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caption, page 4:
Taking a Shot
Woodstock Academy senior Jonah Libby, who had six goals and an assist, looks to take a shot in an 18-2 boys’ lacrosse victory over Norwich Tech. Photo by Woodstock Academy junior Bryson Gould.
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Roundup
Season opens
with a pair of
lacrosse wins
Woodstock Academy girls’ lacrosse junior defensive midfielder Lennon Favreau is usually watching the offense perform from the defensive side of the field.
But every once in a while, she gets to cross that midfield stripe. On April 2 she was allowed to roam just about midway through the second half and came upon a loose ball near the Killingly goal crease.
The goal came with 17 minutes, 26 seconds left in the match and turned out to be the game-winner, breaking a tie and giving the Centaurs a lead they would never relinquish.
They would add two more and walk away with a 10-7 season-opening win on the road at Killingly.
But while Favreau may have made the goal sound simple- it wasn’t.
“It was pretty funny,” said Woodstock Academy coach Mikayla Jones. “They all had it on the ground, were trying to pick it up, and she just kind of flicked it right in (to the net) from the ground.”
But funny, tough, amazing or simple, it did help the Centaurs pick up the much-needed opening win.
Brin was also an integral part to the equation for Woodstock. She didn’t play much in the two scrimmage games the Centaurs had prior to the season opener due to a pulled muscle.
She made up for it with four goals, including one soon after Favreau’s game winner that put the Centaurs up by two.
Shannon Gagnon added the Centaurs final goal and finished with a hat trick.
Woodstock did open a 3-0 lead early, only to see Killingly continually respond. The Centaurs allowed Killingly to tie the game at 5 and again at 7, but never let their hosts get the lead.
Boys’ Lacrosse: Roll past Norwich Tech
It was one of those games that a team wants to jump out ahead quickly and coast to a victory. Sometimes, that’s easier said than done.
Not in the season opener for the boys’ lacrosse team.
The Centaurs jumped out to a 13-0 first half lead over Norwich Tech and handed the Warriors an 18-2 loss April 2.
“That’s what you need. You want to start off the season just like this. Now, we just have to carry the momentum through,” said coach Jason Tata.
The Centaurs had played Norwich Tech three times last season and had outscored them, 43-8.
But this was a new season and Woodstock does not have its 100-point plus scorer, Guerin Favreau, back, so, it will have to be more of a team effort.
Centaurs senior attack Jonah Libby was the second-leading scorer on the team a year ago and picked up where he left off, finishing with six and an assist.
Zach Gessner also got going in the scoring column as he finished with a hat trick while three players, Jared Neilsen, Zach Girard and Jacob Jurnovoy, all had a pair. Tyler Green, Gunnar Basak and Lucas Theriaque also scored.
“I think that’s going to be the value of our team this year, it’s going to be a different guy every single game. We know that, I know that and everybody can see that. It’s going to be great to see who steps up each game,” Tata said.
The starting defense also kept the Warriors away from first-year starting goalie John Pokorny when they were on the field in the first three quarters.
Baseball: Fall Short
Woodstock did not come home with a win from Waterford, but the team wasn’t hanging its head either.
The Centaurs dug themselves an early hole, but fought back throughout and fell just short, 5-4, April 2.
“I was really proud of them,” said coach Brian Murphy. “They bounced back. They could have buried their heads. It was our first time on the field. We had couple of scrimmages canceled and Waterford played three. We were resilient; we didn’t give up and that will help in the long run.”
The Centaurs gave up all five runs in the first two innings with the Lancers using six walks to their advantage as they produced only one hit.
The Centaurs called on sophomore Eric Mathewson in the third inning. “He did a great job in relief,” Murphy said. Mathewson pitched the remaining four innings, gave up only three hits and didn’t allow another run.
The Centaurs crept back into the contest, scoring twice in the third inning with senior newcomer Ethan Davis leading off with an infield single.
Davis advanced to second on an error and went to third on a ground out before coming home on a wild pitch.
Hamilton Barnes had drawn a walk prior to Davis scoring and advanced to second on a ground out. He scored on a single by Zach Roethlein.
Davis also started a fifth-inning rally with a single to left.
He advanced to third when Kaden Murphy reached on an error and scored on a Barnes’ single. Roethlein brought him home with another single.
Barnes, who represented the tying run, was stranded at third as the Centaurs fouled out and struck out to end the inning.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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