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Centaurs get 1st win
of season in girls’ hockey
Woodstock Academy pulled away with three goals in the third period to score a 6-2 girls ice hockey win over the Shoreline Sharks club team Feb. 21 at the Northford Ice Pavilion.
It was the first victory of the season for the Centaurs who are now 1-1.
“It was awesome,” said first-year head coach Maddy Millar. “The girls played so hard. They were aggressive, battled and earned every single goal.”
The two teams battled to a scoreless tie until midway through the second period when junior Sydney Haskins took a pass from classmate Bella Chaves and found the net for a 1-0 lead.
The Sharks rallied to tie the game just about a minute and a half later but Woodstock Academy got a boost from its middle schoolers to take the lead.
Juliana Buoniconti and Alex Lee both scored before the end of the period and Maci Corradi added a goal in the third period to put the Centaurs up, 4-1.
Chaves would get a goal of her own before assisting on a second goal by Haskins to conclude the Centaurs scoring.
Prep: Blue Squad Wins
Nomar Tejada sat on the bench and waited his turn for the Woodstock Academy Blue prep basketball team Feb. 20. But he took advantage when that chance came.
The 6-foot, 1-inch guard from the Dominican Republic started the second half and scored all 12 of his points in the first 6 minutes, 15 seconds to help the Centaurs pull away from South Kent and post a 74-48 win over the Cardinals. The win evened the Centaurs record at 1-1.
South Kent hit a pair of 3-pointers early to take the 8-2 lead to start the game, but Kyle Alcy scored six of his 10 points to help the Centaurs take an 11-10 lead.
The game was tied at 19 when Mark Heber hit the second of his three 3-pointers in the game. Alcy and D’Amonte Johnson added baskets and the Centaurs held a 27-20 lead at the break.
Jake Hlywiak (13 points) opened the second half with a 3-pointer for South Kent, but it was the only basket for the Cardinals in the first 6 ½ minutes of the second half.
Heber hit a 3-pointer and Alcy followed with his last bucket of the game to set the stage for Tejada.
The guard hit a 3-pointer, had a traditional three-point play, had two more baskets and a pair of free throws in a 25-0 run for the Centaurs.
It’s been tough to find that rhythm for everyone in a season of starts and stops due to the pandemic.
Milo Scheve picked up where Tejada left off as the 6-7 post from New York, N.Y., scored all 10 of his points in the second half as well.
Prep: Gold Falls to S. Kent
The news was not so good for the Woodstock Academy Gold prep basketball team against South Kent.
The Cardinals came out on fire, hitting 11 3-pointers in the first half and used that to build a 21-point lead by halftime.
The Centaurs could never catch up and fell, 85-67, Feb. 20.
“They are a team that shoots a ton of 3’s and we knew that coming in. I thought our traps were kind of soft, we let people out which creates close outs. I think we have to do a better job of trapping the ball and our kids didn’t settle in. I think we were nervous. The last time we played, I wasn’t here,” said Woodstock Academy coach Jacque Rivera.
Rivera missed the Notre Dame-West Haven contest two weeks before due to the birth of his second child.
The Centaurs did claw back.
A 13-2 run to open the second half cut the deficit to 10 and Woodstock Academy got it down to eight, 61-53, after a Dominic Strothers 3-pointer with 11:46 left in the game.
It takes a lot of energy to come back from 21 down.
Strothers paced the Centaurs with 23 points.
Julian Soumaoro added 15 points, all coming in the second half, while Dashon Gittens tossed in 14.
Boys; Basketball: Centaurs Beat Windham
Woodstock Academy didn’t take long to get its season rolling in a good direction.
The Centaurs made 12-of-14 from the floor in the first quarter Feb. 20 which resulted in 30 points.
It was a fast start that resulted in an 88-63 win over the Whippets in the season opener for both teams.
“We’re thrilled to get out there and play some basketball. That first quarter really got the ball rolling for us,” said Woodstock Academy coach Marty Hart.
The Whippets, traditionally, are a guard-oriented team and Hart said that is the case again this season.
Thus, the Centaurs were able to get the ball inside and used their height advantage especially that of 6-6 forward Dmitrii Zinchenko. Zinchenko led five Woodstock Academy players in double figures with 18 points. Guard Parker Anderson added 15 points.
Andrew Johnson, Ethan Davis, and Logan Talbot all scored 13 points apiece.
It may have taken awhile for the Centaurs to play the first game of the season.
The rest will come quickly.
Girls’ Basketball: Fall to Windham
Crosscourt passes are great when they work. But when they don’t, they can result in easy baskets for the opposition.
Such was the case for the Woodstock Academy girls’ basketball team Feb. 20 as errant passes cost it in a 47-24 season-opening loss to Windham.
“I think there is an adjustment at this level for some kids where, maybe at the JV, freshman or eighth-grade levels, those crosscourt passes are available but they are not (at the varsity level),” said Woodstock Academy coach Will Fleeton said. “I think it’s a learning experience, making a mistake, and learning from it at the varsity pace and speed.”
Windham took advantage of those passes to get a host of baskets in transition, especially in the second half, to pick up the win.
The Centaurs hung with the Whippets in the first half despite scoring just three first quarter points.
The Centaurs woke up in the second to scored nine points including a 3-pointer from freshman Reegan Reynolds to cut the deficit to six, 18-12, at the half.
But the Centaurs failed to come out of the locker room.
Alex Cloutier had a basket 35 seconds into the second half, but it was one of only two buckets the Centaurs would get in the third quarter.
Windham, meanwhile, got six points each from Sienna Ortiz and Ady Gonzalez (two 3-pointers) to take a 37-16 lead.
Junior Aurissa Boardman led the Centaurs with six points.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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