Northfield's Zach Daley heads off a Spaulding attacker in Last Saturday's game at the Barre Town Recreation Field. The Marauders dropped a hard fought 1-0 decision to the Div. I Crimson Tide on the rain soaked and muddy field. The Northfield High Boy's soccer team may have lost their last two games of the season over the last week, but despite the losses the Marauders proved that can play with the big kids.

Last Wednesday the Marauders took on Stowe, the top seeded team in Div. III and lost by a 3-1 score and on Saturday in downpour on an absolute quagmire at Barre Town's Recreation Field they gave Div. 1 Spaulding all they could handle before bowing 1- 0. With the two losses the Marauders wrapped up their regular season with a record of 6-7-1.

At Stowe the Marauders spotted the Raiders a one goal lead but bounced back to tie things up on a Sam Dyer goal. Stowe, however, took over from there and added two more to win their ninth of the year by a 3-1 count." Stowe is very tough, They are top seeded for a reason," said Northfield coach Mike Davison. " They play very good soccer. They are disciplined and play a great team game," the coach added.

On Saturday the Marauders took on Div. I powerhouse Spaulding at the Barre Town Recreation Field. The Crimson Tide came into the game with a ten game win streak and it looked like they weren't ready to take the Div. III Marauders seriously. It didn't take long for Spaulding to discover that Northfield wasn't about to just roll over and play dead against the Div. I power. Despite the soggy conditions and their opponents record the Maroon & White came to play. "We controlled the play in the first half," said coach Davison. " We had lots of opportunities that we should have converted but we went into halftime tied at 0-0."

When the second half started the Marauders faced withering pressure but they didn't break. In the games 55th minute Spaulding did light up the scoreboard but the Crimson tide scored on an "own goal" when the ball deflected off a Northfield played and wound up in the Marauder net giving Spaulding a lead they would never relinquish. Although the Marauders still had some chances, they could never find the back of the Spaulding net. " We had some golden chances. "We had a free kick in their penalty area but the ball got stuck in the water like so many did that day," said coach Davison.

The scoreboard may have said Spaulding 1, Northfield 0 at the end of the game coach Davison felt that this was a character building experience for his team. " We were in it to win it but it just wasn't meant to be. We threw a scare into them. We proved we are capable of frightening division I teams when we put it all together. When we work together and everyone shows up to play we can take on anybody," the coach said.

For Coach Davison this year has been an educational experience. " As a first year coach I've learned a lot. I think the team has learned a lot and really grown from the start of the season. With our talent and ability I think that if we get just a bit of luck we can go 3 or 4 games into the tournament," the coach said.

The Marauder boys finish the regular season at 6-7-1 and now look to the playoffs.