The Vermont Green FC women took center stage at Virtue Field on Saturday night and Sam Mewis — World Cup champion, U.S. Olympian and former professional women’s soccer player — was as nervous as she had ever been watching a match. 

The Vermont Green FC, with Mewis as a coach, were facing off against FC Laval in their inaugural women’s friendly and the two teams were headed to penalty kicks. 

“(It was) akin to watching the national team take penalty kicks at the Olympics, that’s how I felt on the sideline, this intense stress,” Mewis said. “I think it is something I have been missing in my life, really caring about this moment and how it would affect the team.”

The Green delivered and erased their coach’s nerves with a win, outscoring Laval 5-4 in six rounds of the shootout after the two teams ended regulation tied 1-1.

“I cared about that game literally more than I have cared about anything in so long,” said Mewis, who was making her coaching debut. “That was so awesome. I am so proud of the team.” 

Vermont keeper Olivia Dubin made a save in the final round of penalty kicks and Roshann Purcell fired it in to lift the home team to the victory. 

“I just wanted to honor my teammates hard work so badly, they had put in everything for the last 90 minutes, put in everything for the last three days and I just wanted to come up big for them,” Dubin said of her big stop. “I was in disbelief, the crowd was unbelievable.”

For the sold-out crowd at Virtue, the score may have been the least important part of the night. From the start, with escorts out for the lineups from young female soccer players, to an all-female reffing crew to handmade signs around the stands celebrating women’s sports, the night was a celebration of women’s soccer. 

“It was surreal, I have never played in front a crowd that size and with that much electricity,” said Olivia White, a Pittsford, Vermont native who captained the inaugural team. “It was very exciting, all of the girls were really excited and it’s a feeling that I will never forget.

“This is women’s soccer, and I am glad that we can show how much potential women’s soccer has and how much growth we have seen from it and women’s soccer is the future.”

And the Green and Laval delivered a competitive match on the field. Despite just three days to train together, the Vermont players had the game’s early chances, with Neve Renwick finding room behind the defense for a few chances on goal. 

“It was hard at first but as the days went on we became more connected with each other, we became a team who definitely put a show on here tonight,” Renwick said of the team’s quick timeline. “I am so glad we won.”

It was Renwick who broke through for the first-ever goal for the Vermont women, breaking a scoreless tie in the second half. Milton’s Emma Wennar a threaded a near-perfect pass through a defender to Renwick, who dashed in alone on the Laval keeper and fired a shot into the back of the net.

“This is insane, the atmosphere, the people, scoring in front of the fans, there couldn’t be a better feeling,” Renwick, who hails from England and was in Vermont for the first time, said. “Genuinely, I am in awe.”

The score set off a celebration at Virtue Field, with the Vermont Green players marveling at the excitement for the team’s first ever goal. 

“I got goosebumps,” Wennar said of the moment. “It was pretty incredible.”

It looked like the goal would be enough to carry the Green to a win but FC Laval struck in the final minute of regulation. Laurie-ann Moise made an excellent move at the top of the box to shake her defender and then fired it past Dubin for a 1-1 score. 

The two teams went to penalty kicks, where the squads traded goals until Dubin stepped up with a big save in the sixth round and Purcell followed it with a decisive score to clinch the triumph and set off another Virtue celebration — this time with the overflow crowd lining the fence behind the goal. 

“It was incredible, I have never even seen a crowd like this for my college games,” Dubin said. “It was just so cool to see so many people of all ages, of all demographics, to come and show the love for us.”

The night ended with fans of all ages rushing on to the field to meet their new women’s sports heros, lining up for autographs and selfies with the players and Mewis, an outpouring of excitement that seemed to overwhelm all of them.

“This is the most autographs I have signed in my whole entire career, and I love it,” Renwick said. “Ranging from 70 year olds to two year olds, it’s crazy … Vermont is becoming more established in women’s sports, and this is the place to be.”

And for the players and coaches, they hope this only the beginning for the Vermont Green women’s team and are excited about what the future holds. 

“There is so much enthusiasm around women’s sports right now, especially around women’s soccer,” Mewis said. “It seems like women’s soccer is in this time of explosive growth and to be able to bring a game like this, with players like this to Vermont — Vermont Green is already a well-established club and to see how much they value the women’s game as well and their goals for the future of it is really inspiring so honestly i am just really humbled and proud to be a part of it.”

The session has come and gone and while some inroads were made in Montpelier this winter and spring there is still a lot of work to do. Let’s review the work list that should be priority one.

Affordability

How much can the vast majority of Vermonters take? A tax increase on your property of 15%? An impending bill to raise the cost of heating oil by 70 cents? Our local prime property purchased by out of staters while locals cannot afford the massive prices accelerated over the last four years. We are pricing out our native Vermont sons and daughters to the point where many have to choose between food bills or fuel. This cannot sustain for long as many Vermonters are stretched to the limit. That is not the way we should have to live. That has to be priority one for House and Senate members.

EMT, Fireman, Police Force, Border Patrol

They run towards danger for the sake of our citizens. Don’t say there is no money when millions are wasted on junk bills and repeated studies on obvious problems. We spend Vermont tax dollars in this state on too many studies to figure out how to spend more money. What’s more important? Having an EMT rescue you from a crashed vehicle? Fireman saving your house and possessions when it’s totally engulfed in flames? Defending you from various criminals from drug dealers to burglars to thugs? These people save our lives, give them what they want and more importantly what they need.

Schools

It now costs more to send a student to a Vermont school averaging over $27,000.00 per student. This state has less students than they did decades ago. But with thousands of less students we pay millions more. We have to find a way to pay these educators that does not swamp the average taxpayer.

Teaching our youth is a noble task and I commend anyone who is in the education field. I also believed they should be paid well for their efforts. We have a lot of outstanding teachers in Orleans County. Those educators that believe in our young people and support them in becoming the best learners and best citizens they can be. Those teachers are a prized part of our society. The public should be behind these teachers 100 per cent.

In our area we have been fortunate to have some outstanding schools. United Christian Academy in Newport has paved a solid path of learning since they opened. North Country Union High school is smaller from 1200 students a few decades back to under 700 now and are led by the 2023 State of Vermont Principle of the year Chris Young so it’s clear they are in good hands.

Lake Region UHS has placed among the top ten state schools several times in the last decade, a testament to Andre Messier and his staff and their performance.

The big statewide picture needs some work but in our neck of woods in Orleans County our schools have performed very well.

The price of all services always goes up. Lets just find some ways to fund those needed increases and take more of the burden off local taxpayers.

Cell Service-Wi-Fi

It’s gotten better but if you live in an area where cell service is spotty like I do, you need a booster to get your computer up to full speed you know what I mean. Orleans County has many dead zones to this day. Finish the darn job. Today.

Housing

This affects a very large number of Green Mountain state residents. The average Vermonter makes $33,000.00 a year. The average family makes $67,000.00 a year before taxes. Houses these days average $233,000.00 each and that seems to be a low estimate in 2024. Couple that with mortgage rates up to 9% on a 30 year mortgage and you have the perfect storm. The average Vermonter’s age is 43. That makes it virtually impossible for young people as a whole to afford a new home. Maybe you can find a fixer upper for 150K in the country. The current bill H.687 which is an act 250 reform proposal will further hamper Rural Development and make you find housing in towns, villages or our small cities. Not everyone wants to live in a crowded area. That’s not the type of reform Vermonters need. We have a beautiful state and ideals that generational Vermonters want preserved. They do not want themselves, their children and grandchildren forced out of housing, or jobs or the best schools. The Vermont way of life is worth fighting for.

These five issues are just a few that need immediate attention. We have to start somewhere and start right now.

Thank you for your time,
Ken Wells, Brownington

Tornadoes are possible in all counties of Vermont until 8 p.m.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for the state Sunday afternoon. A tornado watch covers large areas when conditions are right for tornadoes to form. “A few tornadoes likely,” reads the weather service bulletin.

The weather service encourages people to review their emergency supplies and plans so that they are ready if a tornado touches down.

Scattered hail and strong wind gusts are also possible.

The tornado watch also covers counties in New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine.

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