Centaurs pg 1 10-3-24
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Roundup
Centaurs beat
Plainfield in
1st road game
With the exception of the first possession, every time the Woodstock Academy football team got the ball on Friday night in Central Village, it found its way to the end zone.
The Centaurs made up for a tough game against Stonington the week before, filing it back in their memories, and pushed forward with a 42-13 win over Plainfield.
The win raised their record to 2-1 on the season.
“You always want to try and bounce back and Plainfield was typical Plainfield. They were physically and mentally tough, they competed, and they made us work for what we got. We wore them down, eventually, with our depth and size,” said coach Sean Saucier.
The Centaurs were more than effective on the ground as they rushed for 272 yards and four touchdowns.
Quarterback Sam Clark (7 carries, 101 yards) got the first of those on the second possession of the game.
Woodstock took over the ball on their own 45-yard line after a Plainfield punt.
A couple of plays, including an 11-yard run by Clark and a 13-yarder by Gabe Luperon, got the ball down to the Plainfield 36.
Clark did the rest as he found a hole on the right side and got to the sideline for the touchdown and a 7-0 first quarter lead.
Wyatt Matulis kicked the extra point, his first of six successful attempts for the freshman in his varsity debut.
“I saw him kick in the preseason and I could tell he was kind of a natural and that is what you’re always looking for, someone you don’t have to tell how to do it, just tell them to do it,” Saucier said.
Unfortunately, Matulis went on vacation and then suffered an injury. He was out of the loop for a bit.
“On Monday, I pulled him aside and said, ‘You’re coming with me,’” Saucier said with a laugh. It completed a youthful special teams group as junior Kyle Parmeter is the long snapper and another freshman, Keegan Brown, is the holder.
The Centaurs went up by two touchdowns after they stopped a Panther drive at the Centaurs 12-yard line.
Woodstock moved methodically downfield with a nine-play drive including a pair of short passes to Luperon, which netted 13 yards, and Aiden Brailsford whose 18-yard reception brought the Centaurs to the Plainfield 9.
Luperon went right and then shifted left, getting to the pylon before the Plainfield defense for the score.
Plainfield did respond with a 25-yard touchdown pass which halved the Centaurs’ lead.
But Woodstock would go into the locker room with the two-touchdown advantage as Clark (5-for-10 passing, 101 yards) found Cam Nason behind the Plainfield defense and the senior receiver took it to the house for the 21-7 advantage.
The Centaurs picked up where they left off in the second half after stopping Plainfield on its first possession.
This time, they put together a nine-play, 61-yard drive that finished in the second touchdown of the day for Luperon (14 carries, 126 yards) from 22 yards out.
“Obviously, Sam as a running quarterback; he’s impressive but I’m really impressed with Gabe’s season so far. He’s quietly having a remarkable season after three games, both receiving and running. The offensive line continues to improve and as they do so, we’re able to move the ball on the ground which is a great sign,” Saucier said.
The Centaurs put the cherry on top when Tavernier launched a ball downfield right into the arms of Griffin Bloom.
The defensive back had a lot of open real estate in front of him, dodged one potential tackle and found the end zone for a 62-yard pick-6.
The Centaurs ended the third quarter on a positive note as well as Cooper Harris (9 carries, 45 yards) scored from a yard out.
Girls’ Soccer
There were two scores settled by the Woodstock girls’ soccer team Friday. First, they got a little payback on East Lyme. The Centaurs, who lost to the Vikings at East Lyme, posted a 2-0 shutout win at home against the Vikings.
Plus, they made up for a penalty kick. Early in the week in a 2-0 loss to Bacon Academy, they were whistled for a handball in the area and the ensuing penalty kick resulted in one of the two Bobcat goals.
Against East Lyme, it was the Vikings who committed the very same infraction and it resulted in the first Woodstock goal.
“We really wanted this one,” said coach Andrea Danforth. “We’ve been talking about how we could win it if we changed our attack. We changed our formation. We played a 4-5-1 last game, had more opportunities than they did but lacked that push forward, that final push that we needed. We had two forwards (Friday) and it really benefitted us.”
The Centaurs got the call they wanted just 12 minutes, 37 seconds into the contest when a handball in the area resulted in a Woodstock Academy penalty kick.
Freya Robbie was chosen to take the shot. The senior decided to look to the right side of the East Lyme net but wasn’t sure about it after she kicked it.
“(The East Lyme keeper) was standing a little close to my usual corner so I went to the other corner and the grass kind of kicked it up a little. It wasn’t pretty but it went in,” Robbie said.
Danforth said the successful kick was a great lift for the Centaurs as it built the confidence and felt good as it was the Centaurs who were on the other side of the call in the previous match.
The Centaurs added a little insurance early in the second half, just 2 ½ minutes in, when Anna Hernandez found Leah Costa and the senior poked it into the East Lyme net for her eighth goal of the season.
Keeper Ellary Sampson did the rest as she recorded 13 saves to get the shutout.
The win raised the Centaurs overall record to 6-3 and keeps them in the hunt in Div. I of the ECC.
Waterford leads the division at 2-0-1, East Lyme is now 2-1-1 and Woodstock is 2-2.
Volleyball
Some weeks are a little easier than others. Such was the case for the Woodstock volleyball team last week.
They did lose a set at Norwich Free Academy, it was the only blemish, however, as the Centaurs downed the Wildcats (3-1), Killingly (3-0), and Ledyard (3-0).
It means Woodstock continues to streak along as it has won its first 11 matches.
“It’s great to be in that position but you also have a giant target on your back, everyone wants to be the one to upset the undefeated team. We’re really just trying to manage how to deal with that, what the mindset is and what type of effort do we need to put in to be playing up to that potential. It can be hard, it can be really hard, but if someone is struggling, someone else usually steps up,” said coach Adam Bottone.
The past week did allow the veteran coach to get some younger players on to the varsity floor especially against Killingly and Ledyard.
The Centaurs posted set wins of 25-7, 25-18 and 25-10 over Killingly which allowed Bottone to sub in Lily Morgis at setter for Sophie Gronski and she delivered 14 assists.
Lily Bottone led the way up front with eight kills while Izzy Mojica (12 digs) and Vivian Bibeau each had six.
It was similar against the Colonels whom the Centaurs rolled on by, 25-16, 25-11, 25-17.
Lily Bottone had nine kills in that match while Mojica added six and Gronski had 18 assists but there was a lot of substitution.
“It’s good to be able to get some girls in and get them some playing time. That’s good. I’m always a little apprehensive because now we have another big week ahead of us. There is the fear of that maybe it’s too easy at times and we won’t be prepared for some tough games coming but I will take the wins, we will keep on rolling, and just try to continue to emphasize what we need to improve upon in practice,” Adam Bottone said.
Field Hockey
The Woodstock field hockey team was a bit more prepared for an overtime battle. Field hockey is a bit of a different animal in high school sports when it comes to extra time.
Ten minutes are put up on the clock but players are also taken off the field.
Those that remain, who have already played an hour’s worth of field hockey, are forced to battle 7-on-7 in a sudden death period.
“It’s pretty difficult but it’s also easier as we are really spaced out, we don’t have to worry about a few more people. You definitely have to be ready for it,” senior Abby Converse said.
The first time the Centaurs ran into an overtime contest, they finished in a 1-1 tie with Norwich Free Academy.
This time, Woodstock posted a 3-2 win over non-league foe, East Catholic, on Thursday.
In addition to the contest going into overtime, it was played on a rather soggy day and there was one other hurdle to overcome.
“I think it was the most physical contest that we’ve had,” Woodstock Academy coach Heather Miller said. “It was getting a little scary but the girls hung in there and had some great determination on a rainy, wet day where it was very slippery. The ball can slip off the stick very easily. You really need to have strong ball control in a game like this.”
One advantage that the Centaurs had: numbers.
The Eagles brought only 12 players with them from Manchester.
“They’re a very good team with great fitness. They have a lot of speed, It was about disrupting their ball control which took away their speed,” Miller said.
But despite the low numbers, East Catholic did have some talent, scoring early.
Converse knotted up the match with a goal off a rebound from a shot by Clara Dowdle.
They also did well off a corner, something that was helpful as the Centaurs were awarded 16 attacking corners in the contest.
Dowdle took the insert from Grace Pokorny and hammered it home to give Woodstock a 2-1 lead at the break.
But Martineau ended the thoughts of a regulation game when she scored with 12:50 left in the contest.
The Centaurs got the game winner with 2:06 left in the extra period when Dowdle passed the ball to Pokorny who had parked herself near the crease just to the right of the East Catholic keeper.
The Centaurs also got a nice save when Martineau, going for the hat trick, saw her shot kicked away by Centaurs senior goalie Lizzie Roberts.
The win raised the Centaurs overall record to 2-7-1 on the season.
Prep Soccer
The Woodstock Academy Prep 2 soccer team won its home opener on Friday and followed it up a tie on Saturday in a pair of Global Education Sports Partners League matches.
The Centaurs rolled to a 4-1 win over the Putnam Science Academy Mustangs. Post-graduate Tommy Broderick came up with a pair of goals for the Centaurs in the win.
“It felt good to score,” Broderick said of the two goals. “It’s been a little rough start for me; I haven’t been scoring which is my job so it felt good to score a couple.”
Broderick had help in the scoring column as Alfredo Dinoso and Matias Solano also tallied in the win.
Dinoso, Oscar Pearman and Jorge Castellanos all delivered assists.
Broderick would score again on Saturday in a match against another local squad, St. Thomas More, from Oakdale.
Unfortunately, the Centaurs (3-2-1) had to settle for a 2-2 tie with the Chancellors.
Nico Ochoa scored the other goal for Woodstock on a penalty kick.
Boys’ Cross Country
The Ocean State Invitational is a good measuring stick to see how a cross-country team will perform in larger meets such as the ECC and Class MM state championships that now loom on the horizon.
The Woodstock boys’ team has to feel pretty good about its chances after its performances on Saturday.
The Centaurs top two runners, seniors Christian Menounos and Colton Sallum, both finished in the top 25 to medal in the championship race of the event.
Menounos came home in 14th in 16 minutes, 16 seconds despite being a little under the weather.
“He almost called out sick but decided to tough it out,” boys’ cross-country Josh Welch said. “It definitely was not an ideal race for him but he hung on in reach of the leaders throughout. They just hit the start a bit harder.”
The winning time for the event was 15:48.
Sallum was also good enough for a top-25 medal as he placed 24th in 16:39. “It was his best time on this course and he showed he could hang in with the best as well. We won’t see competition this dense again until the State Open, at least,” Welch said.
The Centaurs also had a pair of freshman runners medal as Lucas Hecker shined with a third-place finish in the 4K event in 14:13 while Oliver Pierce was 17th in 15:09.
The remainder of the team raced in the varsity competition and without its top three finished in the middle of the pack.
Girls’ Cross-Country
The girls placed eighth out of 54 teams in the varsity competition at the Ocean State Invitational and four girls medaled.
The top 30 in the race received medals and junior Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain was in that mix as she placed 27th in the 5K event in 21:27.
Three of the freshman runners also received medals for their efforts in the 4K freshmen race.
Bella Amlaw placed 12th (17:58), Ella Petersen was 17th (18:21) and Melanie Dipippo was 20th (18:31).
Olivia Tracy was just outside the top 30 in the varsity race, placing 33rd for the Centaurs in 21:40 with Kira Greene in 71st (22:53).
“The future looks bright for the Woodstock Academy girls’ cross-country team,” Centaurs coach Joe Banas said. “We had three freshman girls finish in the top 20 of the freshman race and, even without them, we were still able to pull off a top-10 finish in the varsity race.”
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
captions, page 2:
Left: Lily Mioduszewski throws the ball in to waiting teammate Elise Coyle (27). Above, left: Abby Converse restarts play after a whistle. Marc Allard photos. Above, right: From left: Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain received a medal for her top-30 finish in the girls’ varsity competition at the Ocean State Invitational while Bella Amlaw, Melanie Dipippo and Ella Petersen medaled in the freshmen race. Photo by Josh Welch/Woodstock Academy.
captions, page 3:
Two Woodstock Academy freshmen, Oliver Pierce, left, and Lucas Hecker, received medals for their efforts at the Ocean State boys’ cross-country Invitational. Photo by Josh Welch/Woodstock Academy
Freshman defender Lily Mioduszewski sends the ball downfield in a 2-0 win over East Lyme. Photo by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.