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Turning close losses into nice wins.
It’s the goal of the Woodstock Academy girls’ field hockey team.
“We let teams hang in that really shouldn’t have,” said Woodstock Academy coach Lauren Gagnon who enters her eighth year at the helm. “That’s been the big focus of the offseason. We did a ton of shooting. We’ve changed up our formation to, hopefully, prevent a few goals and have made some personnel shifts to utilize our strengths.”
The Centaurs won their first two games of the season in 2018.
They won only one more thereafter to finish with a 3-13 mark.
But only three of those losses were by three goals or more.
The Centaurs lost five games each by either one or two goals.
“I think we just kind of got scared in front of the goal or something,” senior Avery Jones said. “This year, we’re going to be confident, we’re going to go for it, go as hard as we can.”
And they will do so using a new philosophy.
It’s something that Gagnon cooked up with her coaching staff, McKayla Jones and Lena Ives, both of whom played when the program was first established at The Academy.
“We want them to feel comfortable in the new formation and have them know that when they are moving, they are moving together. They’re moving in strength, it’s not one-on-one. We don’t need that. The only one-on-one opportunities we should be having are against a goalie,” Gagnon said.
Gagnon was reluctant to discuss specific plans especially since the Centaurs haven’t really had much of a chance to implement it in a game yet.
One thing is for sure, Jones will be finding herself in a new position.
Instead of playing in the middle where she scored three goals and had eight assists last season, the senior will find herself playing more in the back of the formation, a low-mid position.
“I’m pretty excited. It’s something different, something I haven’t done very often. It’s going to be super-fun,” Jones said.
Jones, who has some of the better natural talent for the game on the roster, said she had no problem with the move when Gagnon suggested it to her.
“I’m not a fussy player. I’m pretty flexible as to where I am on the field,” Jones said.
It’s something Gagnon likes about the team as a whole.
“I think the character of this team is even better this year,” Gagnon said. “The coaching staff created leadership positions that are clearly defined so there is no stepping of one another’s toes. Mentally, we are better. Our positivity is better. We have some really selfless leaders. I asked each of them which leadership role they wanted and they asked me which one I thought they were best at. It wasn’t ‘This is what I’m going to do.’ It was, ‘Where do you think I fit best?’”
The reason for moving Jones back is simple.
Gagnon wants to build more from the back and Jones can help in that regard.
“Avery’s power is going to be a huge advantage. She is really calm and collected. She doesn’t get frazzled by people coming down on her. She has the skills to stop them and, hopefully, that will inspire more confidence in the defensive line,” Gagnon said.
Joining Jones in the back will be senior Emma Durand and juniors Megan Preston and Maria Santucci.
Senior Rachael Roberts and newcomer Kailey LaChappelle will be in the cage for the Centaurs. Last year’s keeper, Olivia Stanikmas graduated as did All-Eastern Connecticut Conference defensive player Kate Boshka (2 goals) and forwards Hannah Chubbuck (5 goals, 1 assist), Emma Strandson (who is now playing at Simmons College) and Samantha Mowry (5 goals and now playing at Eastern Connecticut State University).
The midfield will include Jones, Durand, Eliza Dutson and Santucci as well as newcomers Alex Vaida, Sarah Delaney, Sofia Murray and Eliza Simpson.
Rachel Canedy (6 goals, 5 assists), the team’s leading scorer last season, returns as a junior and will get help up front from Dutson (4 goals, 4 assists), junior Olivia Ott, Vaida, Delaney, Murray and Simpson.
Jones feels, despite not being up front, she can help this team do something it needs to do more of – score goals.
“I can outlet the ball pretty far up the field. I’ve been playing for a while now and that means we can get it farther up the field and not have to dribble so far, get to the net sooner and put it in,” Jones said. “We’ve always been able to get it in the circle. This year, we have to work on getting it in the cage. It’s not that hard. We just have to work on it.”
Gagnon feels the Centaurs could be a part of the picture in the ECC this season.
East Lyme and Stonington have both suffered some graduation losses and both Waterford and Norwich Free Academy will have new coaches.
But the Centaurs have to overcome their own inferiority complex.
“There is really no reason why we shouldn’t move up,” Gagnon said. “It’s only the mentality that is holding us back and our own ambitions. We haven’t set any goals for number of wins this season. We’re focused on strictly on playing our game, not beat any particular team, just play our best. I think we just get stuck in that mentality.”
For Jones, this will be her swan song.
“It’s really interesting. I can’t believe I’ve been on the team for four years and my sister before me was on the team for four years (McKayla is Avery’s sister) so I feel like I’ve been here for eight years, honestly,” Jones said. “It’s crazy how time flies. I remember my first day at practice freshman year, being afraid of everything, not sure of what I should be doing or where I should go. It’s really been a wonderful experience.”
While Jones is one of only three seniors on the team, she will likely not be saying good bye to the sport at the end of the season.
Although she hasn’t committed, Jones is leaning toward Sweet Briar College, a Division III school in Virginia, where she believes there is a spot for her in the field hockey program.
“I’ve been talking with the coach, they have my major there, it’s a wonderful school,” Jones said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
Field Hockey Schedule:
Sat., Sept. 14: vs. East Catholic 12:30 p.m.
Tues., Sept. 17: at East Lyme 5:15 p.m.
Sat., Sept. 21: at Enfield 11 a.m.
Tues., Sept. 24: vs. Stonington 4 p.m.
Thurs., Sept. 26: vs. NFA 3:45 p.m.
Sat., Sept. 28: vs. Valley Regional 11 a.m.
Tues., Oct. 1: vs. Waterford 4:10 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 5: vs. Killingly 2 p.m.
Wed., Oct. 9: at Wethersfield 3:45 p.m.
Tues., Oct. 15: vs. East Lyme 3:45 p.m.
Thurs., Oct. 17: at Fitch 5:45 p.m.
Tues., Oct. 22: at Stonington 6:30 p.m.
Thurs., Oct. 24: at NFA 3:45 p.m.
Tues., Oct. 29: at Waterford 4:10 p.m.
Thurs., Oct. 31: at Killingly 3:45 p.m.
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