The Mascoma varsity soccer team took to the road on Friday 8/30/19 for our season opener at Belmont.  Despite tremendous effort, our team lost 0-3 to the Red Raiders. 

The Red Raiders had a formidable defensive back line that our offense just couldn't penetrate.  The Royal's defense looked particularly good in the first half, with strong tackles that closed down 7 of the 8 shots taken by Belmont.  One goal squeaked past our new varsity goalie, Connor Thompson, for a halftime score of 0-1.  In the second half, the Royals put more shots on net, but just couldn't sink one, while the Red Raiders sunk one goal on a shot from the 18 yd box and a second goal came from a free kick. Thompson had 14 saves for the game.

The Royal's defenseive back line gets the nod for noteworthy performances on the field.  Senior Dylan Pelton moved from striker to center defender and played his first varsity game in this position as if he'd been doing it for all four years.  Sophomore Cole Moulton started at right defensive back and denied numerous Red Raider attacks.  Senior Captain Liam Hemmerling mentored both Moulton and Pelton to coax the performances that they delivered, while delviering his own outstanding performance.  Junior Michael Steckbeck-Piper also gave a strong performance in the left back position.

Our next game is Tuesday 9/3/19 at Fall Mountain, under the lights, at 7 p.m.  GO ROYALS!