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Honors
Five members of the Woodstock girls’ soccer team were honored prior to the ECC Div. 1 tournament championship match. From left: Kayla Leite was named the team’s Sportsmanship Award recipient; Freya Robbie, Grace Gelhaus and Leah Costa were named ECC Division I first team All-Stars and Lennon Favreau was the team’s Scholar-Athlete and an ECC honorable mention. Photo by Brad Favreau/ Woodstock Academ
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Celebration
The Woodstock Academy girls’ soccer team celebrates after its 3-2 overtime victory over Stonington in the ECC Div. 1 tournament championship match at East Lyme on Thursday. Photo by Sean Saucier/Woodstock Academy
Centaurs take
2nd ECC
Tournament
title in 5 years
On the bus ride down to E. Lyme High School Nov. 3, Woodstock Academy coach Dennis Snelling made sure his team knew that this was not unchartered territory.
“I was talking to the girls about the history of Woodstock girls’ soccer during my tenure and just made it clear to them that we had been in the (ECC) final or semifinal so many times as a program that there was no need to be nervous about it,” Snelling said.
When his team scored just 2 minutes, 14 seconds into the championship match against Stonington, it was clear that message was received.
The second-seeded Centaurs outlasted the top-seeded Bears, 3-2, in overtime in the ECC Div. 1 championship.
It was the second championship in five years for the Centaurs who last claimed it in 2018.
Sophomore and Stonington transfer Leah Costa sent the ball in from the left of the Bears’ goal and it hit a Stonington defender right in front of the net, trickling over the line for the Centaurs victory just 2 ½ minutes into the first 10-minute sudden death overtime period.
“It was fitting that it came from Leah’s foot,” Snelling said. “We just sent the ball in, sending it toward the goal as much as possible. We’ve had strange things happen in overtime when everyone is tired and that was the message – get it at the goal. It was still surprising.”
Woodstock (12-4-2) opened the scoring quickly when Grace Gelhaus, off a rebound, put the ball into the Stonington net just moments after the opening whistle.
“Grace just started the game on another level and kind of played that way the whole game. It kind of kept Stonington back because it had to stay on Grace,” Snelling said.
But just 1:24 later, the Bears countered when Maya Terwilliger fired a long shot just over the outstretched hand of Woodstock keeper Rebecca Nazer (7 saves).
Despite the Centaurs holding a 13-7 advantage in shots in the first half, it was the Bears who led at the half as Terwillger scored again on a follow off a shot by Lily Loughlean with 1:43 to play.
Freshman Gabbie Brown came up big halfway through the second half when she controlled a bouncing ball and fired before Anderson could come out of the Stonington net to tie the match with 21:01 left in regulation.
The goal sent the match into the sudden death overtime as neither team could forge ahead.
“We knew she was going to be doing that,” Snelling said of the freshman’s first career varsity goal. “We just didn’t know it would be in the championship game. She played all 80 minutes of every JV game, got in great shape and had a great level of confidence to go out there and play hard right away.”
It was the confidence that convinced Snelling to play her in the championship match and she delivered.
The win was the eighth in a row for the Centaurs who are 9-0-1 over their last 10 matches.
“We’ve been really great at keeping it to one game at a time but as win like this, going into the state tournament, I’m sure is great confidence builder. We haven’t lost in a while,” Snelling said.
Prior to the contest, five members of the team were honored.
Gelhaus, Freya Robbie and Costa all were named ECC 1st team All-Stars. Lennon Favreau was the team’s Scholar-Athlete and an ECC honorable mention choice and Kayla Leite received the team’s Sportsmanship Award.
ECC Semifinals
It was a long, hard, physical battle. But the result made it all worth it.
Woodstock advanced to the championship match of the ECC Div. 1 tournament with a 1-0 (5-4 PK’s) victory over Bacon Academy earlier in the week.
The final score of the semifinal may have to be reported as 1-0.
In reality, neither the Centaurs nor the Bobcats put the ball in the back of the net.
It was decided by penalty kicks with the Centaurs taking that battle, 5-4.
“It was a really hard game,” said Woodstock Academy senior back Magdalena Myslenski.
In the postseason, there is no such thing as a tie until you get to the state championship game. There must be a winner and that is determined by penalty kicks.
After 80 minutes of regulation play and 20 minutes of sudden death overtime, five Centaur players lined up against Bacon Academy keeper Elizabeth Glover.
All five, including one who had to go twice, hit their PKs.
Gelhaus went to the right side of Glover and scored; Robbie put one under her left arm and Macy Rawson went to the upper right.
Lennon Favreau stepped up and put it into the left side.
But official Frank May had not blown his whistle starting the play yet so Favreau had a do-over.
The Bobcats (10-4-3) had Audrey Palmer, Mia Haggeman, Alyssa Blanchette and Kayla Hall all hitting their PKs but they did miss one.
That meant the final kick for the Centaurs either would send them to the championship match or into a second round of kicks.
The person who had the responsibility of making that last kick count was senior Maya Orbegozo. She shot at the right corner and it found the back of the net.
Postseason next
The season is not done for the Centaurs.
The 11th-seeded Centaurs played host to No. 22 Windsor in a Class L first-round state tournament match on Tuesday (the match ended too late for this edition).
“I’ve seen who they have played. They have had some Central Connecticut Conference matchups. It looks like a competitive game. I think being on the home field will give us a big advantage and a lot of confidence,” Snelling said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy