Division III soccer title game notes

In addition to fine coverage, as usual by the Freeps in their previews of the Division III boys and girls soccer state title games on Saturday, here's some notes I've compiled.

Boys

No. 8 Peoples (10-5-2) vs. No.7 Northfield (10-5-2), 10 a.m. at Randolph H.S.

Both teams were seeded low thanks to playing in the tough Captial Division against larger schools.

Both teams were 1-2-1 in last four regular season games.

They played to 0-0 tie on Oct. 10.

Peoples is 2-4 in D-III title games. Northfield is 6-8-2.

Peoples lost to Northfield eight straight times in the playoffs before beating the Marauders 2-1 in the 2000 title game. Since then, Peoples has won the last two playoff meetings, including a 2-1 win in the quarterfinals last year.

Peoples last title was in 2002 - a 3-0 win over Stowe. The Wolves have lost in the finals three times since then - 03, 07 and 08.

Northfield's last title was in 2004, a 3-2 win over South Royalton.

Peoples outscored opponents 27-12 in the regular season; Northfield outscored opponents 32-20.

Girls

No. 2 Oxbow (16-1) vs. No. 1 Peoples (16-1) at Randolph H.S., 1 p.m.

Peoples is 3-2 in state finals, winning in 06, 08 and 09. This is Oxbow's second title game; it lost in 2007.

Oxbow defeated Peoples in the quarters last year, 1-0. Oxbow is 2-1 all-time in the playoffs against PA.

Oxbow outscored opponents 55-9 in the regular season; PA outscored opponents 56-11. Both team's lone loss was a 1-0 defeat. Peoples has scored 18 goals in three playoff games and Oxbow has scored 16.

I will be photographing and writing about both games, as well as tweeting live updates, for the Burlington Free Press and posting photos at ColdHollowPhoto.com late Saturday night.

Game off, game on

It's hard to believe considering Franklin County is the hotbed of Vermont softball, but at least two Vermont schools - Montpelier and Mount St. Joseph of Rutland - have cancelled their seasons due to lack of participants.

Here's a link to an article on the Barre Times Argus website explaining the Montpelier situation in detail.

http://timesargus.com/article/20090402/SPORTS/904020383/1004/SPORTS

MVU catcher Ashton Hubbard is one of the many outstanding softball players in Franklin County. Also pictured is umpire Pat Meunier.

If you read the article by Jamie Biggam you'll note he reports that participation in lacrosse and tennis has robbed the softball program of numbers. Not surprising, I'm sad to say. Patience isn't something most kids have and softball is a game where patience is at a premium. That said, it's my favorite sport to cover as a reporter. Of course, I was spoiled by the luxury of covering Franklin County softball for over a decade. Up north, the games are routinely under 90 minutes long - I think the fastest game I've covered was a 54-minute affair at The Pit at MVU between the T-Birds and Spaulding, I think.

That was back when Meggan Roberge was dominating the circle before moving on to see practically every pitching record at St. Michael's College.

UVM HOCKEY COVERAGE

While I handing out links, the Burlington Free Press is all over the UVM men's hockey team's quest for a national title.

Check out this link to see the coverage to date and their plans moving forward, including a blog by OTL fav John A. Fantino and voluminous insight and analysis from long-time Catamount hockey aficionado Ted Ryan.

Full disclosure: I work part time at the Freeps as a copy editor, but even if I didn't I would still recommend the Freeps as the premier source for information on the Catamounts' Frozen Four exploits.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com

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SHAWN CORROW, when he's not wishing every day could be like yesterday, i.e. warm and sunny, is a freelance photojournalist based in Franklin, Vermont and the owner of Cold Hollow Photography.