Heartbreak: GM roars back in 2nd half of soccer final but falls short to Enosburg 4-3

It took a penalty kick from GM’s Everett Mosher, who this year scored his 100th point, to put GM on the board during the second half. Video by Christian Avard for The Chester Telegraph. Copyright 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC. 

By Christian Avard
©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC

HARTFORD

Soccer is cruel, especially when you’re down by four goals, come back to within one goal to tie the score … and lose. That’s what happened to the first seed Green Mountain boys’ varsity soccer team in the Division III championship on Saturday at the Maxfield Sports Complex in Hartford.

The Green Mountain Chieftains did everything they could to win, but second-seed Enosburg prevailed with a 4-3 victory. The Hornets won in front of thousands of fans who made the two-hour drive all the way from the Canadian border to win their first championship in 15 years.

It’s been a tough and trying season for the Enosburg Hornets. Earlier in the year, they faced Winooski in a physical regular season game where an Enosburg player allegedly used racist language toward a Winooski player. The Winooski player who was allegedly targeted head-butted the Enosburg player who made the alleged remarks.

According to reports, the Winooski Police Department said there was probable cause to charge the Winooski player, but no charges were ever filed. The Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union also conducted an investigation but no evidence of racism was found.

Winooski and Enosburg faced off again in the semifinals last Tuesday. No fans were permitted and Enosburg won the game, 3-2, to advance to the championship.

But in this game, the Chieftains came out quick from the get-go. They fired shot after shot at Hornets’ goalie Ethan Jackson, who made save after and save after save.

Green Mountain didn’t give Enosburg many chances to score. The Hornets’ opportunities were limited, but nevertheless they got the job done.

Silas Kane scored Enosburg’s first goal with 2:32 left in the first half. Green Mountain goalie Evan Hayes deflected a shot and he couldn’t get up in time before Kane got a boot on it.

In the second half, Blair Archambault headed the ball off a corner kick by teammate Levi Webb and he scored Enosburg’s second goal. Six minutes later, Webb and Green Mountain’s Hayes raced to a loose ball. Webb got to it first and hit a shot into an empty net for the Hornets’ third goal of the game.

And if things couldn’t get any worse, they did. Webb fired a shot off Hayes, who saved the ball, but then Webb got his own rebound and he put it in the back of the net.

With the score 4-0, their backs against the wall, and all hope seemingly lost, Green Mountain  came alive. They made the final minutes of the game one hell of a thriller.

With 13 minutes left in the game, Everett Mosher was tripped by an Enosburg player and was given a penalty shot. Mosher tucked the ball away into the lower right corner of the goal and the Chieftains were finally on the board.

With seven minutes left in the game, Green Mountain’s Ben Munukka fired a missile, but goalie Jackson knocked it away. Everett Mosher’s younger brother Eben got a hold of the loose ball and  kicked it for Green Mountain’s second goal.

Eben Mosher was ejected moments later when he went up for a head-ball and collided with Jackson who was trying to grab the ball. The Chieftains would play short-handed for the remainder of the game, but they pressed on,

With six minutes left, Everett Mosher moved the ball up the left wing. He hit a shot from a difficult angle and the ball went into the opposite corner of the goal. The game was now a one-goal deficit.

Enosburg kicked the ball out of bounds to eat up the clock. Green Mountain set themselves up for one final play.

With less than a minute in regulation, Elias Stowell-Aleman threw the ball to Mosher and he got a head on it, but the ball hit the side of the net and it went out of bounds. The horn sounded. The game was over.

There were tears, lots of tears, coming from the Green Mountain players. They received their runner-up plaque and medals at midfield and sat on the bench and on the ground in disbelief.

The Chieftains lost their second straight championship in three years.

“It’s hard to come from behind,” said Green Mountain coach Jacob Walker as he wiped away his own tears. “We were ready for the game. We were prepared but when you get to a game like this, anyone can win. I give credit to Enosburg.”

Everett Mosher wept on the sidelines as friends and family came to console him. It was hard for him to find a silver lining after the devastating loss, but he found one.

“I’m proud of the team and the way we fought,” Mosher said. “We were down 4-0. We had a chance, even at the last second. That just shows heart. That’s what we built our team around these years.”