Centaurs pg 1 5-9-24

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Centaurs celebrate 1st win of season
There were plenty of sighs of relief. First, the girls’ lacrosse team managed to hold off a steady comeback by the New London-St. Bernard co-op and post a 14-12 win early last week.
Second, it was their first win of the season.
“We really needed this,” said sophomore Kaylee Saucier. “We’ve been trying to stay positive and, obviously working very hard but the score just hasn’t come our way.”
The Centaurs knew this would be work in progress.
A new coach, lots of graduations from the year before and playing in a difficult quasi- Div. I schedule of the ECC.
“It’s a building season with a new coach so we’re just getting used to one another and how we’re playing. I think it will come out good,” Saucier said.
The Centaurs have seen their goal production increase a bit.
Just the week before, the Centaurs had produced eight goals in a loss to Montville.
That was until their 14-goal barrage against the Whalers.
“I think the offense is coming around a little. I know it really depends on who you play, sometimes, and our schedule is really rough. We play a lot of good teams but I think we’re beginning to catch up in terms of skill but it’s really about confidence. Confidence and a trust in one another and it’s games like this that will help that,” said first-year head coach Heather Miller.
Woodstock was dominant in the first half.
Saucier, Abby Elliott, Kaelyn Tremblay and Clara Dowdle all had two goals each and both Anna Hernandez and Caroline Harris also contributed a goal each as the Centaurs broke out to a 10-4 lead at the break.
Saucier and Harris then scored in the first five minutes of the third quarter to go up by eight.
But the Whalers used their athleticism to fight their way back in.
“The most thing I’m proud of them for (against New London) was (the Centaurs) sportsmanship. That was a very physical game. I’m proud of my girls for their sportsmanship as they rose above it,” Miller said.
The Whalers got as close as the final score with a goal inside three minutes.
“It was too close for me,” Miller said. “I told the girls it was getting too close and I was ready to swap out my whole defense to help with it. It was a nail biter to the end but it was a really good game.”
Saucier finished with three goals and an assist to lead Woodstock. Avery Crescimanno added a late goal which proved to be important.
The biggest thing; the monkey, the zero in win column, is off the back.
The Centaurs didn’t have too long to bask in the thrill of victory as they played at Jewett City against the Griswold-Norwich Tech co-op.
For a third game in a row involving Woodstock, the winners scored 14 times.
Unfortunately, this time it was the Wolverines who had more on the scoreboard as they posted a 14-8 victory last Tuesday.
Dowdle led the Centaurs with a hat trick while Maggie Marshall and Abby Converse each added a pair of goals. Saucier finished with a goal and an assist.
The Centaurs had one more outing before putting the week to bed.
They took on Norwich Free Academy on Saturday and fell to the Wildcats, 21-4. Kaylee Saucier and Piper Sabrowski each had two goals for the Centaurs.
Baseball
Three solid starting pitchers. It’s a recipe for success in high school baseball.
It’s the luxury that first-year coach Connor Elliott and his Woodstock baseball team has this season.
The Centaurs could have easily had three complete games in a pair of victories over Norwich Free Academy and South Windsor.
“The pitching staff has been great,” Elliott said. “The most impressive part about that is that the expectation (for a starting pitcher) is to go five innings and then, we have guys coming out of the (bull) pen. I wanted to give Logan some work (on Thursday) for example, because he has been such a trouper for us, missing out on opportunities at JV to swing for us a little as well. He deserved an inning.”
That’s why the Centaurs failed to have three complete games as Coutu relieved Brady Ericson for the seventh inning against NFA Thursday.
Take away an eight-run anomaly against Coventry earlier this season and the Centaurs have allowed just 20 runs in 11 games.
Ericson lowered his earned run average to 1.00 after a six inning, four hit, 12-strikeout performance in a 7-0 win over Norwich Free Academy Thursday.
The day before that, it was Riley O’Brien’s turn as he allowed only six hits and struck out six in a 6-0 non-league victory over South Windsor.
O’Brien now sports a 1.52 earned run average.
Eric Mathewson, who pitched a complete game against Norwich Free Academy in a 7-1 victory on Monday, is at 2.42,
That makes it mighty difficult on opponents.
“That’s a telling stat,” Elliott said of giving up just 20 runs in the last 11 games (or 1.8 runs per game), “But give it a couple of weeks and we will see where it is still at. It’s great for now. I hope it stays that way. I think we have the guys who can keep it that way.”
The offense provided enough support.
Mathewson was at the center of it as usual.
The senior second baseman had a double, triple and two runs batted in against NFA on Thursday.
The Centaurs gave Ericson all the support he needed with three runs each in the third and fourth innings.
Mathewson had an RBI triple in the third, scored on an error and Ericson helped himself as he later added an RBI single in the inning. O’Brien, who also had two hits, knocked in a run with a single in the fourth.
Mathewson helped O’Brien, his senior classmate, with three hits and two runs scored in the win over South Windsor.
Keon Lamarche homered and had another RBI with a sacrifice fly. Tanner Graham also drove in two runs for the Centaurs
Mathewson provided all the help he needed against the Wildcats.
The righthander threw just 78 pitches, allowed just four hits and struck out seven as he went the distance to pick up the win over the Wildcats.
Mathewson also knocked in two runs with a third-inning homer and another with a ground out.
For the week, the senior was 6-for-11 with six runs batted in.
“He’s unconscious right now. I don’t even talk to him. It’s to the point that I might not even look at him,” Elliott said. “He hit a couple of balls (Thursday) that would have been out at other fields. He’s really bought into the approach and he’s our catalyst.”
Brady Lecuyer continues to be an RBI machine as he knocked in two with a single. The sophomore, in just 14 at-bats, has 10 runs driven in.
 Maxx Corradi added a pair of hits in the win for Woodstock Academy.
The Centaurs are now 12-1 overall, winners of their last nine, and are 5-0 in Div. I of the ECC.
A win over East Lyme on Saturday on the road would clinch at least a tie for the division title.
Boys’ Volleyball
The competition is not as spirited as it once was between Woodstock Academy and Putnam High.
There are very few sports where the two actually meet on a regular basis any longer.
But there are the outliers.
Boys’ volleyball is one of those sports as both the Centaurs and Clippers are members of the Connecticut Volleyball League now that Woodstock has a varsity program.
The two met for a first time on Monday and it brought back memories for Adam Bottone.
“That takes me back to my (Quinebaug Valley Conference) days with the competition that we had in the early to mid 1990’s. (Putnam High coach) Shea (Ogle) was a player for me here at Woodstock Academy so it was nice to see another former player out there coaching. She Is trying to grow the Putnam program a bit,” the Woodstock coach said.
The players of the two schools had a little familiarity with each other.
Not because of high school but rather because of their affiliation with the Husky volleyball program.
“There is always the rivalry, the testosterone, so the guys got amped up to play and we were firing on all cylinders,” Bottone added.
The Centaurs swept the match, 3-0, winning 25-17, 25-16 and 25-23.
Brayden Bottone finished with 12 kills and three aces while Jake Henderson added 24 assists and Christian Hart had 17 digs.
“The offense was spread out pretty good. Brayden had the 12 kills but we had a couple of guys with six each. Jake does a pretty good job of spreading out the offense which is good,” Adam Bottone said.
The story was the opposite on Wednesday against Rockville as it was the Centaurs who came out on the short end of the 3-0 score in the first-ever meeting between the two.
The Rams had to work for it as the Centaurs (9-6, 8-3 Connecticut Volleyball League) tested them a bit. Rockville recorded wins of 25-20, 27-25 and 25-15 in the three sets.
“They have a really good outside hitter in Ryan Tierney who is a dominant player. He is going to get kills and you try to minimize that as much as you can and shut everyone else down,” Adam Bottone said.
Aiden Finch had nine kills in the contest with Brayden Bottone adding five and Henderson had 27 assists for Woodstock Academy.
“We just weren’t executing. We struggled on receive and being young, we let our mistakes bother us and we have a tough time getting out of that. When we’re away and that happens, we really struggle. When we play at home and that happens, we don’t struggle as much. I’m trying to figure out why that is,” Adam Bottone said.
That aversion to playing on the road continued on Friday for the Centaurs.
For the first time since April 10, when they hosted Norwich Tech, the Centaurs had to play a four-set match.
Once again, it was the Warriors on the opposite side of the net.
Woodstock won the first meeting on its home court, 3-1.
In Norwich, that score was reversed and the Warriors pulled out the 3-1 win to drop the Centaurs to 9-7.
Finch had nine kills and three aces while Brayden Bottone, Owen Budd and T.J. Osborne added eight kills. Christian Hart finished with 18 digs.
The Centaurs have qualified not only for the state tournament but also the CVL tournament which they could be as high as the fourth seed.
“I’m happy with the 8-3 league record. I didn’t know what to expect, didn’t know much about the teams we were playing. We get to play Rockville and NFA again and those are teams that I think we can beat if we’re confident and execute the way we should. I’m curious to see what will happen against them because we will be at home this time against both of them,” Adam Bottone said.
Woodstock has only three regular season matches remaining.
Boys’ Tennis
The week did not start well for the boys’ tennis team. And it didn’t end well, either.
The Centaurs came into the week with a 4-1 record but are now back at the .500 mark after losses to Killingly, Waterford and Montville.
There was, however, some good play on the court for the Centaurs by individuals.
Woodstock has become known for its long matches and Saturday was no exception.
Owen Rigney and Montville’s Benny Wu were on the court battling at No. 1 singles for almost three hours before Rigney was able to record the 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 6-0 victory.
“Owen just had a phenomenal match. He was so neck-and-neck with (Wu) but Owen was just mentally stronger and pulled it out,” coach Siana Green said. “We’ve had a lot of long matches but it’s always just one per match.”
Tyler Chamberlin also picked up a win in the 5-2 loss to Montville as he downed Ryan Yang at second singles, 6-2, 7-5.
But the Wolves were dominant from there on, taking the next two singles and not losing more than two games in any set of the three doubles matches which the Wolves won in straight sets.
Killingly got a little boost early as it celebrated Senior Day prior to the match.
But Rigney tamed the enthusiasm a bit with a 6-3, 6-3 first singles victory over Ivan Tang.
Phillip Purcell evened it up with a straight-set win over Ethan Staples of the Centaurs.
The Centaurs had to shake up the lineup a bit due to an injury suffered by Chamberlin who was limited to playing doubles.
“It really shook things up,” Green said. “You try your best to figure out what is going to be your best combination.”
Senior Cang Nguyen stepped up and battled hard at third singles to post a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Ross Hill.
After a Killingly win in the final singles match, Chamberlin, joined Ryan Chabot at first doubles and scored an easy 6-0, 6-1 win.
The Centaurs were upended, however, when Killingly posted wins at second and third doubles.
Nguyen was the only player to get a win at Waterford as the host Lancers prevailed, 6-1.
The senior was the one who had to fight the lengthy battle  had to fight for almost three hours to do it but he came away with the only victory for the Centaurs with a 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7-5) decision over Alistair Waglund at fourth singles.
Fortunately, the Centaurs still have plenty to shoot for as they still have two matches left against Ledyard and could win the ECC Div. II title by beating the Colonels twice.
The only tough part about that is that both of the matches, on Wednesday and Saturday, will be played at Ledyard.
Softball
It will be a bit of an uphill climb for the Woodstock softball team. The Centaurs saw their hopes to make the state tournament take a bit of a hit in a pair of back-to-back games against St. Bernard.
The Saints posted a 5-4 win at home on Friday and added a 7-2 win over Woodstock Saturday to drop the Centaurs to 4-10 on the season.
Woodstock now needs to win four of its last six games to make the state tournament.
The Centaurs were happy early in the week when they posted a 14-8 win over Killingly.
Things got off to a great start for Woodstock at Owen Bell Park in Dayville.
After a scoreless first inning, Delaney Anderson, Grace Delsanto and Maci Corradi all singled in succession to put the Centaurs up early.
Madison Bloom followed one-out later with a two-run single and Sarah McArthur finished up the early rally with an RBI single.
Woodstock put the game seemingly out of reach of Killingly and within reach of a possible mercy rule finish when the Centaurs tacked on six more runs in the third.
A pair of singles, by Ellary Sampson and Anderson, a ground out and an RBI fielder’s choice from Corradi produced the fifth run.
After a walk, Bloom delivered her third RBI of the day with a fielder’s choice of her own.
Campbell Favreau then made it 8-0 with a two-run single, McArthur added an RBI base knock and a Sampson fielder’s choice put Woodstock up, 10-
“It started out fantastic,” said coach Brad Favreau. “The girls came out aggressive against a very good pitcher, swung the bats well, and just really showed it that they continue to work hard. They really showed some resiliency because it’s been a tough stretch for us over the last few weeks. Coming out like that against Killingly was a shot in the arm.”
But, the game was far from over.
Killingly scored a run in the fourth, two in the fifth and five in the sixth to pull within two runs, 10-8.
Woodstock answered. “Not only was I proud that we got out to that lead but when Killingly cut it to two, we came right back in the top of the seventh and scored four runs. That shows the resiliency that we’re looking for and it’s a tribute to the kids- and their effort,” Favreau said.
McArthur singled, Mia Pannone walked and Sampson stroked a hard ground ball that resulted in an error and allowed both baserunners to score. Sampson came around on an Anderson groundout and Savannah Schley added a two-out, run-scoring double.
The Centaurs hung in tough against St. Bernard early in Uncasville Friday.
Ellary Sampson had a sacrifice fly in the first inning and an RBI single in the third.
But St. Bernard also scored twice and then struck big in the bottom of the third inning.
Aubree Nygaard had a two-run homer and Kaitlyn Scribner hit a solo shot to put the Saints up, 5-2.
Woodstock rallied to get within one when Schley singled home a run in the fourth and reached on an error in the sixth that allowed another run to score but the Woodstock comeback fell short.
“They’re a strong team, play teams tough and have won some big games,” Favreau said of the Saints. Pannone had two hits in the loss.
St. Bernard scored twice in the first inning and added four more in the fifth to put the game out of reach.
The only runs for the Centaurs came in the top of the seventh when Campbell Favreau and Delsanto singled. Favreau scored on an error and the second run came home on a Pannone ground out.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

The Woodstock Academy girls’ lacrosse team celebrates its first victory of the season, a 14-12 decision over New London-St. Bernard.

Grace Lescault works her way through the New London defense in the Centaurs first victory of the girls’ lacrosse season.

Owen Rigney, the top singles player for Woodstock Academy, slams down a shot against Killingly. Photos by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.


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