WOODSTOCK — In the mind of coach Dennis Snelling, the Sept. 18 girls’ soccer loss to Waterford was erased on Sept. 22.

Woodstock Academy pulled itself even with Bacon Academy in Division II of the Eastern Connecticut Conference with a 1-0 win over the Bobcats at the Bentley Athletic Complex.

“It’s a huge win because we knew if we didn’t get the result, we would be two games behind them in the league standings,” Snelling said. “We handed them their first loss, it’s always nice to be the team to do that rather than having it done to them.”

It was not an easy contest. Although the meteorologists predicted a much better day on Friday, the weather chose not to cooperate.

The unflappable hurricane or tropical storm named Jose never released its grip sending breezy conditions with periods of rain into the area. It made for a slippery surface and for tricky ball flight as the game progressed.

Fortunately for the Centaurs (6-1. 4-1 ECC Division II), the score was in their favor early.

Makara Sorel found an opening and the ball found her, leading to a goal just 5 minutes, 43 seconds into the match with the Bobcats.

“I saw the (Bacon) defender with the ball and I think she was pretty confident that she could shield it off from the goal. I just gave it everything I had to sprint to the ball, got it, and just tried to stay calm and put it in the net,” Sorel said.

It was her second goal of the season for the Centaurs. It was also one of the few chances either team had. 

“We had to keep the intensity up the whole game and worked really hard. We needed this win because we didn’t start off the week too great,” Sorel added. 

Woodstock finished with only eight shots on goal while Bacon Academy (5-1, 4-1) had only three.

“It was never the plan,” Snelling said of the battle to protect the one-goal lead. “You score five minutes in, you want to score again five minutes later. It’s nice to score early two games in a row, get on the board, and have the game in hand rather than chasing.”

Woodstock 4

Stonington 1

It may have been a little wake up call.

The Woodstock Academy girls’ soccer team was smarting after being shutout by Waterford Sept. 18 .

It rebounded Sept. 20 with a 4-1 Eastern Connecticut Conference Division II victory over Stonington at the Bentley Athletic Complex.

“It seems like we have to do that every year,” coach Dennis Snelling said of the loss to the Lancers on Monday. “It’s just part of it. You take all of your hard work for granted just one time and the other team capitalizes.”

The Centaurs are the defending Division II champs and field essentially the same team this season. That and a 4-0 start with all the wins coming via shutout can lead to a little complacency. There was none of that against the Bears.

Just 4 minutes, 5 seconds into the match, junior Ivy Gelhaus saw her classmate, Ashleigh Angle, heading for the net with no defender on her. Gelhaus sent the ball in on the cross.

“I know that Ashleigh can finish really well,” Gelhaus said. “She’s had a couple of goals this season like that this season. She’s very good on the cross.” It was the third goal of the season for Angle.

Makara Sorel made it a 2-0 lead for the Centaurs (5-1, 3-1 ECC Division II) just a little over eight minutes later when Linda St. Laurent found her with a through ball. Sorel split the defenders and scored her second tally of the year.

But the Bears (1-6, 1-3) didn’t go away silently from the first half.

With the wind swirling and the rain coming down in squally fashion, Lainnie Connor was awarded a direct kick just outside the penalty box. She got the ball up into those winds and found the right bounce to get it into the back of the net.

Gelhaus gave Woodstock a little breathing room early in the second half when a goal kick found its way to her foot, she came in from the right and sent it to the left side of the net for her third goal of the year at the 46:17 mark of the contest.

Kennedy Davignon put the finishing touches on the win with a goal with 9:18 to play. “It was good soccer,” Snelling said. “We had good possession and that’s what we talked about (Tuesday). We didn’t really have a hard practice between games, we just talked about doing the right stuff. We try to be a passing team, that’s how we control games and that’s what we did (Wednesday). "

 Waterford 3   ~   Woodstock 0

The opportunities were there, but sometimes, things don’t fall a team’s way.

Woodstock Academy lost to Waterford, 3-0, in a girls’ soccer contest Sept. 18 despite holding a 15-4 advantage in shots.

Irene Askitis made three saves for the Centaurs (4-1, 2-1 Eastern Connecticut Conference Division II). Ciana Chiappone, Khay Hatcher and Julia Florek scored for the Lancers (2-3, 1-2).

Volleyball

Woodstock Academy 3   ~   Waterford 1

WOODSTOCK – Natalie Low had 20 kills and 11 service points for the Centaurs who lost the first game, but rallied to win the next three.

The Lancers (4-2, 0-2 ECC Division III) won the first set 25-18, but Woodstock Academy came back to win 25-15, 25-19 and 25-16.

Sammie Orlowski added 30 assists and 10 service points for the Centaurs (4-3, 2-1)

Woodstock 3   ~   Killingly 2

It went the distance. Killingly and Woodstock Academy battled for five sets before with the host Redgals winning the fifth, 19-17, for the 3-2 victory in a volleyball match Sept. 21.

The Centaurs (3-3, 1-1 ECC Division II) took two of the first three matches, winning 25-18 and 25-23, after losing the opening set, 25-18.

But the Redgals (6-0, 2-0) won the fourth, 25-16, to force the decisive set.

Caroline Eaton had 21 kills while Natalie Low added 15. Libero Maddy Gronski made 30 digs for the Centaurs.

Woodstock 3   ~   Bacon 0

Senior middle hitter Denali Johns has been working for the past several practices on her serve.

“It’s really been my weak suit,” Johns said. No more.

Johns set the tone Sept. 18 for the Woodstock Academy volleyball team in a 3-0 win over Bacon Academy at the Fieldhouse. She was handed the ball with the Centaurs nursing a 9-8 lead in the first set. When she gave it up on a service fault, Woodstock enjoyed a 19-9 advantage.

Centaurs’ coach Adam Bottone used to be a fan of the jump serve, but has adapted a different philosophy. He now favors serves that are flat and clean, just clearing the net with little or no rotation. Johns did that to perfection against the Bobcats.

“We’ve been working a lot on that,” Bottone said. “Denny didn’t serve at the start of the season, but she has improved a lot. When she got serving in that first set, it totally took the wind out of (Bacon Academy’s) sails. You could see it on their face, they got down on themselves.”

Johns said her serve may not be overpowering, but has a “weird float to it at the end.”

She finished with 15 service points and eight of the 14 aces that Woodstock served up in the 25-12, 25-16, 25-11 victory.

It was the Centaurs’ third consecutive win, putting them back above the .500 mark at 3-2. It was also their first Eastern Connecticut Conference Division II victory of the season.

Bottone said there is still a lot of work to be done.

“Our service and our passing is still inconsistent,” Bottone said.

While the Centaurs had 14 aces, they also committed 17 service faults.

“When we can get to a point where we’re making less errors passing and serving, low and ready on defense, than I will be happy. A win is a win and I’m always happy with that and we didn’t let a team back in so I’m happy with that, but we still have to do those fundamental things a little better than we’re doing now.”

Sammie Orlowski had 18 assists for the Centaurs while Natalie Low contributed eight kills and Caroline Eaton added seven.

“At the beginning of the season, we were really down on ourselves. Now that we have three wins behind us, we’re in a really good mindset going into matches versus Killingly and Waterford which are our biggest competition now,” Johns said.

 Field Hockey

Stonington 4   ~   Woodstock 1

The Stonington Bears are the team to beat in the Eastern Connecticut Conference in field hockey.

That is hardly breaking news.

So when a team posts a good challenge, it walks away feeling pretty good.

Such was the case for Woodstock Academy Sept. 21.

The Centaurs may have lost to the Bears, 4-1, at the Bentley Athletic Complex, but they trailed by only one goal at the half and they got the Bears’ attention.

“From our first season just getting absolutely trounced (by Stonington) to giving them a game. (Stonington) was getting a little nervous and I was happy with that,” Woodstock coach Lauren Gagnon said. “We played a lot faster, stronger and fitter than usual. We gave them a bit of a scare.”

Stonington (4-0, 4-0 ECC) scored first when Erin Craig sent the ball in, it was deflected by a Woodstock stick on to Trinity Lennon’s stick and she pushed it into the cage.

But Woodstock (1-3, 1-3) answered with just under 12 minutes left in the half.

Casidhe Hoyt pushed the ball to Hannah Chubbuck and Chubbuck converted to tie the game.

“It was a heck of a goal,” Gagnon said. “It was a great cross from Casidhe and Hannah put it away strong. Before I put (Chubbuck) on, I asked her if she was going to score (Thursday). Her response was ‘Sure.’ So I said I would like a little better response than that, something like ‘Heck yeah, Coach.’

That was her response when Gagnon asked her the same question prior to sending her out for the second half.

Unfortunately, Chubbuck’s goal was the only one the Centaurs would muster.

Daisy Williams scored just 90 seconds after Chubbuck and Stonington owned a 2-1 lead at the break.

Miranda Arruda added two second half goals for the Bears.

“We definitely played up rather than down, sometimes we get nervous, but we came out strong and knew we had nothing to lose. We had to make up for coming out slow on Tuesday (a 4-0 loss to Waterford),” Gagnon said.

Woodstock 4

Waterford 0

Sophomore Molly Quiles scored a pair of goals to lead Waterford to a 4-0 victory in a field hockey contest Sept. 19.

Kaylee Wilcox and Cassidy Susi also scored for the Lancers (3-1, 2-1 ECC).

The Centaurs (1-2, 1-2) took 11 shots in the loss.

 

Marc Allard

Sports Information Director

 

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