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Woodstock Academy coach Dennis Snelling and his girls’ soccer team had one goal in their match against Killingly Oct. 30 — don’t get eliminated. The Centaurs had to either defeat or tie Killingly to qualify for postseason play. They tied at 2-2.
“It’s hard to play for a tie so you play to win and take a tie as a result,” Snelling said.
Woodstock (5-8-3) did not qualify for the ECC tournament but will play in the Class L state tournament which could begin for the Centaurs as early Nov. 6.
The Centaurs were the aggressors early. They took 10 shots at Killingly keeper Aryn Nisbet in the first 40 minutes of play while Killingly was only able to get one shot off in the direction of the Woodstock net.
The Centaurs finally found the net 10 minutes into the second half when freshman Juliet Allard scored her eighth goal of the season.
Nisbet came out to a get a ball but could not hold on to its slippery surface and when it popped loose, Allard saw her opportunity and popped it into the net.
Killingly, however, wasn’t about to go quietly. Mikala Dube tied the match when she took a corner from Illyana Malarkey and re-directed it into the Woodstock net just 3 minutes, 20 seconds after the Allard tally.
Gelhaus had been peppering the net all night. The junior would finish with 10 shots at Nisbet but only one found its way through with 21:24 left in regulation as the Centaurs were awarded a free kick to the right of the net from just outside the area.
Gelhaus sailed it in, over the top of a leaping Nisbet, just under the crossbar and it settled just inside the far post for her 12th goal of the season to put Woodstock on top, 2-1. Unfortunately, there was still a half of soccer and more still to play.
Killingly (8-6-2) tied the match again when Casey Beauregard tallied with 19:59 to play in regulation. Killingly had a couple of shots in the first 10-minute overtime and the Centaurs had a couple in the second including a hard shot off the crossbar by Gelhaus. But the extra-long match ended in a tie and, the Centaurs have, at least, one more game to play.
Earlier in the week the team was tested when they went down to the E. Lyme Vikings, 6-0. It was the final ECC Div. I match of the season for the Centaurs who finished 2-3-1 in the division. The two held each other scoreless for the first 37 minutes, but the momentum swung in the Vikings (13-2, 6-0) favor when they scored two goals in the final three minutes of the first half. E. Lyme then chipped away in the second half, getting four goals, including two in the final four minutes to account for the final.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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