Positive pg 9 11-21-18
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It wasn’t the record the Woodstock Academy field hockey team was hoping for.
The Centaurs finished 3-13 on the season.
But there were positive signs.
Ten of the losses by the Centaurs were by two goals or less and of those, five were by one including a 2-1 loss to Stonington on the road.
“The fact that we never gave up and were playing our hearts out with a minute left in the game even if we were down by two or more goals, that just shows the character of this team,” said Woodstock Academy coach Lauren Gagnon said. “Opposing coaches and officials have come to me after games and said that we don’t give up, don’t make it easy. That’s great. If you’re going to lose, it’s best to lose with heart and character.”
The Centaurs did lose their last eight contests and only one of those, a 5-0 defeat at the hands of Old Saybrook, was by more than two goals.
That despite the fact that the Centaurs were dealing with some key injuries.
Sydney Cournoyer, a sophomore center-back and Hannah Wotton, a senior center-midfielder, both went down in the middle of the season.
It meant Gagnon had to make adjustments.
“They were supposed to hold down the middle of the field and then, we would have been able to push up Avery Jones to a more offensive position. That would have helped the offense quite a bit to have her being able to stay a low forward, blasting the ball up,” Gagnon said.
Instead, Jones (3 goals, 8 assists) had to stay in the middle.
The junior, however, did make an impact.
She was named Class M 2nd team All-State.
“It was very much deserved,” Gagnon said. “She has been working her tail off for as long as I’ve known her (since sixth grade). She learns fast and can master any skill she tries. She is a force in the (Eastern Connecticut Conference) and, sometimes, gets overshadowed by some of the flashier players from East Lyme and Stonington because she is unselfish and more concerned with distribution than goal scoring.”
Jones also received All-ECC honorable mention.
Sophomore Megan Preston, just in her second year of playing the sport, had to step into a pivotal role for the Centaurs.
Katie Boshka, a forward, was pushed back to defense and prospered. The senior earned first team All-ECC honors.
“She found a home back there. That was incredible,” Gagnon said.
In addition, Gagnon also saw positive signs among her other younger players.
“There was great growth at the junior varsity level. We had only two losses and one tie and when you watched them play, they really didn’t play like most JV teams. There is promise for the future and our younger players gained some confidence in themselves,” Gagnon said.
One thing the team has to overcome is themselves and their view of the program.
“We have this inferiority complex,” Gagnon said. “Early on, when we first started the program we deserved it because we went immediately into a varsity program which is tough and we took our lumps. They figured out early on who they could and could not beat and drilled it into their memory banks. We can’t beat Stonington, because we just don’t, even though the last Stonington away game we should have absolutely won it, or at least, tied it. We were knocking on the door the entire time and left a couple of goals on the end line which was really tough.”
The Centaurs will lose a host of seniors including Olivia Stanikmas, Victoria Staples, Boshka, Wotton, Hannah Chubbuck, Samantha Mowry, Madison Skellett, Emma Strandson and Abbe Lecuyer.
“We’re definitely going to miss Katie in the backfield and, a lot of them were utility players who you could put in where you needed them, like Sam (Mowry) who could play offense or defense. They will be missed, but we come back with a lot of strength,” Gagnon said.
The group that will return has already talked about playing in the offseason.
Although extremely important, it’s not something that is as easy as it sounds.
“One of the difficult things about field hockey is that there is not much indoor and what there is, is incredibly expensive. For kids to have to $1,000 to play in the offseason is not financially doable for most. We’re trying to find some more reasonable options for kids, especially to get them to be able to play together,” Gagnon said,
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy
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