SOUTH BURLINGTON - The top two high school field hockey teams in the state — Rice and South Burlington — met in a 2023 Division I championship rematch during the first full week of the high school sports season.
The game did not live up to the hype from their three matchups from last fall.
Rice flipped the script on its home field, cruising to a 4-0 shutout over South Burlington behind Violet Clough's two-goal, one-assist performance, allowing the Green Knights to earn revenge from the heartbreak of their title-game loss.
"They've been thinking about this game for a while," Rice coach Kelly McClintock said. "They've been building up a ton of energy and I'm glad that they came out with motivated energy, not chaotic energy."
Rice improves to 2-0. South Burlington drops to 0-1.
Despite South Burlington returning eight starters from last year's team, the Green Knights immediately put the pressure on the Wolves. Rice racked up four penalty corners in the first quarter. While the Green Knights did not score a goal on any of their nine penalty corners, they created scoring chances in other ways. Clough kept driving the ball into the circle creating opportunities for her team and she capitalized on them scoring the Green Knights first two goals Clough's first goal came with 10:48 left in the first quarter and she doubled Rice's lead midway in the second quarter.
"Just the team working together and getting the ball up the field together I think is really just the biggest point of playing," Clough said. "I did not get those goals myself."
Freshman Lana Quong made a big impact for the Green Knights in her second career game meshing well with her returning teammates. She dished out an assist to Bella Walsh right before halftime to put Rice ahead 3-0 at the break.
Quong struck again midway in the fourth. Off a counter, Clough passed the ball into the circle where Quong was put it past Wolves goalie Amber Rousseau to seal a game Rice controlled in all phases against the reigning champions.
"I think Rice just came out on fire," Wolves coach Anjie Soucy said.
More: Vermont H.S. field hockey: Who's No. 1 in our preseason power rankings?
More: The top returning Vermont high school field hockey players? Our 2024 watchlist.
Rice held the Wolves to get seven shots. With an early-season statement, Rice has positioned itself to be a top contender in D-I high school field hockey this season, and for the next two seasons with its young core that is only going to keep growing.
Molly McGibney posted the four-save shutout for the Green Knights. Rousseau finished with 11 saves in the South Burlington net.
Contact Judith Altneu at jaltneu@gannett.com . Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ Judith_Altneu .
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Rice field hockey scores revenge against South Burlington in title rematch
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