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caption, page 2:
Boxing In
Jeff Phongsa, left, and Riley Wilcox box in Windham’s Marlon Perez in a struggle for the ball in the Centaurs 2-1 victory over the Whippets.
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Racing
Sophomore Freya Robbie (25) races Waterford’s Camryn Dickinson (3) downfield in the Centaurs 2-0 win over the Lancers.
Roundup
Centaurs
soccer back
to break-even
The Woodstock Academy boys’ soccer team got a nice midseason reset. After a 2-1 win over Windham Oct. 5, the Centaurs are off until Oct. 13 when they travel to play NFA.
“It’s much needed,” said acting head coach Jason Tata. “In the five games we’ve played since (head coach) Paul (Rearden) has been gone, we’ve been through the wringer. Tough road games against Stonington and Berlin and we’re just in need of a nice little break and a nice little reset.”
Rearden left the team due to a family emergency.
In addition to the time off, the Centaurs are back at the .500 mark, 4-4-2, after the victory over the previously undefeated Whippets.
The Centaurs had problems finding the net in the first half of the season, getting only six goals in their first eight matches.
They remedied that a bit in their two matches last week.
Woodstock put a season-high three goals on the board against Valley Regional early in the week and downed the Warriors 3-1.
Tata told senior Quin Sangasy to go “hunt” for the ball when he sent him back out on to the field in the second half of the Centaurs match with the Warriors.
With 23 minutes, 38 seconds left in the match, Sangasy broke in from the left and directed a cross from John Bennett into the Warriors net to guarantee the Centaurs the win.
It was the first career goal for the senior.
“We haven’t scored a lot of goals in the last four games so it was really good to score that many,” senior captain Noah Page said.
The Warriors, who allowed 34 goals in their first seven matches, got on the board first when Jake McKenna, who was robbed of a goal by a beautiful kick save by Centaurs keeper Brian Jameson just 10 minutes earlier, benefitted from a run down the right side by teammate Nathan Crown.
Crown battled from the defensive side to deep into the offensive end before he got a pass to McKenna who found the back of the net with 9:02 left in the first half.
Fortunately for the Centaurs, the answer would come just over a minute later when Austin Byer, off the rebound of a shot from Owen Tracy, scored the equalizer.
“I read them the riot act at halftime,” Tata said. “We came out flat, under-estimated our opponent and that’s what happens- it turns into a trap game.”
So Tata let his offensive players loose in the second half. The Centaurs allowed Valley Regional only two second half shots, both coming late, while getting 10 of their own.
Page delivered the tiebreaker and what proved to be the game-winner with 28:27 left when he was awarded a direct kick from just outside the 18-yard box.
The draw off his right foot fell just inside the far post for his first goal of the season. Sangasy then added the insurance five minutes later.
Windham, which came into the Wednesday match with a 6-0-1 record, kept the Centaurs in check for much of the first half.
The Centaurs had only four shots in the first half but the last one did find the net.
Bennett sent in a nice ball from a corner kick opportunity, kicking it from the right back to the left, and finding the head of Page.
The senior knocked it home with just 16 seconds left in the first half.
Just two minutes into the second half, the Centaurs struck again. On a counterattack, Jeff Phongsa took the ball down the left side and popped it over the defense and on to the foot of Byer.
The sophomore put in his fourth goal of the season to ensure the Woodstock win
It was necessary as the Whippets did come up with a goal. Windham put one into the Centaurs net with 15 minutes left in the match but Woodstock held on.
Girls’ Soccer
Centaurs shutout Waterford, tie Ellington
After playing just one match the week before, Woodstock had to make up a little for lost time and battled through three games last week.
The Centaurs posted a 2-0 win over Waterford at home Oct. 6 and then finished in a 3-3 tie with Ellington Oct. 8.
“It put us back at .500,” said coach Dennis Snelling said. “Waterford has had a good season so far. It’s nice to catch up to these teams that we lost to last year.”
The Centaurs win over the Lancers and a tie with the Purple Knights - the two teams finished in a scoreless tie a year ago – left Woodstock with a 4-4-2 record coming into the week.
Sophomore Leah Costa scored just 1 minute, 12 seconds into the contest off a feed from senior Grace Gelhaus.
The Knights tied the match but before the half, the Centaurs struck again when Gelhaus fought her way through three defenders and fired a rocket into the back of the Ellington net.
The Purple Knights tied the match before halftime and then went up, 3-2, just two minutes into the second half.
But with time ticking down, Freya Robbie got the ball to Isabella Selmecki on a direct kick and the sophomore lofted it over the oncoming Ellington keeper for the equalizer.
The two teams could not score in overtime.
The middle match of the three for the Centaurs last week also went their way as they downed the Lancers.
The two teams played a scoreless first half but the Centaurs broke that up just 5 minutes, 15 seconds into the second half.
The key: a decision by the team to send the opening kick of the second half long into the Lancers’ end.
Gelhaus got a through ball into Costa who delivered it into the net for the 1-0 Woodstock advantage.
The goal by Costa put the Lancers back on their heels.
The score remained that way for the next half hour until Gelhaus, playing in the midfield, sent a ball in and Bella Mawson got her head on it and re-directed it into the net for two-goal lead with just five minutes left.
Keeper Fiona Rigney was challenged but was able to keep the ball out of the net.
The Centaurs were tripped up earlier in the week at Killingly where they suffered a 1-0 loss.
“It seems like anyone in the (ECC) can beat anyone,” Snelling said of the loss. “A lot of the teams have been playing really conservative and look for counter attacks. It makes it tough to get through and score.”
Rigney made five saves but the Centaurs could not find the back of the net as Killingly goalie Aryn Nisbet delivered the shutout.
Spencer Chviek scored the only goal in the match for Killingly which broke a four-match losing streak with the win.
Volleyball
Centaurs fall to Nighthawks and Lancers
The volleyball team is gradually getting healthier. But when you run into a hot team like Newtown, things can still be difficult.
Senior Ellie Nunes and sophomore Liliana Bottone both returned to the lineup against the Nighthawks. But Newtown is on a roll.
After starting the season 1-3, the Nighthawks have now won eight straight matches including a 3-0 win over the Centaurs Oct. 8.
Newtown won the first, 25-17, and then took the next two by increasingly smaller margins, 25-20 and 25-22, to post the shutout win.
Bottone (five aces) and senior Morgan Bonin led the Centaurs (8-4) with five kills and 12 digs each. Sophie Gronski had 12 assists.
Bottone and Nunes were not available against Waterford earlier in the week and the Centaurs stumbled, 3-1, on the road.
The Centaurs won the first set, 25-23, but lost the next three to the Lancers including a 26-24 nailbiter in the fourth and final set.
Bonin led Woodstock with eight kills and 17 digs while Gronski recorded 21 assists.
Cross-Country
Centaurs get back on the course
The boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams had not been in a competitive event since Sept. 24 and could not treat the Oct. 8 Wickham Park Invitational in a competitive fashion either.
The Centaurs have two ECC cross-country meets this week and then the ECC championship meet follows Oct. 20.
So boys’ coach Peter Lusa and girls’ coach Joe Banas told their athletes to go out and just run the Wickham Park course to get used to it since it will also be the site of the CIAC state cross-country championships later on in the month.
The Centaurs girls’ team went out and ran together, literally. They came across the line in 70th through 74th and finished 13th overall as a team in the Medium-sized school varsity race.
The boys ran more of an individual style and finished 22nd overall. Christian Menounos was best in 77th with Vince Bastura coming across the line in 89th.
Prep Soccer
Ballart gets a couple of goals but Centaurs fall
The prep soccer team suffered a pair of losses at the South Kent Tournament over the weekend. The Centaurs fell in the consolation match to Bridgton Academy, 2-1, Oct. 8.
Marc Ballart scored the only goal for the Centaurs (4-5-2) off an assist from Manuel Marquez.
Oct. 7 the Centaurs lost to the host South Kent team, 7-1. Lucas Basmadjian had the only goal for Woodstock.
Earlier in the week, the Hoosac School came from New York and handed Woodstock a 4-1 loss.
The Centaurs slipped to 1-2 in the Global Education Sports Partners League with that defeat.
Ballart had the only goal for Woodstock on a penalty kick.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy