Harwood Boys Soccer Forward
The second-year varsity player came through for the Highlanders during a handful of clutch situations while leading the program to its first championship victory since 2018. Nelson scored twice in the opening five minutes of his team’s semifinal at Middlebury, guiding the No. 3 Highlanders to an early three-goal lead over the No. 2 Tigers. The multi-sport standout completed his hat trick in the 45th minute and then the No. 3 Highlanders fended off a gritty comeback attempt by the hosts to seal a 4-3 victory. Harwood was pushed to the limit again during Saturday’s Division II championship as their showdown against No. 9 Rice went into double-overtime. With both teams preparing for a penalty-kick shootout, Nelson retrieved a corner kick by Jack Greenwood and then assisted classmate Brycen Scharf for the golden goal in the 100th minute.
