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Congrats
The Woodstock Academy girls’ lacrosse team congratulates goalie Kileigh Gagnon after Saturday’s 5-4 win over East Lyme. Photo by Marc Allard.




As the clock ticked off the final seconds, members of the Woodstock Academy girls’ lacrosse team on the sideline were ready to pounce.
The Centaurs were eager to celebrate their first-ever victory over East Lyme in the sport and each tick seemed like an eternity.
But the three zeros did appear and the Centaurs leaped into each other’s arms, joyous over the 5-4 win April 27 on South Campus.
The happiest of them all were the 11 seniors in the program.
“It’s so special,” said senior Ivy Gelhaus who led a spirited “Woodstock” chant after the win. “We didn’t get to play (East Lyme) last year which was disappointing, but this year we came back and came out so strong. We had all the chemistry from last year plus more and I thought this was the year that we could beat them and we did.”
Woodstock Academy coach Kathleen Johnson was among those basking in the moment.
“Regan Stuyniski said it best, ‘We’ve been waiting for this for four years.’ They are just great kids and they want to win,” said Kathleen Johnson. “(East Lyme is) a phenomenal lacrosse program. They’re well coached, great athletes, great lacrosse athletes. I think that’s why, win or lose, we wanted to be competitive. We wanted to show them how far we’ve come. No more are the days of 20-2 (losses). We can compete with you.”
The Centaurs struck fast.
Senior Arielle Johnson scored in the first minute of the game to give the Centaurs the lead. Just a few minutes later, Arielle Johnson found Rachel Canedy who rifled a shot past East Lyme keeper Maya Rose.
“For Rachel to come out and play under this pressure as a sophomore, she was a JV player last year, and to catch that pass and rip it was unbelievable,” Kathleen Johnson said.
Julia Bates cut the lead in half but Emma Ciquera scored her 34th goal of the season and the Centaurs owned a 3-1 halftime lead.
Gelhaus went to work at the beginning of the second half, using the advice of her coach to put one into the cage.
“I had a lane to drive and Coach said at halftime to drive to get the free position,” Gelhaus said.
She didn’t need the free position for the goal three minutes into the second half, but that would be the case just 3:18 later when Gelhaus earned the free position and scored to make it 5-2.
“I guess those goals were pretty important because it was such a low-scoring game, but all the goals were important,” Gelhaus said. “It was because everybody was so spread out and it gave me a lane to run into, like we discussed at halftime, so it was really everyone working hard that made those goals happen.”
Gelhaus now has 32 goals on the year.
“Those goals were very important and put the pressure on (East Lyme) to score,” Kathleen Johnson said.
The Vikings (6-2, 1-1 Eastern Connecticut Conference Division I) did rally.
Natale Taylor scored 2:05 after Gelhaus’ second goal and 6 1/2 minutes later, Bates added her second to make it a one-goal game.
That’s where another sophomore, keeper Kileigh Gagnon, stepped in.
Gagnon, who made 15 saves in a 13-2 win over Ellington April 26, was solid in the closing 10 1/2 minutes, protecting the slim lead with a couple of stellar saves.
“She’s has been just amazing, being just a sophomore and taking that pressure. I couldn’t be more proud of her,” Kathleen Johnson said.
The Centaurs took some of the pressure off Gagnon as they were able to dominate possession of the ball.
“It’s so difficult,” Gelhaus said of the task to keep the ball in their sticks. “We work on that during practice because we know they can score super-easy, they’re a very talented team. Having possession really means a lot because it keeps them from scoring. We gave it up a couple of times but, thankfully, we finished with the ball and the win.”
It was the eighth win of the season for the Centaurs in 10 games (2-1 in Division I of the Eastern Connecticut Conference) which also guaranteed them a Class M state tournament berth.
“That’s pretty big for us. We knew we were going to have a good season this year since we did last year. We lost a couple of players, but with all the chemistry, we’re so much stronger. I think we will make a very good run.
It was the finish to a very successful week for the Centaurs.
There were tornado warnings and threats of heavy rain April 26.
But the Centaurs game with Ellington was squeezed in between bouts of inclement weather.
The Centaurs were happy they did as they handed the Purple Knights the lopsided loss.
Gelhaus led the way with five goals and seven draw controls in the win.
Ciquera added four goals for Woodstock Academy and both Peyton Saracina and Julia Schad finished with two goals each for the Centaurs.
The day before that, the Centaurs peppered Bacon Academy’s cage and left Colchester with a 15-9 victory.
Ciquera scored six goals, Gelhaus added four and Arielle Johnson three.
“It’s pretty impressive but we’re all pretty tired,” Gelhaus said of the three games in three days.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy

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