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The 10 Woodstock Academy girls’ soccer seniors were honored at Senior Day Oct. 9. Photo courtesy of The Woodstock Academy.
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Academy roundup
Centaurs
girls’ soccer
celebrates
Senior Day;
win over
Killingly
With under a minute to play, sophomore Grace Gelhaus was able to sneak the ball past two Killingly defenders on the left side.
She spied fellow forward Peyton Saracina making a run in the middle and was able to get it to the senior’s foot. Saracina made it count.
With 30 seconds left in regulation, she beat the one defender remaining in the 18-yard box and launched a right-footed bullet to the keeper’s right and into the top of the net.
After losing to Killingly, 3-2, in double overtime in their first meeting, the Centaurs had a 3-2 win of their own on Killingly’s home field Oct. 6.
It started a good week for the Centaurs who celebrated Senior Day with a 7-0 win over Tourtellotte Oct. 9 at the Bentley Athletic Complex to raise their record to 3-1.
“It was important to be competitive in two separate games against a top team,” Woodstock Academy coach Dennis Snelling said of the win over Killingly. “We forced OT in the first game and improved enough to win the second game. It is great for the confidence going forward and for the confidence in terms of what we have been doing since August.”
Saracina scored all three goals for the Centaurs and Gelhaus got all three assists.
Due to the uncertainty of the season, few teams are putting off their Senior Day celebration. The girls’ soccer team was no different, honoring its 10 seniors prior to the match with the Tigers. Sophia Mawson, Caroline Wilcox, Saracina, Maria Santucci, Ciara MacKinnon, Gillian Price, Sydney Couture, Lucy McDermott, Brynn Kusnarowis and Arianna Di Domizio were all honored.
Saracina had two goals and an assist in the win while Adeline Smith and Emma Massey each had a goal and an assist.
Boys’ soccer still undefeated
The Centaurs boys’ soccer team is off to a great start in the 2020 season. The boys raised their record to 4-0 with a pair of wins last week.
The Centaurs opened with a 10-0 win over Killingly and followed that up with an 8-0 win over Tourtellotte.
Ty Morgan had three goals; Richard Hickson added three assists and Eric Phongsa scored twice in the win over Killingly.
Eight different players scored against the Tigers with Owen Tracy getting a goal and an assist.
Volleyball wins 2 over Killingly
Consistency is what Woodstock Academy volleyball coach Adam Bottone is searching for. He’s starting to see some of that.
“When we’re consistent, we’re a pretty effective hitting team. It’s when we get out of system and our hitters start hitting balls from above their head and swing hard and push it out that we are constantly talking to them about and the adjustments they need to make,” Bottone said.
The Centaurs played a pair of matches with nearby rival, Killingly. The results were pretty similar as the matches produced identical results, the Centaurs winning, 3-0, in both. The wins raised Woodstock Academy’s record to 3-1.
Senior Gabby Garbutt led the way Oct. 7 with 14 kills and five service points. The game was made a bit more interesting by a storm that led to some minor power interruptions.
“It was kind of hard to focus with the lights going off, but the refs kept it going, we didn’t stop,” Garbutt said.
Marissa Mayhew added 12 digs in the first win over Killingly and 15 more in the second match. Senior outside hitter Aurissa Boardman had 20 kills and fellow senior Kileigh Gagnon added 15 service points in the Friday win.
Field hockey splits
It wasn’t perfect.
But Woodstock Academy picked up its second win in three games Oct. 10 with a 4-1 win over Killingly.
“We were just not connecting the way we are capable of. I think we got a little lucky because of talent level and skill. We were able to rely on that a lot as well as the hustle and effort of a couple of key players,” said Centaurs coach Lauren Gagnon.
Woodstock Academy opened the 1-0 lead with just 1:08 left in the first quarter when Olivia Ott found herself open in front of the goal with the ball and she slipped it into the back of the cage.
Alexia Adams made it 2-0 just seven minutes later with a hard shot of her own and the defense was able to blank Killingly through the first three quarters.
“Defense was really good,” goalie Kaily LaChappelle said the shutout effort through the first three quarters. “They are pretty good about marking up. They really go to the ball and try to make that first initiative and they always have my back.”
Killingly did make it a bit interesting when Rhiannon Martin scored with 11:50 left in the game.
Unfortunately for the Centaurs, it brought up a bad memory.
Woodstock Academy took a 2-0 lead over Fitch Oct. 8, only to see the Falcons score three times in the fourth and final quarter for a 3-2 win.
But the Centaurs showed a little resilience against Killingly.
Olivia Ott scored her second goal of the game with 7:34 left and Elaina Borski added the insurance goal with 5:06 to play.
Woodstock Academy took the 2-0 lead against the Falcons (3-0) Oct. 8.
Rachel Canedy scored just 1:31 into the second quarter and then assisted on an Ott goal with 7:33 to play in the first half. But Fitch answered with the big fourth quarter for the win.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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