ADDISON COUNTY INDEPENDENT
B Section
THURSDAY, Â JANUARY Â 7, Â 2016
DAVID LINDHOLM
SPORTS
ALSO IN THIS SECTION:
t 4DIPPM /FXT t -FHBM /PUJDFT
t $MBTTJĂŤFET t 3FBM &TUBUF
Bald  eagles: They  save  everything but  their  hair Editor’s  note:  David  Lindholm  LV ¿OOLQJ LQ WKLV ZHHN IRU KLV IDWKHU .DUO ZKR LV RQ D EULHI VDEEDWLFDO UHWXUQLQJ QH[W ZHHN 'DYLG D JUDGXDWH RI 0LGGOHEXU\ &ROOHJH is,  at  present,  in  graduate  school  at  WKH 8QLYHUVLW\ RI 0DVVDFKXVHWWV LQ 6SRUWV 0DQDJHPHQW +H ZRUNHG IRU VHYHQ \HDUV LQ 0DMRU /HDJXH Soccer,  most  UHFHQWO\ DV GL- UHFWRU RI PHGLD UHODWLRQV IRU WKH &RORUDGR 5DSLGV +H SOD\HG JRDOLH on  the  Panther  VRFFHU WHDP KLV IDWKHU QRWHV WKDW 'DYLG ZDVQœW EDOG WKHQ Since  the  summer  of  1994,  when  the  United  States  hosted  the  World  Cup,  the  U.S.  men’s  national  team  has  made  incredible  strides  —  a  re- cord  of  178  wins,  97  losses,  and  69  ties,  and  impressive  performances  at  important  tournaments. The  traditional  powers  of  world  soccer  surely  know  that  it’s  only  a  matter  of  time  before  the  U.S.  over- (See  David  Lindholm,  Page  4B)
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29 VWLĂ&#x20AC;HV 7LJHUV snaps  loss  streak  08+6 ZLOO VHHN WR ÂżQG LWV HDUOLHU JURRYH Landmark victory VUHS :5(67/(5 (7+$1 5HDUGRQ RQ 7XHVGD\ EHFDPH WKH VHFRQG &RPPRGRUH ZUHV- WOHU WR UHDFK WKH ZLQ PLOH- VWRQH 7KH VHQLRU SRXQGHU UHDFKHG WKH SODWHDX GXULQJ D WKUHH ZD\ FRPSHWLWLRQ DW 0LGGOHEXU\ WKDW DOVR LQFOXGHG WKH 0RXQW $EUDKDP VTXDG 5HDUGRQ ZKR WKUHH WLPHV KDV UHDFKHG WKH SRGLXP DW WKH VWDWH FKDPSLRQVKLS PHHW MRLQV FODVVPDWH 5\DQ 3DTXLQ DV D ZLQ ZUHVWOHU DQG MX- nior  teammate  Brandon  Cous- LQR LV NQRFNLQJ RQ WKH GRRU
By  ANDY  KIRKALDY BRANDON  â&#x20AC;&#x201D;  The  Otter  Valley  Union  High  School  boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  basketball  team  on  Tuesday  used  a  mix  of  tough  defensive  looks  to  knock  off  visiting  Middlebury,  51-Â40,  and  snap  what  had  become  a  seven-Âgame  losing  streak. The  second  quarter  proved  to  be  SLYRWDO 7KH PDUJLQV LQ WKH ÂżUVW third  and  fourth  quarters  were  within  a  point  or  two  one  way  or  the  other,  but  the  Tigers  struggled,  particularly  DJDLQVW 29ÂśV ]RQH DV WKH 2WWHUV outscored  them  by  14-Â2  in  the  sec- ond  period  to  lead  at  the  half,  23-Â10.
29 MXQLRU .DL 1RUZRRG ZKR scored  a  game-Âhigh  16  points  and  added  several  clever  assists,  credited  a  defensive  game  plan  that  regularly  VZLWFKHG IURP PDQ WR PDQ WR ]RQH â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  know  it  starts  with  defense,  and  thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  how  weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re  going  to  get  our  win,â&#x20AC;?  Norwood  said.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;A  lot  of  it  came  from  we  mixed  it  up.  When  we  got  a  basket,  we  would  be  in  full- court  press,  and  if  we  missed,  we  GURSSHG EDFN LQWR D ]RQH , IHHO OLNH it  confused  them  a  little  bit.  I  felt  like  it  really  helped  us  out,  so  it  was  a  good  call  on  the  coachesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  part.â&#x20AC;? )LUVW \HDU 7LJHU FRDFK .\OH /XV-Â
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sier  said  his  1-Â6  team  could  have  KDQGOHG WKH ]RQH PRUH HIIHFWLYHO\ LQ WKH ÂżUVW KDOI EXW WKDW RXWVLGH VKRWV the  Tigers  are  capable  of  making  were  still  available.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  had  the  looks  we  wanted.  We  just  couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  get  shots  to  fall.  The  ball  just  wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  rolling  our  way  a  little  bit,â&#x20AC;?  Lussier  said.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;We  were  a Â
Local  hoop:  Tiger,  OV  girls,  VUHS  boys  all  win
ScoreBOARD HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Hockey 1/5  MUHS  vs.  Essex  ....................... 3-Â2  (OT) Boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Basketball 1/4  Mill  River  vs.  Mt.  Abe  .....................68-Â47 1/4  VUHS  vs.  OV  .................................64-Â55 1/5  OV  vs.  MUHS  ................................51-Â40 Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Basketball 1/4  OV  vs.  Burr  &  Burton  .....................38-Â28 1/4  MUHS  vs.  Winooski  .......................52-Â37 1/5  Milton  vs.  VUHS  ............................46-Â21 COLLEGE SPORTS Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hockey 1/3  Neumann  vs.  Midd.  ............................2-Â1 Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hockey 1/5  Midd.  vs.  Lake  Forest  ........................2-Â1 Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Basketball 1/3  NYU  vs.  Midd.  ................................70-Â62 1/5  Midd.  vs.  Anna  Maria  .....................68-Â43 Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Basketball 1/4  Midd.  vs.  S.  Vermont  .....................92-Â74
Schedule
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Hockey 1/9  MUHS  at  Spaulding  .................5:30  p.m. 1/11  Lake  Placid  at  MUHS  ..................7  p.m. 1/16  MUHS  at  S.  Burlington  ..........5:30  p.m. Boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Hockey 1/9  MUHS  at  U-Â32  ..............................5  p.m. 1/16  MUHS  at  St.  Johnsbury   ........7:30  p.m. Boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Basketball 1/8  Windsor  at  OV  ..............................7  p.m. 1/9  Montpelier  at  VUHS  ...............11:30  a.m. 1/12  Mt.  Abe  at  Fair  Haven  .................7  p.m. 1/15  OV  at  Hartford  ............................7  p.m. 1/15  Missisquoi  at  VUHS  ....................7  p.m. Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Basketball 1/8  VUHS  at  N.  Country  ................6:30  p.m. 0W $EH DW 0W 0DQVÂżHOG  ...............7  p.m. 1/8  OV  at  Rutland  ...............................7  p.m. 1/8  Milton  at  MUHS  ............................7  p.m.
(See  Schedule,  Page  4B)
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ADDISON  COUNTY  â&#x20AC;&#x201D;  The  Vergennes  boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  team  de- feated  Otter  Valley  and  the  OV  and  Middlebury  girls  picked  up  wins  to  highlight  local  high  school  basketball  earlier  this  week.  In  other  games,  the  Mount  Abraham  boys  and  Vergennes  girls  lost  home  contests.  The  OV  boys  also  hosted  the  Tiger  boys  on  Tuesday;Íž  see  story  above.  OV-ÂVUHS  BOYS At  VUHS  on  Monday,  the  Commodores  earned  their  second  straight  win,  64- 55,  over  the  visiting  Otters.  Forward  Josh  Dam  led  the  way  for  VUHS  with  19  points  and  12  rebounds,  and  guards  Adam  Gill  (14  points)  and  Dylan  Bradford  (11)  also  contributed  offense  as  Vergennes  improved  to  3-Â6  headed  into  a  Wednesday  night  home  game  vs.  Mount  Abe. *XDUGV Kai  Norwood   (19  points)  and  Derek  Aines  (18)  topped  the  scoring  table  for  the  Otters,  who  dropped  to  2-Â8  heading  into  their  Tuesday  home  game  vs.  Middlebury.  OV  GIRLS In  Brandon  on  Monday,  the  Otter  girls  won  their  fourth  (See  Wrap,  Page  3B)
little  slow  to  react  in  the  middle  of  it.  We  had  some  good  perimeter  move- ment.  We  were  moving  well.  Our  in- WHULRU JX\V ZHUHQÂśW ÂżOOLQJ WKH JDSV and  Otter  Valley  was  doing  a  great  job  of  closing  down  when  we  did  get  the  ball  inside.â&#x20AC;? 29 FRDFK *UHJ +XJKHV VDLG WKH Otters  (now  3-Â8)  talked  and  executed Â
ZHOO LQ WKHLU ]RQH DQG ZHUH DEOH to  get  out  to  those  perimeter  shoot- ers.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;(It  was)  communication,  mak- ing  sure  we  know  where  everybody  is.  And  they  didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t  run  high  post  too  much,  which  would  have  beat  us.  Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  where  our  weakness  is.  They  6HH %DVNHWEDOO 3DJH B)
Cram,  three  Eagles  earn  titles  at  Otter  tournament By  ANDY  KIRKALDY BRANDON  â&#x20AC;&#x201D;  Otter  Valley  Union  High  School  junior  wrestler  Tyson  Cram  won  the  138-Âpound  ti- tle  at  the  OV  teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  own  wrestling  tournament  this  past  Saturday,  but  the  visiting  Mount  Abraham  squad  enjoyed  more  success.  The  Eagles  SRVWHG D WKLUG SODFH ÂżQLVK DPRQJ WKH 11  teams  at  the  invitational  and  they  boasted  three  champions  â&#x20AC;&#x201D;  Dono- van  Lamore  at  106,  Ben  Murray  at  126  and  Josh  Hardy  at  145. St.  Johnsbury  scored  152  points  to  win  the  tournament,  followed  by  Fair  Haven  (102.5),  Mount  Abe  (101),  the Â
host  Otters  (81),  and  Spaulding  (69).  ,Q DGGLWLRQ WR WKH WZR ÂżUVW SODFH ÂżQLVKHV WKH (DJOHV VDZ .HYLQ 3HDUV- all  take  second  at  170,  Christian  Lit- tle  take  third  at  132  and  Ryan  Durfee  ¿QLVK WKLUG DW *DU\ &RQDQW ÂżQ- ished  fourth  at  126,  and  Dylan  Little  won  a  match  at  160.  29ÂśV -DFRE :KLWH ÂżQLVKHG VHF- ond  after  losing  to  Murray  in  the  SRXQG ÂżQDO DQG D WULR RI 2W- WHUV ÂżQLVKHG WKLUG 'DQ :KLWQH\ DW 113,  Matthew  Fox  at  160  and  Nate  Doty  at  285.  Josh  Beayon  won  a  170-Âpound  bout  for  OV. Â
0LGGOHEXU\ PHQ UHWXUQ WR DFWLRQ VSOLW SDLU RI FRQWHVWV MIDDLEBURY  â&#x20AC;&#x201D;  The  Middle- Dahleh  three-Âpointer  triggered  the  bury  College  menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s  basketball  team  surge,  and  the  run  ended  on  a  three- returned  from  its  semester  break  and  point  basket  by  Matt  St.  Amour  that  split  two  games,  winning  at  home  on  JDYH WKH 3DQWKHUV D OHDG Monday  after  dropping  a  road  con- 0LGGOHEXU\ WRRN LWV ELJJHVW ÂżUVW WHVW WKLV SDVW 6DWXUGD\ 7KH 3DQ- KDOI OHDG DW ZKHQ 6W thers  begin  their  NESCAC  schedule  $PRXU QDLOHG KLV ÂżIWK WKUHH this  weekend,  when  they  SRLQWHU DQG WKH 3DQWKHUV will  visit  Wesleyan  on  led  by  55-Â32  at  the  break  Friday  and  Connecticut  after  hitting  eight  of  12  on  Saturday. treys.  The  Mountain- 2Q 0RQGD\ WKH 3DQ- eers  came  no  closer  thers  erupted  for  55  points  BASKETBALL than  14  points  in  the  LQ WKH ÂżUVW KDOI LQ D second  half.  victory  over  Southern  Vermont.  The  Middlebury  had  three  players  re- setback  snapped  the  Mountaineersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;  cord  double-Âdoubles.  St.  Amour  seven-Âgame  winning  streak  and  scored  24  points  and  snared  a  dropped  them  to  8-Â3.  career-Âhigh  12  rebounds,  adding  The  Mountaineers  took  a  15-Â11  seven  assists.  Forward  Zach  Baines  OHDG LQ WKH ÂżUVW EXW WKH 3DQ- had  career  bests  with  11  points  and  thers  went  on  a  17-Â1  run  over  the  11  rebounds,  to  go  along  with  two  QH[W WR VHL]H FRQWURO $Q LQVLGH blocked  shots.  Jack  Daly  scored  15  hoop  by  Eric  McCord  and  a  Hilal  (See  Panthers,  Page  3B)
panther