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From left: Gunnar Basak, who had two goals, tries to shield the ball from a Valley Regional defender. Jared Nielsen takes a shot. Senior Lucas Theriaque goes airborne for a shot against Valley Regional in a 10-3 Centaur victory. Photos by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.
Time of possession is a statistic that is often referred to in football.
Turns out it’s pretty important in lacrosse too.
Woodstock held on to the ball a lot against Valley Regional on Saturday.
It turned out to be a good thing.
The Centaurs rolled past the Warriors, 10-3.
“Tremendous,” coach Jason Tata said of his team’s ability to control possession of the ball. “That’s going to be our recipe for success I think. Slow, quality looks, smart possession. I think we held it at one point (in Valley Regional’s end of the field) for five or six minutes. That’s perfect for our offense. It allows our offense to get into a rhythm but also tires the heck out of the defense.”
While the game was rather one-sided, it was made a little more interesting by the weather that accompanied it.
The game began on a cloudy note and then, the skies opened, dropping heavy rain, even a little small hail and a driving wind.
The conditions didn’t bother Woodstock.
The Centaurs put five goals in the Valley Regional net in the midst of the deluge which took up most of the first quarter.
“You have to set the tone,” Tata said. “Lacrosse is such a speed game that if you come out a little slow, and you hesitate just a hair, a team will jump on you. That’s a quality team. The Shoreline Conference is a quality conference, Valley is a tough team, so we need had to get out and get ahead of these guys from the first whistle.”
Senior Jared Neilsen, who had five goals and two assists, had three in the opening quarter.
“I don’t think any of my goals were unassisted, everyone is making plays, I’m loving the cutting especially in the first half. We slowed down but we had a great start,” Nielsen said.
The Centaurs did have to hold their breath at the start of the second quarter.
An illegal pole and a penalty conspired to put the Centaurs two-men down.
“I hate that was how we started the second quarter but it’s one of those things and I have all the faith in the world in the defense. They’re getting sharper and sharper as we put pressure on them. I hate going a man down but I’m also confident that our defense can hold them off,” Tata said.
Not only the defense. But the goalie, Quan Sangasy.
“Quan has been phenomenal. Over the past three games, he has given up 11 goals, that’s ridiculous. He’s been playing so well back there. He’s confident. He’s comfortable,” Tata said.
Nielsen scored two more second quarter goals and Lucas Theriaque added one to raise the Centaurs advantage to seven, 8-1, at the half.
Patrick Griswold and Gunnar Basak, who scored twice, had the second half goals for the Centaurs. Henry Wotton also scored and had four assists.
Woodstock Academy raised its record to 3-2 and started their spring break week off on a positive note.
But, tough matchups remain.
The Centaurs have only one spring break contest, a game in Groton against Fitch on Thursday.
“We go back into the (ECC). Fitch is next and (Norwich Free Academy) right behind them. We need to get some momentum and go after these guys,” Tata said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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