By permission of the Manchester Journal

Lauren Read Staff reporter

09/08/2010

MANCHESTER - The young Burr and Burton Academy varsity boys soccer team got an early test in their first game of the season, but the Woodstock Wasps came away with the 2-1 overtime win on Tuesday night at Applejack Field.

The Bulldogs went down 1-0 halfway through the second half, when Nick Schmell crossed the ball off of a corner kick. The ball found a wide-open Luke Aspell, who headed the ball into the wide open net.

Down a goal, Burr and Burton faced the first test of the season. The Bulldogs responded by putting the pressure on the Woodstock defense, keeping the ball in the offensive side of the field.

With less than four minutes remaining in the game, freshman Liam Kelleher used a great touch pass to get Ander Echevarria free behind the Wasps defense. Echevarria made no mistake and tapped it past Woodstock goalie Nico Brands to tie the game.

"Once the game got going, they started to create chances," said BBA head coach Peter Mull of his team's play. "They got over the initial tentativeness."

The game headed into overtime, where play was back and forth for most of the ten minutes. With 33 seconds left in the first overtime, Woodstock put a shot on BBA goalkeeper Michael Nolan, who made the save.

But the ball bounced right to the Wasp's Kyle Anderson, who slammed it home for the overtime win.

"It was a fun game. They played hard," said Mull. "I thought we did really well with all the new players."

BBA had a chance to go up early in the game when Echevarria got fouled inside the box, earning a penalty kick for his team. Joseph Keefe took the penalty but hit the crossbar.

Nolan played well in his first varsity start, making eleven saves. He made some really tough stops to keep his team in the game. In the first half Nolan made a point blank save on Schmell to keep the game scoreless. Then as the clock was winding down in the first, Nolan made two great saves, one on Schmell and another on the follow up shot. Brands had nine saves to earn the win for Woodstock.

"Woodstock played a good game," said Mull. "We have a lot of games ahead of us."

The defense had a strong game for BBA, with Robert England, Kaegen Morris and Charlie Kepler holding down the back end. Kepler turned in the defensive play of the game, knocking the ball off of the goal line as Woodstock tried to take the lead.

"We now know what we need to focus on and practice," said Mull. "This will give us purpose and intensity."

Burr and Burton (0-1) will stay in the hunt for their first win when they host Mill River (0-1) on Saturday, Sept. 11, at 11 a.m. at the BBA main campus.

By permission of the Rutland Herald

By Chuck Clarino - Published: September 6, 2010
Staff Writer

The high school field hockey season kicks off this week with a trio of games that rock.

The Rutland Raiders begin the week Tuesday hosting a Queensbury, N.Y., team that has become a traditional nonleague game for the Raiders. What is new is that generally Rutland begins its season against Division II rival Otter Valley, but not this year.

This year, the Queensbury games gives us a peek at the new-look Raiders, who have undergone a transformation in terms of switching positions around — girls you might have become used to as forwards are suddenly playing defense, while the midfield should also feature some new faces or old faces in new spots.

It will also showcase the vaunted Raider speed. Speed has become a hallmark of the Raiders under April Cioffi. During Cioffi’s premier season in 2009, Rutland’s ability to move up the field or to transition was almost shocking. It could be a huge strategical advantage for Rutland as the season plays out.

Wednesday provides another interesting matchup when Otter Valley opens its season against Burr and Burton. The news here is that the Division III Bulldogs are now coached by former Rutland High mentor Lynne Sanders. Sanders had dizzying success at Rutland and the folks in Manchester hope it will carry over to the Bulldog team. An interesting sidelight here is that Sanders’ son-in-law, Dave Micelli, had served as the JV coach so many of those younger players moving up to the varsity ranks at BBA have been groomed for Sanders by a family member.

For the Otters, this is a good game for Gary Hodder to gauge how his offense has come along. Hodder lost two tremendous goal scorers and is banking on some young girls to fuel the Otter offense. Another plus for Hodder’s Otters is that senior Jenna Smith returns to bolster an already strong defense. Smith was out almost all of last season with an injury and is viewed by Hodder as a bonus player.

What to look for in this game is how the young Bulldogs match up against an Otter team that has some star quality players like center mid Kristy Pinkham and back Marina Vitagliano.

Friday brings us a true early-season delight when Hartford travels to Mount Anthony. This is a playoff-caliber matchup in the first week.

Hartford won the Division I crown by defeating a South Burlington team that knocked MAU out in the semifinal round of last fall’s playoffs.

The Hurricanes are loaded with a gang of players who have started four successive years for Heather Scudder. To give you and idea about how that makes Scudder feel she said that she hasn’t feel this good about a team in more than five years.

Meanwhile, Laura Paro lost considerable talent from her club that lost only three games last year but she feels good about the fact that she has some strong veterans mixed in with a flow of players coming through the youth program she instituted several years ago. The MAU pipeline is providing talent that could make the Patriots scary for years to come.

Have a great week and don’t worry about the whistles.

By Permission of the Bennington Banner

Thursday July 29, 2010

NEW ORLEANS, La. -- Fordham University graduate student and Burr and Burton Academy alum Brigid Moriarty of Manchester Center was among the 551 student-athletes, representing 150 institutions, chosen for the USTFCCCA women’s 2010 Division I All-Academic Track & Field team this week.

To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field team, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 and have met either the NCAA Division-I Indoor automatic or provisional qualifying standard or participated in the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships (including preliminary rounds) in their respective event.

The All-Academic honor from the USTFCCCA is just the latest honor received by Moriarty for her athletic and academic accomplishments this year. Earlier in the summer, she was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District women’s track & field/cross-country team.

Moriarty was also named Academic All-Atlantic-10 for cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field this year.

She is the first female athlete (third overall) at Fordham to earn all three Atlantic-10 academic honors in the same season.

Moriarty, who earned a BS in 2009 and is currently working on a master’s degree in English, won the 10,000 meters at the 2010 Atlantic-10 Outdoor Championships in a time of 35:53.16 to earn First Team All-Conference honors. She also placed 12th in the College Women’s Championship 3000m race at the 2010 Penn Relays and won the 10,000m at the 2010 Metropolitan Championships.

Most recently, Moriarty placed 31st in a time of 36:39.09 at the 2010 NCAA East Regionals in Greensboro, North Carolina, on May 27. Prior to the NCAAs, she took fourth in the 10,000m at the 2010 ECAC Outdoor Championships at Princeton University on May 15 to earn All-East honors.

The 2009 cross-country team MVP and co-MVP of the 2010 outdoor squad, Moriarty placed fifth in the 5000m at the 2010 Atlantic-10 Indoor Championships in an ECAC qualifying time of 17:24.94 while also taking 10th in the 3000m at A-10s (10:06.18). She recorded Fordham’s fastest 3000m and 5000m times in 2009-10 and was a member of the distance medley relay which won the 2010 Metropolitan Indoor championship.

Last fall, Moriarty was named Academic All-Atlantic-10 for cross country after placing sixth at the 2009 Atlantic 10 Cross Country championships to earn All-Conference honors, only the second Fordham female cross country runner ever to do so.

If you have a yearning to work with clay, there are two sessions of Ceramics Camp the week of June 28 and the week of July 5. You’ve uploaded your photos to the computer, now what? Sign up for Photoshop Camp the week of July 5 and learn amazing tools. For those who are looking to go to the next step, sign up for Adobe Flash Camp the week of July 12 and Web Design Camp the week of July 26. All adult camps run from 5 pm - 8:30 pm and take place on campus.

For the kids there are exciting new camp offerings this year including Tennis, Music, Techsploration, Softball, Gamers, Ceramics, Photoshop, Adobe Flash and Web Design.

All the camps from last year will also be back again: Girls Lacrosse, Field Hockey, Football, Soccer, Baseball, Basketball, and Dance.

For more information and to register go the http://bbacamps.ticketjunior.com. You will find complete information on times and fees as well as registration. If you have any questions, please contact Camp Director Kevin Morrison: kmorrison@burrburton.org.

By permission of the Bennington Banner

Monday June 14, 2010

MONTPELIER -- For six innings, it looked like the Burr and Burton Academy varsity baseball team’s postseason fireworks show had finally fizzled out. But the Bulldogs re-lit the fuse when it mattered most.

Down to its final at-bat of the season, BBA mounted a furious four-run rally to force extra innings in Monday’s Division-II state championship game before ultimately falling to top-seeded Mount Abraham, 6-5.

No. 3 BBA (12-8) trailed 4-1 heading into the top of the seventh inning, but plated four runs to storm back and take a 5-4 lead. Bulldog Alex Miskovsky singled to help fuel the comeback, and a trio of errors by the infield of the Eagles (15-5) opened the door for the go-ahead rally.

Down to its final three outs, Mount Abraham tied things up on an RBI single by Ryan Siegle after a walk and a wild pitch. The Eagles’ winning run was scored in the bottom of the ninth, when infielder Ethan Hefferman put down a suicide squeeze bunt off BBA’s TJ Oliver to bring home Sam Lieberman from third base with one out.

Mickey O’Connor earned the win for Mount Abraham, after entering the game in the seventh inning to relieve starter Shawn Marcelle. Oliver took the loss in relief of BBA starter Eddie Lewicki, who didn’t make it out of the second inning.

The Bulldogs were in search of the program’s second-ever state championship, and first since 2005. BBA reached the title game in 1996, but lost to top-seeded Oxbow. BBA head coach Adam Provost said that his team could take some comfort from the thrilling nature of Monday’s contest.

"I’m really proud of these guys," Provost said. "It was a great game to be a part of."

The No. 1 seed hadn’t exactly been a blessing for Mt. Abe in the past. The top-seeded Eagles fell to No. 2 Lyndon in last year’s D-II championship game, one year after holding the top spot in the bracket and being upset by No. 10 Vergennes for the state title.

The Eagles captured the D-II crown in 2008 as the No. 3 seed, upsetting No. 1 Lyndon in the finals.

Mt. Abe also won state championships in ‘02, ‘01 and 1974.

The Bulldogs were also eliminated from postseason play by Mount Abe last season, when they lost as the No. 9 seed in the D-II quarterfinals.

Provost’s team was in the hunt for Burr and Burton Academy’s third state championship of the spring.

The top-seeded BBA girls tennis team took down No. 3 Montpelier for its third D-II title in four years, and the No. 7 Bulldog girls lacrosse team upset No. 1 Chelsea, 9-7, in the D-II championship game on Saturday.

By permission of the Rutland Herald

By KYLE MARTEL CORRESPONDENT - Published: June 13, 2010

BURLINGTON – Everyone knows revenge is a dish best served cold, and in Saturday's Division II girls lacrosse state championship Burr and Burton served up Chelsea a two-year-old plate of how-do-you-like-them-apples to reclaim the crown from the Red Devils.

The No. 7 Bulldogs snapped Chelsea's 34-game win streak by ousting the top-seeded Red Devils 9-7 to claim their third state title in four years. In all four of those championship games the Bulldogs faced rival Chelsea, with the Red Devils taking the title last year, ironically, in a game that ended with a 9-7 score. The Bulldogs had also been the last team to beat Chelsea, back in June 2008.

Saturday marked the sixth time the teams meet for the title of division champion and the history between the two powerhouse teams in Division II just made victory all that much sweeter for the Bulldogs.

“It just feels good,” said a giddy Sawyer DeVries. “We love winning state championships.”

Saturday's matchup quickly became another spring classic between the two schools that don't have too much in common besides winning championships. Though Chelsea entered the game boasting an explosive offensive Burr and Burton successfully countered with pure athletic ability and steadfast pressure tilting time of possession heavily in its favor.

Emma Provenzano led Burr and Burton's offense with three goals. Jenny Coppin and Devries each had two goals and teammates Brooke Sabel and Charlotte Palmer each recorded a goal. Bulldog netminder Paige Emand made six saves.

With 10 seniors the 11-7 Bulldogs' experience showed as the team played with great poise and utilized the emotions that come with a championship game, not to mention graduating the night before.

Chelsea (17-1) was paced by a dazzling performance by sophomore Whitney Ladd who tallied five goals and proved to be a threat from anywhere on the field. Jasmine Braman and Michelle Upham each scored a goal for the Red Devils.

Chelsea set an aggressive tone at the start of the game, when Braman charged down the field and drew a free-position-shot that hit the right post of the goal, but Braman scooped up the rebound and quickly fired it into the back of the next to score the first goal of the game five minutes in. Two minutes later Chelsea goalie Morgan Tullar made an impressive stop and ditched the clear to Ladd who went coast-to-coast and scored to give Chelsea a 2-0 lead.

But that goal was perhaps the beginning of the end for Chelsea's undefeated streak. A minute later Sabel put the Bulldogs on the board and in the 10th minute Coppin scored to tie the game at 2-2. From that point on Burr and Burton controlled the game, making clean passes and capitalizing on the Red Devils struggles with ground balls as Provenzano and Devries netted goals to take a 4-2 lead with 10 minutes remaining to the half.

Though Upham scored to cut the Bulldog lead to one, BBBA answered with a Provenzano goal off a free-position shot. Devries grabbed a Chelsea turnover and scored an unassisted goal 34 seconds after Provenzano to put the Bulldogs up 6-3.

Ladd scored two big goals in between a triad of Red Devil misses on free-position shots to put her team a goal behind, but Coppin scored her second goal of the game 10 seconds before the half to give Burr and Burton a 7-5 lead at the break.

The Bulldogs controlled possession for almost every second of the first nine minutes of the second half and had four free-position-shot opportunities but Tullar made four of her 13 saves during that stretch and kept Chelsea in the hunt.

Ladd scored 10 minutes into the final half on a sniper shot from behind the crease to cut the lead to 7-6, but the Bulldogs strong possession wore down the Red Devil defense and Provenzano and Palmer scored goals within three minutes of each other to extend their team's lead to 9-6 with five minutes left in the game.

By permission of the Bennington Banner

Adam White

Wednesday June 9, 2010

SOUTH LONDONDERRY -- The Burr and Burton Academy girls varsity tennis team wasn’t going to get its hands on a second-straight Division-II state crown without a challenge. And this time around, it came from both the other side of the net and the sky above.

The top-seeded Bulldogs’ title showdown with No. 3 Montpelier on Wednesday ended up lasting six hours and requiring two venues some 20 miles apart, as rain brought the initial tilt at Dana L. Thompson Memorial Park in Manchester to a halt after only a handful of sets. The match was then moved to West River Tennis & Fitness in South Londonderry, where BBA clinched the repeat title - its third in four seasons - with a 6-2, 6-1 win by Molly Heartfield at the No. 5 singles position.

The Bulldogs went on to win, 4-3.

The initial tilt in Manchester lasted less than 30 minutes, before a rainstorm that was moving rapidly north soaked the three courts and sent the players, coaches and fans scrambling for cover. BBA head coach Lisa Kelly, Montpelier head coach Wendy Watson and a VPA official huddled up and went to work on an alternative plan, and soon a convoy was on its way east to resume the match on West River’s twin indoor courts.

"We had about 70 people crammed into this little facility," Kelly said. "It was totally chaotic. But then the energy settled down, and people got into their matches."

Two of the first three singles matches which had begun in Manchester were concluded first, with BBA’s Nina Shehadi hammering out a 6-0, 6-1 victory at No. 2 over Tatum Fitzgerald of the Solons and Bulldog Claire Kelley prevailing at No. 3 with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Alli Dunn. Shehadi and Kelley finished the season undefeated for BBA.

"They were phenomenal," Kelly said. "They both just played really solid tennis."

Burr and Burton’s Kerry Howard saw her No. 1 singles match go to a third set, in which Montpelier’s Carly Watson hung on for a 10-8 victory in the pro-set format. Kelly then opted to play an ace - or rather, two of them - and put her No. 1 doubles tandem of Melanie Thulin and Hannah Harrington on the court next. The Bulldog duo did not disappoint, defeating Solons Jaden Dickinson and Mary Cain, 6-1, 6-3.

"Having home court helps when it comes down to that kind of choice," Kelly said. "I know that one of my team’s strengths is at No. 1 doubles, and they came through like they have all season."

Heartfield was next up for the home team, and the senior put together "the match of her career" in the words of her coach.

"Molly played with more heart today than I’ve ever seen from her before," Kelly said. "It was great to see her, as a senior, have that kind of a moment in such a huge match."

With the state crown sewed up, BBA’s Corben Chase at No. 4 singles and Morgan Ams and Abby Crowley at No. 2 doubles ended up on the short end in their matches.

The Bulldogs finish the year with a record of 17-1, while the Solons wrap up with a 14-3 mark.

Burr and Burton won the D-II championship in both 2009 and 2007 with victories over Stowe, and fell to the Raiders in the finals in 2008. Montpelier last reached the finals in 2006, and went on to lose to Stowe by the final score of 5-2.

By permission of the Bennington Banner

Tuesday June 8, 2010

BRADFORD -- Charlotte Palmer scored off a give-and-go with teammate Jenny Coppin to break an 8-all tie and send the No. 7 Burr and Burton Academy girls varsity lacrosse team on its way to a 13-9 upset of No. 6 Oxbow in the Division-II state semifinals on Tuesday.

BBA (10-7) rattled off five straight goals to seize control of the game in the second half. Bulldog head coach Dave Miceli said that it was a matter of his team solving the defense of the Olympians (11-8).

"Oxbow’s defense was sharp and tight; they were really good on their slides," Miceli said. "Once we figured out the type of zone they were running, we were able to run some plays to exploit it."

Sawyer DeVries led the Bulldogs with four goals and two assists. BBA also got strong offensive games from Tess Montague, Brooke Sabol and Emma Provenzano (two goals apiece). Jenny Coppin added one goal and two assists, while Michelle Kelly tallied one goal and one assist. BBA goalkeeper Paige Emond made eight saves.

Oxbow was led by Reilly Hohnson’s four goals, while goalkeeper Karley Hamilton made five saves for the Olympians.

BBA will now advance to its fourth straight D-II championship showdown with Chelsea. The top-seeded Red Devils (16-0) took care of No. 5 Rice on Tuesday, 11-6.

"Both of us seem to have had a tougher time geting to the finals this year," Miceli said. "I think that says a lot about the overall level of competition in D-II this year."

BBA edged in semifinal

SOUTH BURLINGTON -- The Burr and Burton Academy boys varsity lacrosse team will miss out on an opportunity to repeat as Division-II state champions after falling to Rice in the semifinals, 8-6, in South Burlington on Tuesday.

Harry Foreman led No. 3 Rice (16-3) with three goals, while goalkeeper Mike Flynn finished with 12 saves in net.

The No. 7 Bulldogs (9-9) were paced by three goals and an assist from Nick Perni, followed by Connor Leggett (one goal, one assist), Max Johnson (one goal) and TJ Kemper (one goal).

BBA goaltender Tim Dexter turned in a 13-save performance in the Bulldog crease.

By permission of the Bennington Banner

LAUREN READ

June 8, 2010

NORTH CLARENDON -- When you’re hot, you’re hot, and the Burr and Burton Academy varsity baseball team is on fire.

Appearing in its first Division-II semifinal in five years , the No. 3 Bulldogs took on No. 2 Mill River and dominated from start to finish, beating the Minutemen 18-1.

The first few innings were tight, with both pitchers keeping the batters off balance. The Bulldogs struck first when they loaded the bases in the second inning. TJ Oliver was hit by a pitch that scored Connor Stewart, and gave starting pitcher Jake Oliver all the run support he needed.

Jake Oliver was masterful on the mound, taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning. Oliver’s control over the Mill River hitters was key, as the score remained close until the fourth inning.

BBA broke the game open in the top of the fourth, when they started to get to the Minutemen starter. After Danny Favreau scored on a error, Eddie Lewicki got an RBI single that scored TJ Oliver.

Ethan Hom then continued his streak of big hits, when he drove a ball that bounced over the fence for a ground rule double that plated two more runs.

"Hitting is contagious and today it was contagious," BBA head coach Adam Provost said. "All we needed was patience, our job was to out grind them. We started putting some good swings on the ball."

As the Burr and Burton bats started to heat up, Jake Oliver kept the Mill River hitters quiet. Playing

on an error prone field, the sophomore pitcher trusted his defense and induced lots of groundballs. His defense rewarded the trust, making a couple of strong plays to keep the Minutemen off the base paths.

After hitting a batter in the first inning, Oliver would not allow another base runner until the fifth inning, when two errors in the field allowed the only run for Mill River.

"Jake really gave everybody a tremendous amount of confidence today," Provost said. "[Mill River] is a good hitting team and Jake really owned the game."

The Bulldogs continued to pour on the runs, scoring two runs in the fifth, three runs in the sixth and eighth runs in the seventh inning.

The offense really clicked in the seventh. Alex Miskovsky drove in two runs, Alex Richardson hit a two run home run, TJ Oliver drove in a run with a double and Mike Marino capped off the scoring with a solo home run.

"Everything is working," said Richardson. "I have been working on my swing a lot lately for playoffs. I’m trying to hit like I was at the beginning of the year."

Oliver went all seven innings, allowing only one hit and striking out four.

BBA got offense from up and down the order, getting two hits from TJ Oliver, Miskovsky, Hom, Stewart, and Favreau.

Richardson was the offensive leader for the Bulldogs, going four-for-five with two singles, a double and the home run. Marino and Lewicki pitched in with a hit a piece.

"We focus on what we can do and we try to see if the other team can handle it," said Provost. "We make sure what we do is very well disciplined and it’s working, the guys are playing really well."

The Bulldogs will now travel to Montpelier for the Division-II state final against No. 1 Mount Abraham. The Eagles also won in blow-out fashion, crushing No. 13 U-32, 16-1, in five innings.