Roundup
Centaurs win
2 on the road 
but fall at home
The Woodstock Academy girls’ volleyball team has found a home for the time being in the South Campus gym. But until the weather cools, be prepared for a little heat.
The Centaurs battled Coventry on a warm and humid last week.
“Those who came probably lost about 10 pounds,” coach Adam Bottone said. “Every play, we had to stop and wipe the floor.”
But aside from that, and a 3-1 loss to the Patriots, Bottone said things were not all that bad.
The Patriots took the first set, 25-21, but the Centaurs rallied with a 25-22 win in the second.
Coventry captured the victory by taking the last two sets, 25-20 and 25-14.
Setter Lily Morgis had 29 assists and was also effective from behind the service line with 17 points including seven aces. Libero Gianna Musumeci had 24 digs while Vivian Bibeau led the offense with 14 kills.
The Centaurs had come into the match with a pair of victories on the road.
They opened with a 3-0 win over Fitch in Groton in the ECC Div. I opener for both.
Kennedy McCooey led the Centaurs offense with 13 kills while Kaylee Bundy added 10 and Morgis helped them with 28 assists. Musumeci was the defensive stalwart with 13 digs and Bibeau had 10 points from behind the service line.
Woodstock followed that up with a 3-1 victory over Montville later in the week.
Bundy was impressive on the front line with 18 kills and 12 digs while Bibeau produced from behind the service line with 24 points and five aces.
The Centaurs jumped out in front with a 25-23 first set win but lost their first set of the season when the Wolves posted a 25-22 second set victory.
Woodstock finished things off with 25-17 and 25-16 victories in the last two sets.
McCooey tossed in 10 kills for the Centaurs and everyone up front got help Morgis who finished with 34 assists.
Girls’ Soccer
A matchup with Stonington is never easy. Especially in the season opener.
“It definitely sets the tone for the season,” said coach Andrea Danforth. “It showed the girls the level that we must be at and the level of play we will go against and the physicality.”
Thus, a scoreless tie was more than an acceptable outcome and it’s what the two teams battled to as they opened the season last week.
Even that was not easy as the Bears dominated play for the most part.
 “They held possession for the majority of the game but we held strong defensively. They had a lot of opportunities at the end and we held strong, didn’t let anything go in. (Joalie) Ellary (Sampson) has some phenomenal saves. Our defense remained strong, got the ball out. It’s something to learn from,” Danforth said. Sampson finished with 12 saves.
The Centaurs had a chance of their own when sophomore Tegenech Anderson was knocked to the ground as she crossed with the ball into the penalty area by Stonington keeper Payton Stone which produced a penalty kick for the Centaurs.
Stone, however, made up for the faux pas as she stopped the ensuing kick to preserve the shutout.
The Centaurs had to accept a similar outcome on Saturday.
They traveled to Waterford for another ECC Div. I match and finished in a scoreless tie with the Lancers.
Sampson was again strong in net where she delivered seven saves. The Centaurs took 10 shots but were unable to find the back of the net.
Of course, not being able to put the ball into the net again produced the question of where the offense will come from.
The Centaurs saw the majority of their goals leave with their diplomas in June.
Boys' Soccer
Getting two goals in the first three minutes of a soccer match is certainly a blessing. But, sometimes, it’s tough to maintain the momentum.
The boys’ soccer team scored two goals in the first three minutes and rode those to a 2-0 win over Ellis Tech Wednesday to improve to 2-0 on the season.
The first goal came off a set play as the Centaurs were awarded a corner kick in the first 30 seconds.
Nate Faucher went over to take the kick and he found Brayden De Oliveira in the middle. The junior forward kicked it up in the air, saw it hit the crossbar and take a favorable bounce over the goal line.
“That was kind of organic. It happened in practice and we decided we were going to add it to some things that we’ve been doing and it worked out well,” said  coach Dave St. Jean.
Just a couple of minutes later, Johndrow got his first goal of the season off an assist from senior Zach Armbruster.
The Centaurs knocked off Windham in their opener on Tuesday, 3-1.
Pedro DaSilva scored in the first half and both Tyler Odorski and De Oliveira added second half tallies to lead the Centaurs. Armbruster had two assists and Johndrow assisted on the other goal.
It meant the Centaurs forced the Whippets into turnovers, won a lot of loose balls and produced some good opportunities.
St. Jean said the Centaurs still have work to do. He wants the team to work on its spacing as it has a tendency to bunch.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

IMG 2615 – Kaitlyn Teal (1) and Tegegnech Anderson look to move the ball up the field against Stonington at the Bentley Athletic Complex last week. The two teams finished in a scoreless tie.

 IMG 2638 – Woodstock Academy senior Campbell Favreau (9) battles Stonington’s Raegan Palmer for the ball in a match between the two teams last week at the Bentley Athletic Complex.

IMG 2593 – Pedro DaSilva (23) and Spencer Mayo (12) try to free the ball from a pair of Ellis Tech defenders in a match between the two teams last week at the Bentley Athletic Complex. The Centaurs won the contest, 2-0.

IMG 2585: Abraham McGregor (No. 20, right) sprints across the field in a race to a loose ball in front of the Ellis Tech net. The Centaurs prevailed in the match between the two local rivals, 2-0.
photos by Marc Allard, Woodstock Academy

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