throughout the second half. And after a Highlanders’ header was tipped off the crossbar at the beginning of overtime, Andrew Preuss beat three defenders and buried the golden goal inside the right post for a 2-1 victory.
“We knew coming into the tournament that we were underseeded for how good our team was,” Preuss said. “We didn’t score as many goals or have as good of a record as other teams, but we certainly have hard work – and that’s why we’re here right now.”
This Friday marks the sixth year in a row that the D-II title match will feature either Milton or Harwood, as the Yellowjackets (11-6) prepare to face No. 1 Mount Abraham (14-1-1) in a 7 p.m. clash at Burlington High School.
Milton’s Brody Allard blocked seven shots vs. Harwood, while keeper Sheldon Frank made three saves for the Highlanders. A month ago, Milton was a 4-5 squad after surrendering multiple goals in four straight matches, but since then Allard has limited opponents to an average of 0.6 goals per match while fueling seven victories in eight games.
1-0 LEAD
Harwood survived a decent scoring chance by Milton in the fifth minute and then HU’s Emmanuel Mego-Vaquez sparked a counterattack and nearly scored outside the left post a minute later. A consolation prize for Harwood was earning a corner kick off the play, with Ollie Reilly taking the honors from the left side. Following a shoulder-high inswinger service by the junior midfielder, Anthony Caforia darted toward the near post and sent a header that bounced off the ground and into the back-left portion of the net for a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute.
Milton earned a corner kick of its own in the ninth minute and Wyatt Wooten sent a far-post header wide of the target. Harwood striker Felix Kretz was sidelined briefly by an injury after a hard tackle in the 16th minute and both teams struggled to generate many high-quality scorings for a lengthy stretch.
Harwood midfielder Brycen Scharf got his head on a 40-yard free kick in the 19th minute, resulting in a scramble inside the penalty area. After the ball deflected back toward the left side, Scharf raced toward the end line and used the outside of his right foot to flick a shot that bounced across the goal line and deflected off the far post before being cleared away from danger by a Milton defender.
Harwood’s Luka Petrovic headed away a menacing right-to-left cross by the Yellowjackets in the 24th minute and then Wooten sent a 45-yard free kick a few feet wide of the left post 30 seconds later. A speedy transition up the field by Milton finally led to a goal in the 25th minute, knotting things at 1-1.
Joshua Rhoades received a pass in the middle of the field and sent a bouncing service toward the right side of the 18-yard box, where Chase Renaud directed a half-volley toward the target. The quick strike caught the Highlanders’ off-guard as the ball bounced off a Harwood player before ricocheting across the goal line.
Scharf trotted gingerly off the field in the 34th minute after a collision and then teammate Noah Fleckenstein volleyed a corner kick outside the far bar, prompting Allard to crouch down for a save. Milton earned a free kick near the end line 8 yards inside the right corner flag in the 36th minute and nearly scored on a leaping volley at the near post.
IN FOR A DOGFIGHT
Entering halftime, the Highlanders had no doubt that they were in for a dogfight against a Milton program that suffered a 6-1 playdown loss at the same venue three years earlier. And because the teams only played three common opponents all season, the Yellowjackets were still mostly a mystery to Harwood before the opening whistle.
“We tried as hard as we could to catch up to speed on what they were going to be like,” Highlanders’ coach Joe Yalicki said. “We were definitely expecting really fast, smart and physical play – and direct play. And they were doing all of that. We just couldn’t settle and relax and connect passes. They closed our space down too fast and we weren’t that sharp on the little combos: We just couldn’t keep long passes together. So, we didn’t get as many chances as I hoped.”
OFFENSIVE PRESSURE INTENSIFIES
In the 59th minute Scharf launched a 20-yard shot that rolled just wide of the left post and then Tomasi was fouled 35 yards away from Harwood’s goal near the left sideline. Joshua Rhoades sent the ensuing free kick into the mixer and Harwood quickly booted the ball over the end line. Highlanders’ defender Sebastian Binkerd blocked a shot by Rhoades in the 67th minute and then both Petrovic and teammate John Butler made key clearances as the Yellowjackets’ offensive pressure steadily intensified.
Milton’s Matthew Shedd lofted in a towering 45-yard shot in the 71st minute, forcing Frank to track the trajectory of the ball with the sun in his eyes. The ambitious shot wound up dropping just inches below the crossbar and the HU keeper leapt into the air with impeccable timing to punch the ball over the iron.
Preuss took a 25-yard free kick in the 74th minute and ripped a dipping shot that was just barely too high. A last-second left-footed rocket by Rhoades was a bit off-target, but Frank left nothing to chance by sprinting away from his goal line and snaring the threat.
According to Allard, momentum was clearly on his team’s side at the end of regulation.
In the 82nd minute Harwood’s Owen Farr served in a cross from near the right corner flag. Caforia elevated for a far-post header, forcing Allard to reach up and punch the ball off the crossbar.
Preuss spearheaded a quick counter in the 85th minute and connected to Renaud, who fed Killian Choquette for a high-quality scoring chance that was broken up by Frank near the top of the 6-yard box.
Less than a minute later Milton took back-to-back throw-ins from the right flank and kept possession after two clearance attempts toward midfield by Harwood. Preuss settled a pass inside the center circle with his back to goal and used the inside of his left foot to elude an opponent with a crafty spin move. The senior immediately sped up and kept control of the ball as a Highlanders’ midfielder attempted to execute a slide tackle behind him.
A moment later two Highlanders lunged toward Preuss at the same time, but he pushed the ball toward his right side and maintained possession just outside the top-right corner of the penalty area. After pivoting back toward the goal, Preuss kept his shoulders over the ball and stole the show by powering a low, 20-yard shot inside the right post.
HU ENDS SEASON AT 13-3-1
Harwood ends the season at 13-3-1 and suffered its first playoff loss since falling short against Montpelier, 1-0, in the 2022 final.
“It was hard to predict where (the game-winner) was going to come from today and it was just a little bit of an erratic game and it was hard to control the ball and set anything up,” Yalicki said. “And it was almost inevitably going to come off an error or a mistake – or just believing that the ball is going to come to you. So, we all were hoping and believing and held on as long as we could. And Milton got the chance that counted.”
Even though Harwood carried a 12-game winning streak into the semis, prospects of a three-peat were far from a sure thing. Farr missed most of the season due to an injury, All-State fullback Caleb Brookens was sidelined by a lacrosse injury for the whole season and seniors Eli Herrington and Steele Nelson opted to compete for the state championship golf squad this fall. Filling those voids was no easy task for the Highlanders, who were a 1-2-1 squad midway through September.
“If you looked at the results of our scrimmages and our first four games of the season, to just have a chance of making the final and hosting all these playoff games is a huge accomplishment,” Yalicki said. “We definitely figured out some stuff during the season about how we can play our best and give ourselves the best chances. I give a lot of credit to the seniors especially and just any of the guys that were on the team last year that came back this year. So many kids stepped up more than what I thought they were going to be capable of. A lot of guys that were on the bench and hoping to get on and make the most of their 10 minutes are our guys going 80 minutes now – and that just says a lot about them. They stayed patient and were trusting that they were getting better – and proving it when they got the chances on the field. We gave it all we had and just came up short.”
Excerpted courtesy of the Times Argus.
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