Hartford soccer comes through in second half

Frustrated for 40 minutes by Springfield’s pack-it-in defense, the Hartford High boys soccer team got two early second-half goals to come away with a 2-0 win Thursday.
http://www.vnews.com/sports/highschoolsports/18553514-95/hartford-soccer-comes-through-in-second-half

Hartford Soccer Comes Through in Second Half Hartford's Ben Rouillard. (Valley News - Tris Wykes) Hartford's Ben Rouillard. (Valley News - Tris Wykes) By Poody Walsh Valley News Correspondent Friday, September 11, 2015 (Published in print: Friday, September 11, 2015) Email Print Springfield, Vt. — Frustrated for 40 minutes by Springfield’s pack-it-in defense, the Hartford High boys soccer team got two early second-half goals to come away with a 2-0 win Thursday at Gurney Field in a Vermont Division II encounter. It was the third straight victory for the Hurricanes, who are not piling up the goals, but are piling up the wins after triumphs over Mount Mansfield and Spaulding. The Hurricanes were probably decisive favorites going up against a team that was 0-13-1 last year, and winless and scoreless through three games this fall. But the equalizer for a long time was a persistent defense that sometimes had seven or eight players back, keeping the ball away from Springfield keeper Andrew Towne. “I’ll give the Springfield defense credit. They stayed with their game plan and took away our space,” Hartford coach Kevin Guilbault said. “They stuck with that defense.” Said Springfield coach Derek Graham: “We’re resilient.” While junior midfielder Nathan Lemieux scored the goal that put the Canes up 1-0, it came after a nerve-racking first half that saw Hartford stay in the offensive zone almost the entire 40 minutes, but when the horn sounded there was nothing but zeroes on the scoreboard. “You know, we didn’t play with a lot of enthusiasm in the first half and we didn’t shoot the ball well,” Lemieux said. “We were frustrated.” Guilbault noted the lack of gusto, too, and talked to his players at the half about wasted shots, drawing the defense out and “attacking the goal.” His players must have been listening, as Hartford scored two goals in the first six minutes of the second half. The first was scored by Lemieux, who somehow snaked the ball thought a maze of feet. When the ball got to Towne, he didn’t see it until it was too late. The assist went to Brandon Chaisson, who tricky dribbled to get free and fed Lemieux. Chaisson nearly had an assist in the first half when he somehow let a bouncing ball roll up his back and made a through pass to Ben Rouillard, who had nothing but Towne in front of him, but put his shot right into the keeper’s hands. Hartford padded the lead less than three minutes later, when Rouillard was able to convert Patrick Brady’s corner kick, which landed in between a mess of players in front of the goal. But Rouillard got the only foot on it that mattered. Springfield never got away from its defensive mode, and when the Cosmos tried to get the ball up field, midfielders Lemieux and Patrick McGlone were there to send the ball the other way. Springfield had just one shot on goal, while the Hurricanes had 17 also enjoyed a 7-0 advantage in corner kicks. Graham is insistent that Springfield boys soccer is making progress and that there are things he likes. “I know we have a lot to work on but, the players are hanging in there,” he said. Hartford, which was 5-9-1 in Guilbault’s first year, will take a few days off before going to Brattleboro next Wednesday.