Roundup
Centaurs Advance to  Championship
A free kick specialist. That’s what Woodstock Academy girls’ soccer coach Andrea Danforth describes Freya Robbie as.
Robbie’s free kick from 23 yards out with 4 minutes, 16 seconds left in regulation lifted the second-seeded Centaurs to a 2-1 victory over No. 3 Waterford in an ECC Div. 1 semifinal.
The Centaurs (13-3-1) advanced to meet top-seeded Bacon Academy in the championship match. The game was played on Monday at Griswold High School. (The match ended too late for this edition).
Robbie’s time to shine came after Leah Costa was taken down by the Lancers just outside the penalty area.
With the wind in her favor, Robbie lifted the ball over the Waterford defensive wall.
Her hopes were answered as the ball eluded the leap of Lancer keeper Victoria Sturm and into the upper right-hand corner for the game winner.
The Centaurs jumped out on top, 1-0, when senior Juliet Allard, who had missed much of the season due to injury, broke in and scored with 10:14 left in the first half.
It was first goal of the season for Allard.
Unfortunately for the Centaurs, Waterford wasn’t ready to pack it in.
The Lancers answered the Allard goal when Anna Waddington put one in the back of the net just 6:04 into the second half.
Woodstock almost answered not once but twice within five seconds when both Costa and Harper Simoneau had good scoring chances.
Costa’s went off the right post, Simoneau’s hit the left.
The Lancers did have an opportunity of their own foiled by the post on the other side before Robbie got a couple of chances with free kicks.
Her first from the left of the net, sailed just over the top.
The Centaurs continued to be Waterford’s kryptonite as they are the only team to down the Lancers (13-2-3) this season.
Boys’ Cross-Country
Coach Josh Welch would have loved to see his entire boys’ cross-country qualify to compete in the State Open championship. Just nine seconds denied the Centaurs that opportunity.
Two members of the team will compete as seniors Christian Menounos and Colton Sallum finished third and ninth respectively in the Class MM state championship to lead their team to a fourth-place finish overall with 166 points behind East Lyme, which finished with an impressively low 21 points,  E.O. Smith (55) and Avon (121).
“We weren’t firing on all cylinders again but it was a great team finish,” Welch said.
The top two teams in each division qualify for the State Open championship.
But the Centaurs were hoping to be one of the eight teams, outside of the top two in each division, that are offered invites based on their total team time.
Welch’s team was nine seconds off the eighth-fastest pace.
Menounos reached his personal goal which was to finish in the top three although he was hoping for second.
He finished in 16 minutes, 15 seconds which was just 20 seconds back of ECC champion, Sean McCauley of East Lyme, who won the event. His teammate, Sam Leone, placed second in 16:10.
The top-25 runners in the Open qualify for the New England championship which will also be run at Wickham Park on Nov. 9.
Welch said both Menounos and Sallum reached expectations.
Sallum wasn’t all that far behind his teammate as he crossed the line in 16:34.
The big key for Sallum heading into the State Open will be his health.
He wants to focus on his recovery from this race and keep his diet dialed in.
He’s hoping that and a little more in the way of course management will help him qualify for the goal beyond.
The senior did run in the Open last year and he thinks that experience will help even though he wasn’t happy with his performance a year ago.
“Top-25 is the goal. I want to be down there because that gets me to New England’s. I need to have one of the best races of my career on (Thursday),” Sallum said.
Bronson Eddy placed 43rd, Sam Greene 54th and Lucas Hecker, who was recovering from an illness, was 57th to account for the top five runners on Saturday for the Centaurs.
Girls’ Cross-Country
Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain’s maiden season in the sport of cross-country continued to be impressive on Saturday at the Class MM championship.
The junior placed ninth overall in 20 minutes, 51 seconds to earn All-State honors and qualify for the State Open championship.
D’Alleva-Bochain admitted the start was a bit overwhelming due to the number of runners at the starting line.
In her first season in the sport, she has adopted a strategy of going out quickly with the lead pack.
She, once again, took advantage of her favorite feature of any course- hills.
While many shy away, D’Alleva-Bochain attacks.
The junior said she didn’t expect to qualify for the State Open but knew she had a shot at making it. She had thought she would have to qualify on time and not as one of the top 12 in the race which automatically get into Thursday’s event also being held at Wickham Park.
The top 12 runners in each division are also named All-State.
Olivia Tracy placed 25th, Kira Greene 40th, Melanie Dipippo 59th and Bela Amlaw 65th to account for the top five runners for the Centaurs who finished seventh as a team.
Volleyball
Aces and errors. The volleyball team saw a lot of both on Friday afternoon in their ECC tournament quarterfinal matchup with Ledyard.
Fortunately, the second-seeded Centaurs achieved a lot of success from behind the service line in the first set and the seventh-seeded Colonels never recovered.
As a result, the Centaurs rolled to 3-0 win and advanced to the league semifinals on Monday against third-seeded Griswold at Waterford High School. (The match ended too late for this edition).
The quarterfinal win was important as a loss would have meant the Centaurs would have been idle until Thursday, Nov. 7, almost a two-week layoff.
That’s due to the Centaurs receiving a first-round bye in the Class L state tournament.
The Centaurs (18-3) jumped on the Colonels early with nine of their 22 service aces coming in the first set. It helped the team roll to a 25-6 first set victory.
Indeed, there were few rallies in the first set.
Half of the Colonels’ six points came on the other side of the coin for the Centaurs, service errors.
That feast or famine result for Woodstock continued throughout the match. The team finished with 22 aces but also committed 13 service errors.
It didn’t hurt the Centaurs against Ledyard as they posted a 25-11 win in the second set and 25-18 in the third to complete the sweep.
But it did not escape the notice of Bottone.
 “We served really well in that first set and had some nice service runs and when you get good runs and the aces, it negates the service errors,” Bottone said.
Bottone thought it was better than it has been in terms of the service and part of the problem could have been the nature of the match- the Centaurs were having their way and, in that case, focus can sometimes wane.
Sophia Gronski finished with 20 assists along with 16 service points, half of those were aces. Izzy Mojica had eight kills while Lily Bottone added four kills and five digs and Cassidy Ladd had seven service points.
Gronski and six of her teammates were the focus of the attention on Tuesday.
It was the final home match of the regular season and, as such, it was Senior Night.
Gronski and classmates Lily Bottone, Madeline Jezierski, Jacqueline Dearborn, Mojica, Ladd, and Mia Sorrentino were recognized prior to the match.
There have been a lot of long-term friendships on this team. Adam Bottone, of course, was not only coach but also Dad on Tuesday for his daughter, Lily.
Another interesting piece about this team. They are volleyball players. Outside of a brief flirtation with golf for Gronski and Lily Bottone and Mia Sorrentino taking part in track, volleyball is it.
The Centaurs went out after the Senior Day festivities and picked up their 17th win of the regular season with a 3-0 victory over the Bulldogs.
Lily Bottone had 10 kills while both Mojica and Gronski (eight aces, 18 assists) had 14 service points and Sorrentino finished with five kills.
Prep Soccer
Woodstock Academy Prep 1 soccer had gone into Saturday morning’s match tied atop the point standings in the Prep Premiere League with Western Reserve Academy from Hudson, OH.
The Centaurs now own the top spot by themselves after a very impressive 5-0 win over the Pioneers at the Bentley Athletic Complex.
It was the start of a really nice weekend for the Centaurs who bettered their five-goal win on Saturday with a 6-0 win over Andrews Osborne Academy on Sunday morning at the Bentley Athletic Complex.
The Centaurs are now 9-0-2 on the season.
“I’m a little surprised,” Woodstock Academy coach Owen Finberg said of Saturday’s result over Western Reserve Academy. “I was expecting a little more of a closer contest. I think once you get the third goal, it’s easy to add others on. I think we have that capability every time we go out and play. It’s about keeping it clean in the back and finishing your chances and the guys did a good job of that (Saturday).”
The Centaurs did not have to wait long to get on the scoreboard.
Western Reserve Academy keeper Caydence Robinson early on was wandering far from the net and the Centaurs took advantage.
Yeochan Yang sent a ball from deep in the Centaurs defensive end and it found the Centaurs’ leading scorer Jude Essuman on the right side.
Essuman dribbled past the defense and headed the ball over Robinson and it scooted into the net.
“I love to score goals and when the ball was played in the channel, I decided not to stop. I saw the goalie was a little late so I took my chance,” Essuman described.
What happened later in the half may have been just as big as Woodstock Academy keeper Kevin Christensen came up big in the net.
A foul by Woodstock Academy inside the penalty area resulted in a penalty kick for Western Reserve Academy.
Sullivan Buch took it for the Pioneers but Christensen was up to the task, stopping the initial shot.
“It was tough. I did my best to try and get in his head before the penalty. I got up close to him, stared him down the whole way going back and then I got a little lucky,” Christensen said.
A little luck indeed.
While Christensen may have stopped the initial chance, the ball rebounded back to Buch.
“I knew I had to get up quick and not let it go in,” Christensen said with a laugh.
He did and he stopped Buch for a second time.
“To be able to save a penalty kick is a huge momentum swing and the second save was even better than the first. We have two excellent goalkeepers and we expect excellence no matter who is in the pipes. That was a big moment for us,” Finberg said.
The Centaurs would make it 2-0 with just 1 minute, 1 second left in the first half when Jasper Cox got the ball to Xahvi DeRoza and he beat Robinson to extend the lead at half.
But it would take another big Christensen save early in the first half to keep the two-goal advantage as Buch got past the defense and took on Christensen 1-on-1.
Christensen won again.
“That was confusing because everyone stopped. We thought the whistle blew but that never happened. I stayed focused and made another big save,” the keeper said.
Essuman then clinched it for the Centaurs with his 10th goal of the season off a Zander Tidwell assist.
“That was good. I was really excited about that goal,” Essuman said. “We just have a really good group of guys who are doing our work on the field and when we work as a unit, things go well for us. I love this group. I’m proud of everybody.”
Richard Sarpong added his sixth goal of the season and Daion Swan-DeSilva also scored to make the final pretty one-sided.
“It was a good win,” Finberg said. “I think we started a little slower than we wanted to in terms of our ball circulation, the ability of moving the ball from the back to the front, but once we put that first goal in, it settled the nerves as bit and scoring just before halftime set the tone for us to dominate in the second half.”
Woodstock Academy didn’t have to wait until halftime to dominate Andrews Osborne on Sunday.
Woodstock Academy broke out to a 5-0 first half lead and cruised to the win.
Sarpong scored four of the goals for the Centaurs while DeRoza had three assists.
Essuman scored the other two goals while Nico Velicico, Romeo Corino and Dylan Payne added the other assists for the Centaurs.
Prep 2 Soccer
The Centaurs Prep 2 soccer team saw its record go to 8-3-2 as it picked up a tie with the Northwood School after a tough loss to St. Thomas More in Oakdale.
The Centaurs finished knotted at 2 with Northwood.
Nico Ochoa and Luca Passinha Braz tallied for the Centaurs.
It followed a 1-0 loss to the Chancellors in Oakdale in a Global Education Sports Partners League match.
Prep 2 Soccer: The Centaurs Prep 2 soccer team saw its record go to 8-3-2 as it picked up a tie with the Northwood School after a tough loss to St. Thomas More in Oakdale.
The Centaurs finished knotted at 2 with Northwood. Nico Ochoa and Luca Passinha Braz tallied for the Centaurs.
It followed a 1-0 loss to the Chancellors in Oakdale in a Global Education Sports Partners League match.
Football
The football team moved the football effectively against Waterford. But success in the red zone was hard to find.
Waterford took advantage as the Lancers improved to 6-0 and 2-0 in ECC Div. II with a 34-2 win over the Centaurs.
The Centaurs did convert a fourth down in their first series in their own territory but a second fourth down conversion did not materialize and Waterford took over on its own 45-yard line.
Sophomore running back Omar Hernandez (seven carries, 74 yards) had two big runs of 19 and 11 yards and quarterback Jax Higgins found Parker Spencer for an 18-yard pass play.
But it would be Higgins’ legs that put the Lancers on the scoreboard as the senior called his own number and ran the ball in from 15-yards out.
Higgins finished with 103 yards in 10 carries for Waterford.
The 6-0 lead appeared to be in jeopardy when a 10-yard carry by Woodstock’s freshman quarterback Caydem Herlihy (8 carries, 35 yards) and an unsportsmanlike penalty put the Centaurs at the Lancers 39.
But Waterford defensive back Mason Nocery stepped in front of a Herlihy pass and the Lancers got the ball back at their own 32.
It was a short-lived reprieve as a fumble by Waterford was recovered by Academy senior Kyle Grist at the Waterford 16.
The Centaurs troubles in the red zone began when three plays saw the Centaurs go back a yard and a 27-yard field goal attempt by freshman kicker Wyatt Matulis went left of the uprights.
Waterford quickly countered as Hernandez rumbled 45 yards on the first play from scrimmage to the Centaurs 35. Higgins followed with a 5-yard run and Spencer carried the football 27 yards to the 3-yard line.
After a fumble and two runs for losses, Higgins found Spencer on fourth-and-goal from 7 yards out to put the Lancers up, 14-0.
Waterford forced a Woodstock punt and would go up 21 points at the half when Higgins (8-for-14, 130 yards) connected with Gabe VanOverloop for a 36-gain on a screen pass to the Woodstock 15.
Two runs got the Lancers to the 10-yard line where Higgins went to VanOverloop again for the 10-yard touchdown pass.
The Centaurs (2-4, 0-2 ECC Div. II) threatened again before the half as Herlihy (17-for-27 passing, 158 yards) found Gabe Luperon (4 catches, 35 yards) for 9 yards to the Waterford 44 and then hit Cam Nason (3 catches, 103 yards) for a 35-yard strike to the 9-yard line.
Unfortunately, the Centaurs came up empty after a turnover on the last play of the half.
The Lancers put the win away in the third quarter as Higgins scampered 45 yards to the Woodstock 22 on Waterford’s first play from scrimmage in the second half. Four plays later, Higgins carried it in from 8 yards out.
The Lancers made it 34-0 on a 13-yard pass from Higgins to Spencer (5 receptions, 35 yards) late in the third quarter.
Woodstock avoided its second consecutive shutout when a ball was snapped out of the end zone by Waterford early in the fourth quarter to account for the Centaurs’ two points.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

captions:

Woodstock Academy junior Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain (fourth from left) finished 9th in the Class MM state championship girls cross-country meet and earned All-State honors at Wickham Park in Manchester Saturday. Photo by Joe Banas/Woodstock Academy)
 
Woodstock Academy seniors Colton Sallum (left) and Christian Menounos are jubilant near the finish line after both finished in the top 10 in the Class MM boys cross-country championship meet at Wickham Park in Manchester Saturday. Photo by Josh Welch/Woodstock Academy)
 
The volleyball team celebrated Senior Day. From left: Lily Bottone, Mia Sorrentino, Sophie Gronski, Cassidy Ladd, Madeline Jezierski, Izzy Mojica and Jacquline Dearborn. Photo by Adam Bottone/Woodstock Academy.

Seniors Isabella Selmecki (12) and Freya Robbie (25) battle Waterford keeper Victoria Sturm for the ball. Photos by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.

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