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Looking for Wins
The Woodstock Academy field hockey team still has chances for postseason play provided it post wins in its final two regular season games Photo by Jeremy Useted/The Woodstock Academy.
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There have been some difficult times for the Woodstock Academy field hockey team this season.
“There were a lot of games, either because of circumstances or our own sleepy start, we didn’t pull through that we should have,” said Woodstock Academy coach Lauren Gagnon. “I’m not upset with the way we played. We play tremendous, play really great, really skilled field hockey but we struggle with teams that are less skilled and more physical. We allow other teams to dictate too much of the game. I don’t think we have made that switch yet to realize that we are a skilled and dominant team.”
But, even though they came into the week with a 5-9 record, all is not lost.
In fact, the Centaurs still have their two top goals still within reach.
A 6-2 victory over Norwich Free Academy Oct. 24 meant Woodstock Academy can qualify for both the ECC and Class M state tournament with wins over Waterford (the Tuesday game was too late for this edition) and Killingly (Oct. 31).
Gagnon said the team sat down after the win over the Wildcats and discussed what the motivations were to extend the field hockey season for, at least, two more weeks.
“That’s two more weeks with their best friends, two more weeks playing a sport they love and proving that even though we didn’t have a great start to the year and let a lot of close games go, we can still get it done when we need to,” Gagnon said. “It’s a matter of pride for them. It’s emotion. It’s just not wanting to see the season end especially for the seniors, of whom we have quite a few and many are not planning to play in college, because this is their last hurrah.”
The scenario is this: If the Centaurs win both of their remaining games, they are guaranteed berths in both tournaments; If the Centaurs win only one, it’s possible they could still qualify for the ECC tournament but would be eliminated from the Class M competition.
“We understand the stakes and know exactly what’s on the plate,” Gagnon said.
That said, games against Waterford and Killingly will not be easy.
Waterford handed the Centaurs a 2-0 loss.
The Centaurs did defeat the Redgals, 1-0, in the first meeting.
The Thursday game will be in Killingly and will be on grass.
“It’s really tough and slows down the game a lot but it does allow some of our younger players to shine a little more. When the game slows down a little, it’s easier for them to get their stick skills going and doing what they need to. On turf, the pace is just so fast,” Gagnon said.
The Centaurs got some of those younger players in against NFA (0-13).
Woodstock Academy was able to utilize some freshmen who played the first varsity minutes of their young career.
Sophomore Elaina Borski scored not only her first career varsity goal but also her second. Avery Jones, Lily Brin and Alex Vaida all scored their second goals of the season while Maria Santucci pushed home her first.
Since a 6-0 win over NFA on Sept. 26, the Centaurs had scored just three goals in their last seven games. That included a 1-0 loss to Stonington earlier last week.
The Bears won that game on a goal off a corner with two minutes left.
Woodstock Academy almost answered but a shot off a time-expired corner was just swept off the line.
Gagnon said the lack of offense has been the source of conversation more than once this season.
It’s the little things that have bothered the Centaurs.
Not having sticks down, letting the ball go over the end line, swinging at the ball when it should just be deflected.
It’s not like they haven’t been working on their offensive skills. Quite the opposite.
Even though the game against the Wildcats produced an easy victory, Gagnon was happy to see her team execute those basics better.
The Centaurs have also had to deal with playing on foreign turf since Oct. 5.
Due to some schedule changes, their last seven games, including the Waterford and Killingly games, have been or will be road matches.
The only thing that made it a little more palatable was that the EEE mosquito scare meant games were played earlier so the team wasn’t getting back as late.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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