Centaurs pg 7 11-11-21
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Senior Day
The seniors on the Woodstock Academy football team gathered for Senior Day festivities. Photo by Marc Allard.
There are still two big football games to go against Ledyard and Killingly.
And Woodstock football coach Sean Saucier wanted to give his next two opponents something to think about. So, the Centaurs (6-2) moved quarterback Ethan Davis to receiver, and installed Saucier’s son, Braiden, the heir apparent to Davis, in at quarterback and the result was a pair of touchdowns in a 27-6 win over the Griswold/Wheeler. Woodstock got the ball on the first of two interceptions by safety Austin Amlaw at the Centaur 36.
Braiden Saucier (3-for-9 passing, 145 yards) launched a ball down the right sideline. Davis caught it and went in for the 64-yard score.
The Centaurs recovered their onside kick and five plays later, running back Payton Barna found some running room. Barna, who led the Centaurs with 50 yards in seven carries, swept to the right side and found daylight, going 22 yards for the score.
Braiden Saucier hit Carter Saracina (two catches, 67 yards) with a crossing route. He took Braiden Saucier’s pass into the end zone from 54 yards out for a 21-0 halftime lead.
The Wolverines got their only score in the fourth quarter when Ryan Pelilo (15 carries, 40 yards) ran it in from two yards out.
The Centaurs finished things off when Davis (6-for-15 passing, 78 yards) hit Jackson Goetz for a 9-yard score with 1:28 left.
Woodstock, with its 3-0 divisional record, has already clinched a tie for the ECC Div. II title with the Ledyard Colonels. But the Centaurs, with a win on Nov. 13, could finish undefeated in the division and clinch the title outright.
Prep Soccer Wins Tournament
The Woodstock boys’ prep soccer team, in its inaugural season, won its own tournament with a 2-0 victory over Putnam Science Academy Nov. 7.
The Centaurs opened the tournament with a 4-2 win over St. Thomas More. Woodstock broke out to a 4-0 lead and cruised from there. Striker Mario de la Cruz scored two goals for the Centaurs with Niall O’Brien and Tiago Assis getting the others.
Nov. 7 the Centaurs and Mustangs played to a scoreless first half. But the Centaurs broke through just 5 ½ minutes into the second half when Zach Lorenz took a through ball from Marc Belart and converted for the 1-0 lead.
The insurance came with 2 minutes, 27 seconds left when Belart took a short corner from Lorenz, dribbled back toward the middle and rocketed a shot that found its way inside the far post.
Volleyball Season Done
There was no doubt that the Centaurs wanted to see their volleyball season extend past the ECC tournament, but that was not to be this season. The Centaurs played a quarterfinal game against the top seed in the Div. I tournament, Lyman Memorial, and fell 3-1.
It was the 14th win in a row for the Bulldogs who advanced to the ECC tournament championship, but lost in the final to E. Lyme.
The Bulldogs took the first two sets relatively handily, 25-16 and 25-11. The Centaurs rallied to win the third set, 25-19. The Bulldogs closed out the evening with a 25-14 victory in the fourth set. Liliana Bottone had 12 digs and five aces for Woodstock. Ellie Nunes added 12 digs and Annarose Avery had seven assists.
The loss ended the Centaurs season at 5-16. But lots of youngsters got lots of minutes against competitive teams.
The Centaurs only lose three seniors but they had impact this year. Aurissa Boardman led the team with 215 kills at outside hitter as well as service points (188) and aces (46). She was named an ECC All-Star. Annarose Avery was tops on the team in assists with 274 and also added 155 service points. Lizzy Lovrien lost much of the season to COVID but when she returned was a steadying influence in the back as she finished with 82 digs. Lovrien was given the ECC Sportsmanship Award while Leila MacKinnon received the team’s ECC Scholar-Athlete nod. But it will be Boardman who will be most difficult to replace. Coach does have two quality middle hitters in Morgan Bonin (47 kills, 6 blocks) and Reegan Reynolds (28 kills, 5 blocks). Bonin has played outside but is not as effective as she is in the middle.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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Griffins pg 7 11-11-21
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The Pomfret field hockey team improved to 9-7 with two wins last week over league opponents. Outsourcing their opponents 13 - 2 in the two home contests against Wilbraham-Monson (Wilbraham, Mass.) and Miss Porter’s School (Farmington), the Griffins improve to 7-5 in WNEPSFHA. Leading the way for Pomfret was Cate Gallagher ’22 scoring five goals including a natural hat trick with three goals in a row during the second quarter against Miss Porter’s. Grace Long ’23 scored three goals, Philo Schorling ’24 and Coco Williams ’22 had two apiece and Carter Lockwood ’22 added one. The goals by Williams and Lockwood were their first of the season. Long leads the team in scoring with 16 goals and Gallagher follows with 7. Lockwood leads in the assist column with 7 and Schorling follows with 4. First-year goalie, Keira O’Brien has 5 shutouts on the season. Pomfret will finish the regular season with a non-league game at Tabor Academy (Marion, Mass.) Nov. 10 before hosting league opponent Millbrook School (Millbrook, N.Y.) in a first-ever match-up Nov. 13. Senior co-captains Cate Gallagher and Emma McLean have been selected to play in the WNEPSFHA All-Star game Nov. 1 at Suffield Academy.
By Louisa Gebelein Jones
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Pomfret pg 7 11-11-21
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POMFRET — The Pomfret School boys’ varsity soccer team beat Canterbury School Nov. 3. Pomfret goals came from: Declan Chapman 1st minute, 7th minute, 11th minute; Grant Maurer 16th minute, 48th minute, 65th minute and Fred Coulibaly 54th and 60th. Assists: Fred Coulibaly, Devin Walcott (2), Declan Chapman; Pomfret Saves: Austin Kendig 1 save; Javier Alonso 1 save
According to Patrick Burke: “In our pregame meeting, coach Montoro Alonso urged the Pomfret boys’ varsity soccer team to start strong and score twice before Canterbury could get ‘off the bus.’ Well, our team listened, and in the first minute we had a 1-0 lead after a strong individual run from Declan Chapman. We continued to push the tempo and in the 7th minute Declan had his second. We were playing with good pace and intensity, and in the first 10 minutes Cole Castro, Dylan Tran, Fred Coulibaly, and Grant Maurer all went close. Already with a brace, Declan was able to get his 11 minute hat-trick after a nice play from Devin Walcott found him in space. Grant fired in a powerful shot from 25 yards out for our fourth goal. We got strong minutes from Nate Watson, Nick Ferrucci, Caleb White, Lawrence Viola, and Van Horvath, and our attacks continued to be quick and effective. Our defense of Eumir Rodriguez, Ryan Cho, Gerald Gao, Henry Cattell, Lyle Bernard, Ethan Forbes, and goalkeeper Austin Kendig remained focused.”
A small mental lapse in the 28th minute allowed Canterbury’s #12 to get an open look at goal and he was able to get one back for the Saints.
Burke said: “In the 48th minute a free kick from Devin was “dummied” by Eumir and found the feet of Grant who coolly placed his shot in the net. In the 54th minute some nice possession got the ball to Fred at the top of the box and his quick turn and shot gave us a 6-1 advantage. Just four minutes later a great ball over the top from Declan found the onrushing Fred who finished into the corner past Canterbury’s keeper. This offensive outburst wasn’t finished yet, as some nice passing from our defense to our midfield got Declan an opportunity from distance. Declan’s shot was saved by Canterbury’s keeper, but Grant was the first to follow up and finished off a hat-trick of his own. Goalkeeper Javier Alonso kept our defense focused and we were able to continue to attack with success. Lawrence and Van combined well, while Cole, Caleb, Jerry, Anson, Tareq and Nick created space for each other and frequently tested Canterbury’s defenders and goalkeeper."
By Patrick Burke
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Kryz pg 8 11-11-21
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They say the middle-school years are the toughest.
The certainly appeared to have made Lilly Krysinski tougher on the basketball court.
Krysinski, playing in her first season with the Putnam Science Academy girls’ Prep Red team, dominated the team’s season-opener Nov. 6, scoring 16 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in a 78-58 win over Monroe Community College.
“I’ve always gotten most of my points on (offensive) rebounds,” said Krysinski, who is from nearby Thompson.
“When I was in middle school, I was always taller than everyone else. Now it’s weird because I’m one of the shortest ones, but back then I was always one of the tallest ones and I was supposed to get all the rebounds.
“I just got used to playing like that, playing hard, under the basket. I think a lot of people are scared of contact or getting hurt or getting hit. But you have to do it if you want the ball.”
The first half went back-and-forth as PSA jumped out to a quick seven-point lead, only to go down by seven with about five minutes to go in the first half, before then closing with a flourish to lead by three at the break.
Things changed after the half and the Mustangs opened the second half with a 21-4 run that put things out of reach.
Head coach Sabrina Browne said the halftime message was to move the feet on defense and move the ball on offense.
“Foul trouble was the biggest problem in the first half,” she said. “We told them on defense they needed to move their feet and stop using their hands. On the other side, we had to control the ball better, have fewer turnovers, and play as a team more. I thought there was too much individual stuff in the first half."
Said Krysinski: “I think we were all a little bit nervous before the game and kind of let the nerves get the best of us. Once we got into it and got used to the feel again, we have so much talent so we just pushed the lead and didn’t stop.”
Anna Kitch had a big game of her own for the Mustangs, finishing with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Zoe Bayer scored 16 of her 18 points in the first half, dialing it in from long-distance with four 3-pointers, while Zuza Komor had all 13 of her points in the second half.
“Everyone is so talented on this team,” said Krysinski, who is set to graduate in the spring.
“When I came, I knew everyone was going to be good but I didn’t expect them all to be so talented. It was a big shock but it’s been a great experience to have. You obviously can learn so much and get so much better when you’re playing against talent like this every day in practice.”
Kitch said Krysinski is exactly the kind of player you want on your team because of her desire to get better.
“She is hard-working, determined, a great listener, super-coachable,” Kitch said. “I am not surprised one bit she had as good of a game that she did. She has been working her butt off and gets better every day. She comes ready to work and never complains. She knows her role on the team, she knows what she is here to do, and it showed in the game.”
By Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy