AJ Latulippe accepts the team's Most Improved Player award from Coaches Carreno and Echanis at the fall sports awards dinner.

It was another perfect late fall day for a soccer match, sunny with a slight breeze and 50 degrees.  VA started out strong and was able to dominate the field of play from the outset.  We had some trouble moving through the middle of the field because it was still quite slick and soft from the snow a week earlier.  We found our stride when Rang “Neil” Li found a streaking AJ Latulippe with a pass to the far post that AJ easily finished.  Not much time later Nate “Rico” Goldman dribbled the ball into the corner and placed a perfect cross to the far post to AJ on a perfectly timed run.  AJ finished the cross with a well placed header and we were up and never looked back.  Zihan “Atilla” Chen was able to break free and score our third goal of the half.  With the lead, all of our bench saw significant playing time.  Eric Alexander was able to finally link together some significant minute and had a great volley that just missed the near post.  Yeon Jun “Bradley” Kim had a shut out for his first half in net.

We started the second half with the tenacity of the first while communicating and passing well.  Bradley was back on the field and he secured the game with a brilliant shot delivered from just inside the box.  Julian Stolper had taken some of his first shots while in a game on net and showed skill in playing the two touch game we have practiced all year.  Jae Yong “Justin” Yim also had his first shots in a game on net and missed both just wide.  He played very well at the wing midfield and while on wing defense.  Our entire defense played very well and they all contributed to the shut out.  Yeon Jun “Jimmy” Kim arrived a little late from the SATs but played well in the first half at center midfield and in net for the second.  Hee Jae Lee played both striker and wing defender both quite well.  Our final goal of the game was a scored by Sipho Msipa on a penalty kick.  We travel to White Mountain School to play on Wednesday.  We hope to see you there!

We went to Holderness on Saturday to face one of the perenial power houses in New Engleand soccer.  They were the most skilled team we had faced all year.  Their defensive line could handle the ball as well as their best strikers.  Early on in the game we focussed on what we do well, defense.  Dom Senerchia had a wonderful half in net keeping us in the game while we were unable to crack their defense.  The half ended scoreless.

Both teams came out for the second half determined to win.  Holderness took the lead early in the half with two well placed shots on net from the 18.  We kept pushing and didn't allow Holderness to posess the ball for more than four passes.  Our chances finally came in the final ten minutes of the game.  Holderness cleared a dangerous ball out of the box, Youngjin "Bradley" Kim controlled the ball and finished it beautifully with a strike to the top corner.  Bradley placed a beautiful indirect kick on net so that the Holderness keeper could only punch it out to a waiting Mikki Eggelhoeffer who finished the job.  It was unfortunated that the game was not decided in the final seconds by the players on the field, but by a questionable call that led to a penalty kick that decided the game.  The boys played their hearts out gainst a powerful opponent and walked away with their heads held high knowing they played their best.  See you at home on Wednesday against Brewster!

VA played well once again outscoreing our opponenets three to two.  Unfortunately we scored twice for Cushing and took ourselves out of the game.  Our overall team defense and hustle kept a very skilled team from completing more than four passes at a time.  Our only score came from a penalty shot from Rang "Neil" Lee.  We teavel to Holderness on Saturday.

VA 5  Winchendon 0

It was a perfect day for a soccer match, sunny with a slight breeze and 70 degrees.  The game started with the team firing on all cylinders right from the opening kick off.  They moved the ball brilliantly around the pressure of Winchendon’s defense by keeping them just one step behind each pass.  The communication was outstanding, the two touch game was crisp and they were showing to their teammates. They moved the ball strategically to Dom Senerchia streaking on the sideline into the corner where he crossed it to find Rang “Neil” Li on the far post.  Our first score came within the openning 20 seconds of the game.  It didn’t matter who was in what position because they were all on the same page playing our system.  In the first half, the defense played so well, Jamie Lumley only touched the ball twice and didn’t have to save any shots.  The second goal came from a corner kick placed perfectly by Yeongjin “Bradley” Kim to a in motion George Atkins to finish.  The third goal came from a brilliant through ball from Sam Gohl through the seam for a breaking Neil Li for his second of the match. 

We started the second half with the tenacity of the first while communicating and passing well.  Everyone on the team was able to get much more playing time and demonstrated improvement in their knowledge and skill of the game.  Julian Stolper, Jae Yong “Justin” Yim, Zihan “Atilla” Chen are showing marked improvement in their overall game.  Atilla Chen almost had his second goal of the season.  His shot went off of the post, but a well positioned Winchendon defender was able to clear it off of the line before it crossed.  The scores for the half came from another placed cross from Dom Senerchia to captain Seamus Spendley on the far post.  Bradley finished off the scoring with a penalty kick.  Jamie Lumley logged the first shut-out of the season.  We didn’t achieve one of our team goals, which was to finish more opportunities.  We were able to convert only on less tha half of our many good opportunities.  We know that this can come back to haunt us later in the season.  We were very proud of how everyone played our system for the full 80 minutes.  It didn’t matter who was playing what position.  We travel to Ashburnham to play Cushing Academy on Wednesday.  See you there!

VA 1  Putney 3

It was a blustery fall day for a game up on the hill in Putney.  It was a cool sunny day on a wet field with wind gusts that could change the direction of the ball in the air.  These were challenging conditions to face an undefeated varsity opponent.  We lost the toss and had to begin the game playing into the headwind.  After the first ten minutes, we settled down into playing pressuring team defense and quickly transitioned into a two touch passing offensive counter attacking game.  To move the ball successfully up the field, we had to pass the ball on the ground working hard to support the attack.  We controlled the pace of the first half winning 50/50 balls and really worked hard to support the passing game while attacking.  These efforts yielded four really good scoring opportunities that we failed to convert.  Yeon Jun “Jimmy” Kim had his best game to date, playing stopper with Erik Neilsen supporting his efforts.  Rang “Neil” Li also had his best overall performance at striker by pressuring every defensive pass, often winning the ball, and turning them into a dangerous scoring opportunities.  Unfortunately, none of them yielded goals. We ended the half with neither team able to score.

VA started the half inspired and scored first with another corner kick by Yeongjin “Bradley” Kim to George Atkin’s high flying header into the upper 90 of the far post.  We played very well until the 65^th minute when Putney scored.  At that time, the team lost its composure, stopped playing as a team, and lost the edge.  Putney finished the game scoring two additional goals.  The boys put forth a valiant effort against a very skilled varsity opponent.  They failed to put the game out of reach in the first half and play as a team for the entire 80 minutes.  I have no doubt that they will learn from this experience and continue to improve as a team.  We look forward to playing Winchendon at home on Saturday.  See you there!

VA was home for the first time this season minus several starting players.  The team was determined to play hard as a unit for each other.  In the first half, the Tilton players came out very strong and confident with bigger and very skilled players.  They opened the scoring with a powerful shot from just inside the box to the upper 90 over the outstretched arms of Dom Senerchia.  After this wake-up call, the defense was able to maintain their composure and shape to prevent Tilton from any more quick and easy transition shots in the game.  In the words of the opposing coach, “…it is useless to keep trying to dribble through their defense.”  In their frustration, Guillermo Barreiro-Perez was able to counter attack, dribbling through the Tilton defense to even the score.  Before the end of the first half, Tilton took the lead with a lofty shot from outside the box that beat Dom once again.

The team found some inspiration from coach Carreño’s half time speech and came out in the second fired up, focused, and ready to play.  They were unfazed in their efforts even though Tilton’s play appeared to get a little chippy.  Throughout the second, our players worked tenaciously to win 50/50 balls in an attempt to control the possession game.  It was their combinations that set up a ball over the top of the defense in the 72^th minute to a streaking Nate “Rico” Goldman for an inspirational game equalizer.  Five minutes later, Youngjin “Bradley” Kim, took the ball into the corner crossing it.  He found Seamus Spendley who flicked the ball across the goal to Rico, who, once again, finished the play scoring his second goal of the game.  

Once again, the defense continued to improve as a unit and Dom had a very impressive first game in net.  On Saturday we travel to Kimball Union Academy, a veritable powerhouse for New England soccer.  We look forward to seeing you there!

The VA Boys’ JV  went to Eaglebrook on Saturday to find a very youthful but skilled opponent.  The first half was equally matched between the teams but Eaglebrook provided more hustle that translated into winning the 50/50 balls and controlled the tempo of the half.  Fortunately, VA began the scoring with a great cross from Bradley Kim that was finished beautifully by Dom Senerchia.  Dom wasn’t done yet.  He returned the favor by crossing another ball from deep in the corner to Zihan “Atilla” Chen who made a brilliant volley to the back of the net.  We limped into half time with a 2 to 1 lead.

After some encouragement from the coaches and captains at half time, the team set out to dominate the pace and intensity of the game.  They controlled the time of possession and won the 50/50 balls in the second.  They had three times more real scoring opportunities than in the first.  Either Eaglebrook’s keeper was making brilliant saves to keep his team in the game or they missed the mark.  In the end, Eaglebrook was able to tie the game and VA couldn’t convert the good opportunities into a winning goal.  VA was unlucky, which happens a lot in this sport.

The team should be very proud of how well they played.  They did not allow any sloppy defensive transition goals.  They cleared the ball much better and worked harder to mark the Eaglebrook’s impact players.  Erik Neilsen had another solid game at sweeper.  Sipho Msipa showed that his injuries have healed and he is ready to play an entire game.  George Atkins continued to play very well at any position on the field.  AJ Latullippe showed his athletic ability and vision on the field and is improving rapidly in his technical abilities.  The team is improving in their ability to work together while learning the system of play.  We look forward to our Lakes Region opener at home on Wednesday at 3:00.  See you there!!

The VA Boys’ JV Soccer team had another good effort against a well trained opponent, NMH, minus one of our best players and captains Seamus Spendly.  Everyone had to learn and adapt to a new line up with most players playing new positions.  Jamie Lumley started in net and had a solid performance.  His play in the first half was a little tentative, but by the second he was making critical saves that kept his teammates in the game.  Two different players tried to fill Seamus’ shoes at sweeper and by the end of the game Erik Neilsen was able to fill his shoes quite well with a very solid performance in the back. 

The first half started with some confusion among our ranks both offensively and defensively.  NMH was able to capitalize on some of the miscues in the first half going up 2 to 0.  We regrouped and made more changes.  Hee Jae Lee and Nate Goldman worked hard to take the place of the Nates (Nate Greene and Nate Antesburger) who worked with Erik to shut down and stifle NMH’s offense.  Nate Antesberger was move to Stopper where he provided the needed hustle that was missing in the middle of the field due to Seamus not being able to play.  Nate Greene and Dom Senercia were moved out to the wings for more speed on the flanks.  To add to our distress, we also lost Neil Li for the game due to an injury early in the second.

Through all of this, the boys never gave up on themselves or each other.  They rallied in the second outscoring NMH 3 to 1 in the second half.  All three goals were assisted by Bradley Kim.  Two were corner kicks in which he assisted the Nates both Nate Antesburger and Nate Greene in scoring their first goals of the year.  The second was another beautiful finish in which he crossed it over the outstretched arms of the keeper to a wonderful far post header finish by Mikki Eggelhoefer.  Bradley also had two spectacular shots on net that the NMH keepers had to make equally brilliant saves.  Mikki played positions that ranged the entire field and his hustle was an inspiration to all.  Several other players that deserve mention were George Atkins, Sam Gohl, Andrew Reggio, and Julian Stolper who had played their best games to date.

We started the season with beautiful conditions for a game at Deerfield Academy (DA).  As expected, they were a well schooled and an extremely disciplined team.  We started out well with controlling the pace of the game.  We had some defensive issues clearing the ball that lead to DA scoring first.  We bounced back in the first half with Yeonjin “Bradley” Kim placing corner kick off of the back post for  a crashing Yeon Jun “Jimmy” Kim who arrived at the place first for a volley that was our first goal of the season.  Rang “Neil” Li was also there to follow the shot into the net to ensure delivery.  The defense made many adjustments during the first half of play lead by Seamus Spendley and “The Nates” (Nate Antesburger and Nate Green) on the wings.  Although we appeared to win the time of possession in the first half, DA edged us out on the number of 50/50 balls.  We translate that directly to our effort.

In the second half, we really were able to put more pressure on DA.  Bradley Kim bent a beautiful direct kick around a wall that was denied entry to the net by the outstretched finger tips of the brilliant DA keeper.  We continued to control the pace of the game and won most of the 50/50 balls in the second half.  Another defensive miscommunication lead to another DA goal in about the 70th minute.  We had several break away opportunities that were also neutralized by DA with outstanding tending in net.  VA worked hard and continued to press until the end of the game and were rewarded in the 79th minute with Neil Li taking the ball into the corner and placing a perfect cross beyond the outstretched fingers of the keeper with Bradley Kim hustling to get into the perfect position for a header to tie with 20 seconds left in play.  They persisted and were rewarded in the end.  Other outstanding contributors were Erik Neilsen who played many positions all over the field and Domenic Senerchia who had to learn how play wing defender while under fire.