'Good day to be a Seahorse': Oral history of BHS soccer's championship sweep in 2008

On Nov. 1, 2008, Burlington High School served as host of the Vermont Division I boys and girls soccer championship doubleheader.

By day's end, both Burlington programs claimed memorable state crowns — the girls in a penalty shootout victory to dethrone Essex for their first championship; the boys in a three-overtime thriller over rival and favorite South Burlington to halt an 11-year drought — in front of a large base of supporters at Buck Hard Field.

"It was a good day to be a Seahorse," said Amir Pasic, the sophomore starting goalie on Burlington's 2008 boys squad.

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The title sweep also carried emotional undertones for Burlington, the soccer teams and community: D.G. Weaver, a longtime school administrator who was influential in the $4 million restoration project for an athletics facility that now bears his name, died less than a month before the championship games following a battle with cancer.

"We felt we were playing for something greater than ourselves," said Kevin Chu, a senior center back on Burlington's 2008 boys team. "D.G. always saw the best in people and he believed in the potential of all of us, regardless of where we came from, what languages we spoke, what countries we came from. The victories on that day by both the Burlington squads, in some ways, was a chance to repay that faith D.G. and the district had in us."

The Burlington Free Press spoke with a handful of Burlington subjects involved in the Seahorses' twin crowns to provide an oral history on that fateful day, 15 years later.

[Editor's note: Interviews have been edited for clarity and length.]

Burlington boys solved offensive woes, rival South Burlington

The 2008 Burlington boys soccer team only scored 10 goals but conceded just eight over a 14-game regular season. The Seahorses' lack of offensive output was due to the team's formation change, built on a four-back system, led by Chu and Pasic and, 15 years later, attributed to a bevy of teammates on Burlington's multicultural squad observing Ramadan and playing through fasting during the first month of the season. The Seahorses also had a late-season swoon, 0-3-2 down the stretch, for a 7-5-2 record, dropping to the tournament's No. 8 seed.

Kevin Chu, defender: Maybe eight or nine players were fasting during the regular season, and in some ways that impacted our regular-season performance. But we knew the whole time we were a talented squad. We had good athletes, we had good team chemistry.

Elias Louis, midfielder: They were playing through starvation. They didn’t have anything in their system except for water. It didn't do us good, but gave us motivation to fight through adversity.

After blanking Brattleboro at home 2-0 in the playdown round, the Seahorses rallied past top-seeded and one-loss Essex for a 2-1, double-overtime victory. Neil Kent knocked in both BHS goals, striking for the tying tally with 1:34 left in regulation and the winner arriving midway through the second extra session — all while Essex played with 10 players due to a second-half red card. On the equalizer, Pasic came out of net and played in the field, making the pass before the assist on Kent's winner.

Amir Pasic, goalie: Here’s the thing, once we beat Essex at Essex, that was a huge confidence boost. Now we are looking at it like we are a game away from being in the final at home on our home turf. We knew we had a really good opportunity to get back home.

The win advanced the Seahorses to a semifinal date at No. 5 St. Johnsbury. Pasic, now a college coach, and Louis, who went on to play Division I soccer at Central Arkansas with Pasic, recalled the atmosphere at St. Johnsbury, a school with a strong international student body, to be unmatched in their soccer careers. Louis scored the opening goal in the first half and set up the insurance tally after the break in the 2-0 victory.

Pasic: I’ll tell you right now, I have not played or coached in a cooler environment than that day in St. Johnsbury. They had a prep rally before the game and we get to the field and we look up the hill and there's a swarm of students. They surrounded the field, they had posters, they were loud and they were singing. I'm talking drums and instruments. It felt like a proper soccer environment.

Louis: Their entire school showed up. They had a marching band or something like that just before the kickoff. I’ve been in college games and I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a crowd like that. It was the greatest environment. It was just nuts. It was good for the game and it was intimidating, but I remember scoring the first goal and their fans went quiet — you could hear the birds chirping.

Chu: I wish more people could have experienced that day. If we could record that match, that would be the model of sportsmanship by fans.

The semifinal win pushed the Seahorses into the title game, at home at Buck Hard Field, vs. No. 2 South Burlington, which had swept BHS during the regular season by 1-0 and 3-0 results. The championship was billed a matchup of contrasting styles: South Burlington's explosive attack which entered with 46 goals scored vs. Burlington's steady, physical and unflinching defense.

Chu: We had the foundation it took to make a playoff run. We heard the refrain all the time that defense wins championships. We kept it simple with a 4-4-2 formation and we played a defensive low-block counter style. Against a technical team like South Burlington, we knew that we would give up chances, but it was the type of chances. If they were going to put balls in the box, they had to come from wide areas.

Pasic: I just remember showing up to the field and you felt this buzz in the air. BHS was just packed like I’ve never seen it packed before. We thought that there was no way we are not going to win this game. There was a different approach vs. South Burlington this time, we knew it would be a marathon and not a sprint — we knew it was going to be a grind.

After a scoreless first half, the host Seahorses broke the stalemate midway through the second stanza on a corner kick chance. Louis unloaded his service deep into the 18 for Dan Stuart, who redirected in with his head for the 1-0 margin. South Burlington answered swiftly, about two minutes later, when BHS committed a foul in the box. Ethan Martin, South Burlington's all-state striker, blasted his PK into the back of the net, shushing the BHS crowd with his finger during the celebration.

Pasic: I had a good idea where (Martin) was going to go. I dove the right way, but the shot was more central and I only got a hand on it. Before the PK, my thought was, 'We can win this game 1-0.' After they scored the PK, my thought was, 'The longer this game goes on, the more in favor this is for us, and the better chance we have of getting result.' We thought we would win if it went to a (penalty) shootout. Everything I did was geared toward slowing the game down and managing the game so South Burlington wasn’t able to get into a rhythm.

Chu: We played the game we wanted to play. We were able to dictate field position really well. We knew we would be yielding possession for much of the match. We knew our strengths, we knew we had a solid defense, we knew we had the best goalie in the state. We had great communication and awareness. We had an edge in athleticism. I felt even more confident that we were would take it all the way to penalties or get the result. We had really good athletes on the our team and we were well-conditioned.

The remaining time in regulation didn't produce a goal. Neither did the first and second overtime periods. In the third extra period, with teams playing 8-on-8 per Vermont Principals' Association overtime rules at the time, Burlington earned a free kick, some 40 yards away and on the sideline in front of the bleachers with less than 30 seconds until the game moved to a fourth OT. Then Louis, a sophomore in 2008, delivered his restart, a set-piece kick that deflected off the head of a South Burlington player in the wall and spun into the net for the unlikely winner. BHS was the first No. 8 seed to capture the D-I crown since 1988.

Louis: We were a few seconds away from a fourth overtime and I said, 'Who cares, whatever happens, happens.' So I just hit the ball as hard as I could. Seeing how far out it was, I don’t think it had enough power to travel the goalkeeper. But fortunately for us and unfortunately for them it went in.

Pasic: (Louis) had no business shooting that. I think that says a lot, that we weren’t really creating many opportunities. But good things happen when you shoot.

Louis sent off a wild, home-cooked celebration. Louis flung his No. 9 jersey into the bleachers, where it was caught by Julian Segar-Reid, who later become a standout on the 2016 Burlington championship squad. Until a Free Press reporter pointed out to Louis, Chu and Pasic, the BHS teammates had no idea, all these years later, who caught Louis' jersey.

Louis: We just went nuts, went berserk (after the goal).

Burlington girls outlasted defending champion Essex in shootout

Burlington girls soccer’s breakthrough championship win came on the heels of a title loss to Essex the year before. The Seahorses returned that fall of 2008, under then second-year coach Jeff Hayes, committed to their title aspirations. Burlington grabbed the top seed in the Division I tournament and was spearheaded by an elite defensive unit, which outscored opponents 35-5 entering the final with goalie Stephanie Jaques at the helm.

Burlington, which tallied 11 shutouts and didn't allow more than one goal in any game, had a bye into the quarterfinal round and dispatched South Burlington 1-0. Then the Seahorses hosted “perennial power” Champlain Valley in a four-overtime thriller, again escaping with a 1-0 final on Tonya Conley’s goal from Anna Kikut.

And in the championship, Burlington captured its first title after 130 minutes of scoreless soccer and two rounds of penalty kicks ending in a 6-5 decision against the Hornets on their home turf at Buck Hard Field. 

Jeff Hayes, Burlington girls soccer coach 2007-present: We had a lot of overtime games. It might have been 2008, but we had a lot of overtime games. … Whatever it was our fitness was there and we were a scrappy team. We might not have been the most technical team, but we made up for it with our work rate.

Stephanie Jaques, goalie: There was a lot of hype and excitement at the school. The turf was pretty new at that time, and I just remember it was super cold that day. I mean bundled up cold, there was possibly snow on the ground. And it was the longest game of my entire life.

The Seahorses defended their turf perfectly those playoffs and didn’t surrender a goal to finish with a 15-2 record. Burlington and Essex split in the regular season with the Seahorses winning 2-0 and dropping a 1-0 decision in OT.

Theresa Strenio, defender: We had great team chemistry. People will tell you about our warmup, we would do warmup songs and little cheesy dances and we were really bonded together. I think the pressure that comes with overtime and with PKs was definitely there, but it was there in a way where we are supporting each other.

Jaques: The entire school was there it seemed. It was just packed as can be and we were just excited to be on our home field playing for a state championship.

In the penalty kick periods, Jaques made four stops and converted both of her attempts to give Burlington an edge.

Hayes, who is also an athletic coordinator with Burlington: Stephanie was just a tremendous goalkeeper and is probably one of the best I've got to coach as far as goalies.

Jaques: They had a lot of faith in me, which is cool. I just remember doing my same routine. I would slide to one goal post and then to the next and just try to be as big as I can with my arms out.

With 5:12 gone in the second half, Essex star forward Natalie LeClair missed a penalty kick after a foul in the box set the Hornets with a scoring opportunity.

Jaques: Oh, I remember that one like it was yesterday. Natalie was the best player in the state that year. I don’t know if it was a hand ball in our box … I don’t know what kind of penalty it was. But I remember her stepping up and my heart sinking, my heart pounding out of my chest. And I was thinking that I have nothing to lose here, and she has everything to lose.

Hillary Chutter-Ames tallied the final penalty kick as Burlington hoisted its first girls trophy and second BHS title that day to weave a sweep. The Burlington girls also won again in 2009, beating CVU for back-to-back championships.

Strenio: We were really tight-knit group. I think every single player on the team got along really well. I think that's the biggest takeaway, the thing I remember the most. It's been 15 years, but I just remember the silly things that we did as a group. I just remember when it was finally finished all of the team running together and just hugging and I think we collapsed on the field.

Hayes: We all just ran to Hillary. It was one just big pile and I’m sure I was right in the middle of it with my coaching staff.

D.G. Weaver's impact on team, community

The Burlington boys-girls championship sweep came less than a month after former Burlington assistant principal D.G. Weaver had passed away due to cancer. Weaver was instrumental in the restoration and construction of the BHS athletic complex including Buck Hard’s artificial turf and oval track. The victories meant a great deal to the school, program and players, who were still grieving the loss of Weaver.

Hayes: I remember we had signs on the fence that our team had made and posted them up in honor of D.G. Weaver. We kind of dedicated that game to him that year because he was an amazing driving force as far as getting the turf field and the athletic complex built. He did a lot of legwork on that.

Strenio: I think a lot of other teams sometimes didn't always see Burlington as a powerhouse or didn't understand the pride we took in it. D.G. Weaver really helped us have that pride with that field and with how he taught his students to have respect for the community and be upstanding citizens.

Hayes: It was definitely on our minds (the potential Burlington soccer sweep) and we knew we had a tough match going into this game and just knowing that the boys won. How cool would it be to honor D.G. Weaver with back-to-back championships.

During a team breakfast before the boys game, Louis said coach Bob Day provided a motivational speech about winning the championship for Weaver.

Louis: Day said, 'We have to honor him the right way. It's because of him that we are here. Do this for D.G. Weaver.' It really pushed us to give it our all. We took that message and left it all out for D.G.

Pasic: It was one of those things we talked about a lot. (Weaver) was an inspiration to all of us and it added a bit of more motivation. He wasn’t with us physically, but he definitely with his in spirit. At home, on a field that D.G. Weaver helped get off the ground in the first year we were hosting it at the school — he definitely pushed us across the finish line. He was felt on a lot of levels that day at the facility in Burlington.

Chu: I spent my freshman year at South Burlington and then I transferred back to BHS. It's the place I found community, it felt like home to me and that was important to me, important to all of us. It's just a game, it's just soccer, but it inspired new and different conversations in the community. That's what D.G. believed, the human potential in all of us.

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.

Contact Jacob Rousseau at JRousseau@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter: @ByJacobRousseau.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont H.S. soccer: Oral history of Burlington title sweep from 2008