Centaur girls p 9 11-7-19
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What Woodstock Academy girls’ soccer coach Dennis Snelling wanted for the final regular season game was a good, close match with Plainfield.
He got his wish.He would have liked it even better if it had gone the other way, but the Centaurs had to settle for a 1-0 loss to the Panthers last week.
The loss meant the Centaurs finished 10-5-1 on the season.
“I don’t think too many people outside of myself would have guessed that we would be a 10-win team based on what we graduated. It’s nice to overachieve,” Snelling said.
Snelling said, additionally, it went by pretty fast because the group he has this season has been a lot of fun to work with.
“It’s been really good,” agreed senior Linda St. Laurent. “The girls are great and we just gel so well together as a team. We lost a lot from last year, it made a little bit of a difference, but I feel like we fired back strong. We knew what we had to fill in and filled it in well.”
One of the biggest losses to graduation last year was the 19 goals provided by Ivy Gelhaus.
Her younger sister, freshman Grace, and junior Peyton Saracina picked up that slack.
Grace Gelhaus finished with 16 goals and added 8 assists while Saracina had 13 goals and 9 assists.
“I think they are two of the best forwards in the league, particularly in Division I. I don’t think we’ve had a duo up top that has put up those kind of statistics. It’s been great to watch especially since they both have another year or three, it’s exciting for the future of the team,” Snelling said.
The two have grown as the season has progressed, not only as soccer players.
But in the final game of the season, Plainfield (12-1-3) did something that more teams are trying to do.
Take one of the front duo out of the equation.
The Panthers put senior Izzy Newbury on Gelhaus and it was an effective strategy.
Gelhaus had to fight for her touches and had only two second half shots.
“It seems like every team we played, like NFA with Kayla Park, seem to feel like they have to keep one of their faster players back and they’re probably right to honor Grace’s speed and skill,” Snelling said.
They went into the ECC Div. 1 tournament as the fourth seed and their semifinal game will be another matchup with the Panthers, the top seed, in Plainfield on Tuesday (the game ended too late for this edition).
“I think we will make a few changes tactically,” Snelling said. “I don’t think you can show up with the same thing a week later and expect anything different.”
Plainfield’s defense played well last week, so did Woodstock Academy’s.
The Panthers came into the match, outshooting opponents, 230-71.
The Centaurs outshot them, 10-4.
“They gave us a good challenge at the beginning of the season (a 5-3 win for the Panthers) and a good challenge (last week). It was just one goal, it’s not that big of a scoring differential,” Centaurs senior Hallie Saracina said.
The only goal came with 5:29 left in the first half when Plainfield was awarded a free kick from 35 yards out.
The Panthers’ senior put it into the box where Centaurs keeper Rachel Holden made the initial stop.
Unfortunately, the rebound got away from her. Kate Carleson found it and the Assumption College-bound senior kicked it past Holden and into the net for her team-leading 13th goal of the season.
Carleson also had a chance on a breakaway in the second half but her shot went wide right.
If the Panthers have to overcome something in the league semifinals, it will be the old adage that it is very difficult to beat a team three times in one season.
The Centaurs do go in as defending ECC champs. Plainfield has been in the last two finals, but has yet to win. It was likely not the final home match for the Centaurs who should get a home match in the state tournament.
But it was Senior Day and the five seniors on the team, Holden, Emma Redfield, St. Laurent, Kayla Gaudreau and Hallie Saracina were all honored prior to the contest.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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