Lacrosse State Championship Game Closes the Spring Sport Season
by Edd Merritt

There appeared to be an abundance of gold jerseys on the spring sport tracks and fields. Essex was particularly strong in a number of categories including men’s lacrosse, which finished this year on Burlington High School’s newly astro-turfed Buck Hard Field.
The CVU Redhawks climbed into the finals with a hard-fought 9-7 win over third-ranked Middlebury the prior week. Freshman goalie Eric Palmer proved mettle beyond his years with several game-saving stops in the waning minutes. Charlotte tri-captain and key longstick defender Bennett Dee was playing ill and missed the entire first half. He made his presence known almost immediately in the second half by intercepting a Middlebury pass and leading the attack up field that resulted in a 7-6 lead for CVU. In the finals, Essex’ physical strength and quickness showed as the Hornets held the Redhawks scoreless in the second half.
Essex goalie, Nick Cheney, stopped several clear shots that would have brought CVU within a goal or two, most noticeably against Tim Reichert with just under six minutes remaining. His counterpart Palmer in the CVU net did likewise as the two goalies stood particularly strong in the latter half of the contest. Charlotte’s Geordie Beldock scored CVU’s third goal of the game, but it was not enough as Essex prevailed 7-4.

Redhawk Athletes and a Coach Gain Post-season Honors.
Graduating senior and potent hitter for the CVU baseball team from Charlotte, Patrick Ittleman, was named honorable mention to the All-Metro Division roster. Longstick defenseman from Charlotte, Bennett Dee, was named to the Division I first team in men’s lacrosse, joining teammate Tim Reichert. Attack Jared Boudreau and midfielder Andreas Varsakopoulos made the second team. Dee was also one of just two Vermonters invited to play in the U.S. Lacrosse National senior all-star game and one of five Vermont players selected for All-American honors. CVU coach and Shelburne native Tim Trevithick was named Assistant Coach of the Year in Vermont.