- Details
- Category: Current Issue
Centaurs
bounce back
with win
The Woodstock Academy girls’ soccer team was coming off of being shutout for a first time this season.
It made up for lost time.
The Centaurs downed Auburn on the road, 6-0, Oct. 19.
“It was a good bounce back game especially getting back on track scoring goals with Norwich Free Academy and Bacon Academy coming up, kind of must-win games for us, next week,” said Centaurs coach Dennis Snelling.
Woodstock Academy is battling for an ECC tournament berth with three league matches left to play including the two this week against the Wildcats and Bobcats.
They also have Plainfield on Oct. 29.
The Centaurs scored three goals in each half with two players getting a couple each.
Adeline Smith started the onslaught for Woodstock Academy (8-4-1) with the first goal just under 10 minutes into the match with the Rockets.
The sophomore midfielder added a second goal, her third of the season, in the second half.
”We gave her a different role,” Snelling said of Smith. “She is still in the center of the field just a bit more forward. It was good to see her get those scoring chances.”
Grace Gelhaus also scored two goals.
She picked up her 12th in the first half and 13th in the second.
The freshman also added an assist to give her 21 points on the season.
Junior forward Peyton Saracina added a goal, her 13th of the season, and two assists which gave her 20 points this season.
Kayla Gaudreau added her second goal of the season and Lucy McDermott had an assist.
The outcome was a lot better than earlier in the week.
It’s never easy to lose.
But it is a little easier to stomach when it happens despite a solid effort.
That was the scenario Oct. 16.
Woodstock Academy played well, but a couple of plays did the Centaurs in and they fell to East Lyme, 2-0.
“I can’t complain at all about the effort,” Snelling said. “We tell kids not to hang their heads when they try and do their best. Their attitudes were right, the mindset was perfect. We thought we could win the game. We played well enough to win the game. What can you be upset about?”
The Centaurs took 18 shots on goal compared to seven shots for the Vikings.
The only problem was that two went in for East Lyme.
The first came off a set play on a corner with senior Angie Venditti sending the ball into the middle where it found the foot of Alivia Catanzaro.
The senior midfielder sent it into the back of the net with 9 minutes, 31 seconds left in the first half.
“They got about five or six corners in the first half. I gave (his team) advice about not giving up corner kicks,” Snelling said.
For good reason, Catanzaro had come very close a second time when her header just went wide right of the post.
The Centaurs did not allow a corner in the second half while getting 10 of their own.
The only problem was that Woodstock Academy was missing a key ingredient.
Emma Redfield had left the game in the first half with an ankle injury.
“She’s our big playmaker on the corners, not to make excuses, but she does serve the ball in very well. We certainly were missing her (Wednesday). I think she played the first eight minutes and that was it,” Snelling said.
To make matters worse, Snelling had changed his alignment a bit for the match.
“We tried a new formation for a first time and you take someone out of it right away, but we adjusted well,” Snelling said.
The Centaurs had numerous chances against E. Lyme keeper Avery Owen but the senior was up to the task, making 12 saves.
“We shot the way we shoot in practice; we just can’t hit the goal. It’s tough. It was the first game we were shutout,” Snelling said.
The E. Lyme defense had something to do with that.
“(Venditti) is a great sweeper, probably one of the best defenders in the league, if not the best. They’re disciplined, do the right things, switch and cover really well. That was the difference,” Snelling said.
The Vikings got some insurance when Margret Dunne won a 1-on-1 battle deep in Woodstock Academy territory, and found the opposite side of the net with just over six minutes to play.
The win gave E. Lyme the ECC Division I title.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
..