Centaurs
capture ECC
Div. I girls’
soccer title
It was one of those all-around good days for the Woodstock Academy girls’ soccer team on Saturday.
The Centaurs celebrated Senior Day and then went out and got past Waterford, 2-1, to claim the ECC Div. I regular season title.
“I am in complete shock,” said first-year coach Andrea Danforth of the Div. I crown. “I can’t believe that we did this. It wasn’t even on our radar. All we wanted to do was come out, compete and we wanted to win but winning the regular season championship never crossed our mind.”
The Centaurs finished 4-2 in the division.
In ECC girls’ soccer, teams are given three points for a win and one for a tie, meaning Woodstock finished with 12 points and the 3-1-2 Lancers ended with 11.
Prior to the match on Saturday, Centaurs seniors Angelica Oliveira, Leah Costa, Isabella Selmecki, Juliet Allard, Shauna Daka, Freya Robbie and Macy Rawson were all recognized prior to the game.
“It’s a really big confidence boost for the girls. Obviously, it’s a really good feeling when everybody supported one another and it was just a really positive day,” Robbie said.
Costa, who will move on to play soccer for Southern New Hampshire University, found it difficult to believe she was playing her final regular season game on the turf at Woodstock. “I honestly cannot believe it’s Senior Day."
The Lancers came into the contest undefeated at 9-0-2 and had downed the Centaurs, 3-1, down by the shoreline earlier in the season.
Waterford jumped out on top when Camryn Dickinson scored her ninth goal of the season with 24 ½ minutes left in the first half.
That one-goal lead would hold through the first half.
The Centaurs challenged early and it was Costa who knotted the game.
Rawson sent a long goal kick downfield that was re-directed toward Costa. The senior one-timed it into the air and then chased it down, taking it away from a Waterford defensive player which left her one-on-one with keeper Victoria Sturm.
She sent a low ball just over the outstretched left leg of the keeper that found the net just inside the right post 7 minutes, 40 seconds into the second half.
It was the 17th goal of the season for Costa who was chosen as the ECC girls Athlete of the Week for her performance the week before when she scored six goals and had four assists in three wins for the Centaurs.
There wasn’t a lot of time to celebrate, however, as the Lancers attempted a quick counter just a minutes after the Costa goal.
Robbie, however, had other thoughts.
A ball bounced over the head of keeper Ellary Sampson and was headed toward the net but Robbie came swooping in to kick it away.
“Our defensive line is solid. We are very fortunate to have four girls back there who can do that at any given time. Macy did it against Wethersfield on Thursday, now Freya (Saturday),” Danforth said. “Having two seniors at center-back, they really demand control of the field.”
Junior Jaelyn Knox would make that feeling even better.
She scored what proved to be the game winner with 26:54 left in regulation.
It was her first career varsity goal.
The defense did the rest for the Centaurs who shut down the Lancers the remainder of the way.
“I am just incredibly proud of them,” Danforth said. “They wanted this win so badly. We’ve been talking about just being motivated and coming out and performing on Senior Day. They did it. They were ready.”
The Centaurs also improved their overall record to 11-3-1 with just one regular season contest remaining at Ledyard on Friday.
That will give them one more contest to get Allard back into the flow of the game as she had been out with an injury since the beginning of the season. She made her first appearance on Thursday and was out on the field for some good minutes versus Waterford.
“We’re ready. We are feeling good. Our tie (0-0 with Wethersfield on Thursday) means we have gone unbeaten in seven games. That’s just giving us the mentality that we can do this. There were times during the season that we had injuries and we weren’t sure what the next game would bring, but for us to be back here, right now, we’re ready to go,” Danforth said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

Seniors Recognized
Seven members of the Woodstock Academy girls’ soccer team, from left: Angelica Oliveira, Leah Costa, Isabelle Selmecki, Juliet Allard, Shauna Daka, Freya Robbie and Macy Rawson were recognized on Senior Day prior to the Centaurs’ 2-1 win over Waterford. Photo by Collin Singleton/Woodstock Academy.

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