'Girls did a great job'
Jen Bennett was well aware that Miss Porters was a step up in competition.
After blowing through the first seven games of the season (outscoring opponents 69-3 along the way), Bennett, the Putnam Science Academy girls’ soccer coach, was looking for a chance to play someone more on her team’s level.
Miss Porters obliged in more ways than one.
The prep school from Farmington handed the Mustangs their first loss of the season Nov. 6, 8-3. Bennett said the score wasn’t necessarily indicative of how the team played, though.
“We came in knowing Miss Porters was a great team and it would be a great learning experience for us,” she said. “It was just that. We didn’t get the result we wanted, but we got a lot of great things out of this game. I think my girls did a really great job.”
Bennett was especially pleased with the play of back Thandeka Siboda, calling her the game’s MVP.
“She was fantastic,” Bennett said. “I was so proud of her. She was under pressure a lot and handled it like a pro. She was clearing balls out of the 18 using her body, her head, whatever she had to do, she did to clear it. She held her line and pulled them offsides a bunch of times. I was just so pleased with her. She really stood out.”  PSA got goals from Claudia Paz, Tais Mota and Leticia Sousa.
The boys’ varsity team fared better last week, winning its lone game, 7-2 over Winchendon on the road. The Mustangs (8-3-1) got a hat trick from Josue De Leon and single goals from Romulo Pinheiro, Jaime Mendo, Victor Reis, and Luca Almeida.
“We played really well,” said coach Ivan Damulira. “We were united, moved the ball together all over the field. This was their best game of the season.”
Damulira also noted the growth of back Jekai Eve, who has solidified his place on the team.
“He started off as one of our weakest players at the start of the season and now he has become a key player,” he said. “He has been wonderful in the central defense for us. The whole team recognizes this. I’m very proud of him.”
PSA’s boys’ prep soccer did not play this week.
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy

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The Woodstock Academy Centaurs football team’s defense was its normal stingy self.
The Centaurs, however, just couldn’t put enough points on the board and fell to the Baconter Nov. 9, 14-7.
“We battled,” said Woodstock Academy coach Sean Saucier. “Even when things were looking dim with three or four minutes to go, next thing you know, we were in position to tie the game. We showed a lot of physical toughness and they gave me everything they had.”
After giving up the ball on its own 36-yard line on do Centaurwns, the defense held.
The Bobcats went back 2 yards and were then hit with a personal foul that pushed them back even further to their own 46.
A 9-yard run by Terrance Gignac was not enough for a first down and Bacon Academy was forced to punt.
The snap, however, was low to punter Sean Baldyga and he was forced to run with the ball, going out at the Bacon Academy 49-yard line.
An incomplete pass was followed a 2-yard run for Ian Welz and another incomplete pass.
Somehow on fourth down, sophomore quarterback Ethan Davis kept Woodstock Academy’s hopes alive.
He found Luis Miranda (5 catches, 40 yards) for a first down at the Bacon Academy 25-yard line. But a holding call on the next play cost the Centaurs 16 yards. Three incomplete passes and a sack ended the Centaurs' hopes.
Woodstock Academy (6-2, 2-1 ECC Div. II) failed to get a first down in the first quarter, going three-and-out in their two possessions.
Bacon Academy did the same on its first but found the end zone on its second.
The Centaurs looked as if they had stopped the Bobcats without a first down again when quarterback Justin Kelsey ran for only seven yards on a third-and-17, but a late hit by Woodstock Academy on the play gave new life to Bacon at the Centaurs 32.
The Bobcats faced another fourth down three plays later, but Kelsey (7-for-15 passing, 55 yards) found Aidan Gallagher on the left sideline for the eight yards necessary for the first down. Kelsey then went back to Gallagher on the right for 17 more and Bacon Academy was in business at the Woodstock Academy 5-yard line.
Running back Jake Cavallo (17 carries, 88 yards) got four of those and his backfield mate, Terrance Gignac, got the last one to put Bacon up, 7-0, with 5:37 left in the first quarter.
That would still be the score at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
This time, it was a Bacon Academy penalty that helped Woodstock Academy.
A roughing the passer call on the final play of the third quarter gave the Centaurs a first down at the Bobcats’ 40.
Davis (8 carries, 68 yards) ran off 24 more to the 16-yard line and found Aidan Morin (3 catches 24 yards) for four more to the 12.
But a false start, a negative yardage running play an incomplete pass left the Centaurs with a fourth down on the Bacon 19.
In the back of the end zone, Miranda jumped over Kelsey and then tumbled over him on the way down, clutching the football the entire time for the game-tying score with 9:44 to play.
The Bobcats (6-2, 3-1), however, had the answer.
After hurting themselves with two penalties, Bacon Academy got down to the Woodstock Academy 28-yard line on a 14-yard pass from Kelsey to Luke LaSaracina.
An incomplete pass, however, had them staring at a third-and-7 when Kelsey threw a ball over the middle. The ball was knocked down by the Centaurs’ defense but pass interference was called, giving Bacon a first down at the Woodstock Academy 14.
Three runs and a penalty later and the Bobcats were knocking on the door at the 1-yard line. Kelsey, behind a double-wing formation, followed his center into the end zone for what proved to be the game-winning score with 4:30 left to play.
The Centaurs host the Lancers (7-1, 3-0) in an ECC Div. II game at the Bentley Athletic Complex at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 16.
Despite the loss to Bacon, a win over Waterford would create a three-way tie for the Div. II title between the Centaurs, Lancers and Bobcats.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

Putnam Science Academy basketball coach Tom Espinosa plays a deep bench, with 10 of his 15 players typically seeing quality minutes. There is a lot of talent to choose from for those top 10- 11 spots, so if he doesn’t see something early, it’s easy to fall behind the pack.
“And one thing that makes it easy on me too is effort and commitment,” Espinosa said recently. “We have 15 guys on this team. If you don’t commit 100 percent, you’ll be the 15th guy. Some guys get the message, some don’t.”
Consider D’Maurian Williams among those who took heed of his coach’s words.
“We had that conversation,” Espinosa said.
Williams is a postgrad player from Arizona, meaning PSA’s coaching staff didn’t get to see him play at all. His ending up at PSA was more of a word-of-mouth kind of thing. Then the 6-foot, 4-inch, 200-pound guard suffered a knee injury that kept him out of the entire preseason. When practice officially started, Williams, now healthy, was still a compete unknown. And Espinosa said the first week wasn’t a great start.
So the two talked about commitment and buying all-in, which the coach didn’t think the player was doing. Williams agreed.
“He was just letting me know that I could go stronger and harder in practice. He was right,” Williams acknowledged. “I was taking off certain reps and things like that. He just wanted me to go hard every rep and every chance I got. I feel like I’ve done that.”
He certainly has. Williams has worked his way back into the good graces of the coaching staff and into regular minutes. He drew praise from Espinosa after each of the team’s first three games in the Bahamas to open the season (all wins), things like “played excellent,” or “made things happen” or “gave us a spark” or “difference-maker.” That was a pretty quick turnaround for Williams, who has also earned the respect of his teammates.
“I didn’t know anything about him,” Hassan Diarra said. “He was out all preseason. All I knew was he was from Arizona. But he does a lot of stuff well. He’s a great on-the-ball defender. And offensively, he’s tough and can score from all three levels. He brings a lot of energy.”
Williams is averaging seven points through the Mustangs’ first four games, and stuffing the stat sheets with handfuls of assists, rebounds, and steals as well.
“They did a good job of keeping me mentally strong when I was out with my knee, so I came back in the right mindframe,” Williams said. “But I don’t think anything else changed for me. Once I got healthy, I just had to get my feet wet.”
Williams is one of the quickest players Espinosa has ever coached, and his toughness and strength allow him to handle contact on his way to the rim. Following his senior season at Westview High School, he had a solid number of scholarship offers from D-I schools. They just weren’t the ones he wanted. So he passed, essentially betting on himself that he could make a bigger splash in Putnam. And bigger schools (think Pac 12, West Coast Conference for the moment) are showing interest, including those back west, closer to home…and warmth.
“It’s freezing out here,” he laughed. “That’s been the biggest issue for me. I’ve been in snow before, but to live in it, I think it’s going to be a little different. I’ve visited snow, but then I left it and went home. This is cold up here.”
The winter might be cold, but since making the decision to go all-in on this team, things are just starting to heat up for Williams.
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy

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