Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship for the Winooski News
WINOOSKI — It was an action-packed evening Nov. 1 for the Winooski community, as both the boys and girls varsity soccer teams took the trip down to Rutland to play back-to-back state championship games.
The boys team beat Peoples Academy High School to win the Division III title. The score remained 0-0 after overtime, and the Winooski boys team ultimately won in a penalty shootout 4-3. The girls lost 1-0 against Poultney High School in the Division IV state championship.
It was the first time both teams made the championship together, as well as the first time the girls team had advanced that far in the playoffs.
“We made history,” said Winooski Athletic Director Sam Jackson. “I’m super proud of their accomplishment, grit and hard work, and how they represented their community at large.”
Senior Goalkeeper and Girls Varsity Captain Moo Thay Lay Htoo echoed this sentiment, describing the Spartans as “gritty, hardworking and connected.”
Although the girls team prided themselves on their chemistry throughout the season, they said everything didn’t start off easy.
It was Coach Chris Flaherty’s first year coaching the girls varsity soccer team, so the beginning of the season was a little shaky, according to Htoo.
“Beginning was a rough start, a little bit complicated. New coach, and we didn’t have preseason games, just two weeks of practice, then boom,” Htoo said.
Flaherty, who coached for ten years in Boston and Los Angeles, credited a lot of the team’s success to their teamwork and willingness to keep improving.
“I was really impressed with the talent that was in the program, and also how connected the team was from the start,” Flaherty said.
“As a new coach, I didn’t know what to expect. Winooski is not a huge school, and being Division IV, you can’t rely that there’s gonna be a huge program of all these different freshman, JV and varsity teams,” he said.
The Winooski girls varsity soccer team lost the championship game, but they outshot Poultney High School 37-5.
Community support for the team was strong. Flaherty estimated that they had roughly 400 fans in Winooski at their semi-final against Arlington, which they won 3-0.
The Winooski community made a large impact on the girls team, Senior Captain Mapenzi Selemani said.
“During the championship, we had a lot of fans. Not only our fans. Even the boys team, they were there, and they were really supportive,” Selemani said. “Even though we lost, it just felt like another win.”
Selemani said dealing with the loss of her last game for Winooski has been a formative experience.
“It makes me feel like a strong player. I can learn from that, on and on. Losing is part of the progress, and I’ll learn to live with it,” she said.
Coach Flaherty said how much it meant to be a part of the Winooski team.
“It was pretty special to be able to work with this team, with this community, and see how diverse we are in different ways. In a time where our country is so divided, watching them play together is pretty inspiring,” he said.
Jackson, the athletic director, petitioned for the boys varsity team to move to Division III after their 2024 season. The team previously won the Division IV championship three consecutive times.
The team’s successful season ended with them taking home the Division III championship.
“From us to come from being number one in Division IV, to being, you know, middle to bottom of the pack, they rose to the occasion,” Jackson said.
“We had some unfortunate injuries,” Jackson said. “The way they dealt with adversity through their team collaboration and play, and for them to really be in that final game, is a true testament to the school community and the community at large.”
Winooski High School Boys Varsity Coach Daniel Rai began as a JV coach for Winooski High School in 2022. From there, he worked as the assistant coach for boys varsity through two different head coaches. When the opportunity to become head coach arose in 2024, Rai seized the opportunity.
Leading up to the championship game, the team’s promotion to Division III meant they faced-off against tougher teams, including some Division I and II schools. The team also dealt with a slew of impactful injuries, some of which occurred completely outside the soccer pitch.
“At the end of the season, we had chaos. Key players were injured,” Rai said.
The team was almost forced to forfeit their game against Milton High School, only having eight to nine players. But Coach Rai refused.
“I talked to the athletic director and said, ‘Hey, Coach. We are not giving up, no matter what. I need a middle schooler,’” Rai said.
The team picked up six middle schoolers for the remainder of the regular season.
With injuries stacking up, the boys varsity soccer team ended their regular season with four consecutive losses, halting their momentum before the playoffs.
Senior Captain and Goalkeeper Omar Turnage said they didn’t let those late-season losses stop them.
“Instead of getting down, we worked harder in practice and focused on fixing our mistakes. That’s when things started to click, and we really pushed through as a team,” Turnage said.
Rai said the energy shifted after they took down seventh-ranked Hazen High School, three spots ahead of the Winooski Spartans, in their first postseason match.
The Winooski boys went on to defeat Peoples Academy in a close final contest. What started as a 0-0 match went into overtime, where they remained scoreless. The match went into a penalty shootout, and the Winooski Spartans won 4-3.
“It feels incredible (to win the championship,)” Turnage said. “We made history for our school and made the community proud. Knowing that we did it together makes it even better.”
Jackson thanked the entire community for an amazing season.
“The way that they show up for our boys and girls all season, whether that’s coming to games as spectators, showing up to meet the bus to deliver goodwill messaging and food,” Jackson said. “The way the community has surrounded our program just speaks in part that it’s bigger than all of it.”