Roundup
Centaurs qualify for state tournament with 2 victories
There will be no need to win the last game of the season or four of the last five to make the Div. III boys’ basketball state tournament.
Not that Woodstock Academy wouldn’t mind a nice winning streak heading into the postseason.
The Centaurs improved to 8-5 and officially qualified for the Div. III state tournament with a 71-65 win over Waterford.
That followed on the heels of a win over Fitch just two days before.
“I missed my first year by one win and last year; we had to win four of five. It’s great to get in early. It was nice to get it off our backs and now we’re playing for home games. We want to finish up the season strong and get as many home games as we can because I’m tired of traveling across the state,” said coach Donte Adams.
The game against Waterford was a classic trap situation.
The Centaurs were coming off, arguably, one of their biggest wins in years, a  55-51 win over Fitch on Thursday that ended the Falcons (13-2) 11-game win streak and the Centaurs were playing a two-win Waterford team on a Saturday afternoon.
“I think the win over Fitch made us too comfortable,” said junior forward Xawier Matwiej.
The Centaurs jumped out to a 10-2 lead, only to see Waterford pull back within one, 16-15, at the end of the first quarter.
Things only got worse in the second quarter as the Lancers scored the first 12 points over the first half of the quarter and built an 11-point advantage.
“It’s an (ECC) game you know and guys come out and play hard every night regardless of who they play against,” Adams said. “I try and tell my guys every day that every game is a dogfight. We have to come out, play hard, punch the other team in the mouth first and they will fall back. They went up by 11 and we fell back but my guys got it back together.”
Matwiej had a traditional three-point play and Drake Abdullovski (17 points) followed with his most productive run of the game -  a 3-pointer, three free throws and another 3-pointer- to put the Centaurs back on top, 28-27 and they carried a 33-30 lead at the half.
Matwiej had a second half to remember.
The forward scored nine points in the third quarter as the Centaurs shook off an eight-turnover quarter to own a 50-42 lead when the buzzer sounded.
Matwiej bettered that with a 15-point fourth quarter to finish with a career-high 35 points.
“I feel like any one of us can step up any day,” Matwiej said. “I feel like it’s getting better and better. We’re getting more comfortable, have more chemistry. As you can see by this past week, we’re getting there.”
It was the second consecutive game that the Centaurs had a 30-point plus effort. Abdullovski scored 33 in the win over the Falcons on Thursday.
“That’s what I have been trying to get out of him all season. He has shown flashes at practice and in a few games that we have played. He’s finally coming into his own as to what he can do offensively, somewhat defensively, and he still needs to get better. I’m always pushing my guys for improvement but (Saturday) showed what he could be,” Adams said of Matwiej.
The Lancers did cut the lead down to as little as two in the fourth quarter, thanks in large part to Parker Spencer who scored 12 of his 25 points in the final eight minutes, but Waterford was never able to take the lead.
The Centaurs made eight of nine free throws in the fourth quarter to keep the Lancers at bay and were 17-of-19 for the game.
“I think free throw shooting is one of our best things,” Matwiej said.
Saturday was an expected win. The victory over Fitch raised more than a few eyebrows.
“It was great,” Adams said. “After a tough loss to Killingly, I told the guys to take whatever anger they had over to the next day. The great thing was that we had another day to play basketball, play back-to-back, so we didn’t have time to dwell on the loss.”
The game against Killingly was supposed to take place on Tuesday but Mother Nature pushed that back by a day after dropping a foot and a half of snow on the area.
The Centaurs opened a five-point halftime lead as Abdullovski dropped 17 points.
But things took a downturn in the third quarter, a quarter that has caused the Centaurs some troubles this season, and the Falcons went up by 10.
The Centaurs cut it to three by the end of the third quarter and took a 45-43 lead with 5:14 to play.
“Our guys still showed fight, we stayed connected and played well down the stretch when it mattered,” Adams said.
Abdullovski hit a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth and was 6-for-6 from the line. The sophomore finished by making 15-of-16 at the charity stripe.
“The guys came out, played hard and played for the moment. They already knew if we didn’t come out and play our brand of basketball, we were going to get embarrassed. I wanted them to play by quarters and if we were in it at the end of the game, we were going to win it. We rebounded well, played tough on the defensive end, thought about going zone but stayed man which worked out in our favor. Big finish for the guys, big win for the school’s program,” Adams said.
Matwiej was the only other player in double figures with 12.
Fitch was led by Shane Smalls who finished with 17 points and Si’kis Reels added 12.
The two wins made up a bit for the 66-55 loss to Killingly the night before the win over Fitch.
The big thing about that defeat was Killingly improved to 4-0 in Div. II of the ECC with Woodstock chasing the Trailblazers at 3-1.
Abdullovski finished with 22 points in the loss while Matwiej added 14.
The good news for the Centaurs, they will have another shot at Killingly Feb. 17 on the Centaurs’ home floor.
“We need a better start in that one. (Killingly) came out and scored the first 10 points and we had to play from behind, If we come out with a stronger start, we will be fine. We will be better prepared and will know their personnel, Adams said.

Wrestling
Right down to the wire. In its last home match of the season, the wrestling team battled the Fitch/Stonington co-op to a tie going into the final bout.
"It was exciting," said coach Cahan Quinn. "A.J. (Landreville) has had a great year so far and he just ran into a tough opponent. It wasn't his night but that happens."
Fitch heavyweight Jeff Alcoba captured a first-round pin over Landreville to give the Falcons the 42-36 victory.
To be fair, however, Landreville weighs in at 220 pounds while Alcoba weighed in at 266.
"That was just a little (weight) differential," Quinn said. "(Landreville) has stepped up this year to take on the role of heavyweight. We have not been fortunate enough to have a true heavyweight. For the past several years, it has been someone who is only slightly over 215. A.J. has done a great job for us this year and I could not be happier with how he has done."
The night began in celebratory fashion as the Centaurs recognized their seniors, Aidan Soukaloun, Landreville, Olivia DiGregorio, Owen Hamilton and team manager Kate McArthur in Senior Night festivities.
"Being fortunate enough to coach Aidan, Owen, A.J. and Olivia the past three years has been phenomenal. They are all great kids and Kate has been a great manager; she's really been a big help. They have learned a lot and it has been great to see on the mat. I think they will finish out the year really strong," Quinn said.
The Centaurs did fall behind 18-0 in part due to a pair of forfeits.
Woodstock got on the board when Hamilton pinned Riley Yine halfway through the second period.
DiGregorio battled hard and did get some back points but was pinned with 50 seconds left in the match.
"Olivia, for a second week in a row, did a great job of scrambling and fighting but, unfortunately, just can't get the pin in the situations where she does end up on top. Seeing her battle has been phenomenal over the last three years, I'm going to miss having her around, but I'm also looking forward to the girls’ state tournament to see how she competes there," Quinn said.
Soukaloun got a first-round pin for the Centaurs and Jake Henderson followed with a second-round finish.
The Centaurs also got a pin from Jameson Costa, a forfeit victory from Jayden Bowers and a pair of decision wins from Logan Bessette and Rosano Rodrigues ---the latter of which set up the heavyweight finale.
"There were some excellent showings from Owen, Aidan, Logan, and Rosano. Jake was down but got a nice lat drop to get a nice pin. There was a lot of good stuff that has been building up slowly and it's nice to see it come to fruition," Quinn said.
The loss left the Centaurs with a 2-11 overall record and 1-3 ECC Div. II record.
It's a bit uphill from here, though, as the Centaurs still have to face the top two teams in Div. II and their home season is over.
"It's all on the road from here," Quinn said. "We have Lyman Memorial/Windham Tech next week, Griswold/Wheeler the following Tuesday and then the ECC tournament championship that weekend."
The coach said the season, overall, has been a bit of a blur. "Winter always seems to go by so much faster than the fall. Just the football games are 12 or 13 weeks with the bye week and, not to mention, we start three or four weeks before. (Wrestling) feels like it goes by in a blink," Quinn said.

Girls’ Basketball
Just getting on to the basketball floor was a challenge this past week. The snow that fell on Sunday and Monday ruled out travel on those two days and Tuesday wasn’t much better.
That meant the girls’ basketball team had a game with Windham postponed on Tuesday and could not practice until Wednesday.
The rustiness showed a bit early against Killingly on Thursday as neither team got right into the offensive flow.
Fortunately for the Centaurs when they did find the mark, they found it often and recorded a 50-34 win over the Trailblazers.
The victory raised the Centaurs record to 9-4.
Defense was the key as Woodstock held the Trailblazers to just eight points in the first quarter, 11 in the second and four in the third.
“I was happy with the defense, but, obviously being a high school team we’re always looking for more growth,” said Woodstock Academy coach Will Fleeton.
Killingly scored seven of their eight first quarter points before the Centaurs even recorded a basket.
That finally happened 3 minutes, 12 seconds into the game when senior forward Allison Camara finally put a ball in the hoop for the Centaurs.
She would add the next four points for the Centaurs, three of those coming on a 3-pointer, as she continued to showcase her offensive game just a bit more.
“I was getting the ball and just put it back up,” Camara said. That’s because the senior was also proficient off the boards, leading Woodstock with 11 rebounds, six off the offensive glass.
“My coach expects me to hit the boards hard. Rebounding is my main focus,” she added.
A free throw by Camara and another by Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain, who finished with 10 points, pulled the Centaurs within a point.
Senior guard Kaylee Saucier put Woodstock ahead to stay with the first of her four 3-pointers in the game.
Saucier, who had a rough shooting night in the Centaurs’ previous outing against Norwich Free Academy, led the Centaurs with 14 points.
“I was happy to see her get back on track. (Killingly) sat in a zone. We had to make good passes, good entries and then get some reversals and she was able to knock down some shots,” Fleeton said.
D’Alleva-Bochain added two more buckets off assists from Saucier and Vivian Bibeau and Saucier hit another 3-pointer with two seconds left, giving Woodstock the 17-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
An 8-3 run to start the second quarter put the game out of reach.
The double-digit lead also meant Fleeton could clear his bench a bit and give his subs a bit more playing time in the second half.
“I think that’s nice. I would have liked to have been able to get them in earlier and get them a few more minutes. It’s nice when we can all step on the floor because it feels like a team contribution,” Fleeton said.
Ella Adams was the only player in double figures for the Trailblazers (6-7) with 11 points.

Boys’ Hockey
The season has been cruel at times for the boys’ hockey team. Getting over the hump and getting a win or even a tie has been difficult.
Saturday was another example of that as the Centaurs rallied to tie against Amity Regional midway through the third period.
But with 59 seconds left in regulation, their hopes were dashed when Amity scored and captured the 3-2 victory.
It was the sixth one-goal loss of the season for Woodstock.
The Centaurs gave up an early first period goal but rallied to tie when Alex Haggerty scored with the help of Kellen Coleman and Patrick Griswold.
Amity re-took the lead with 48 seconds left in the second period but the Centaurs tied it up when Kieran Shepherd found the net off an assist from Logan Rumrill with just under eight minutes left to play.
Brady Hebert finished with 42 saves for the Centaurs who slipped to 0-13 on the year.
Military Appreciation Night is always one of the highlights of the season for the boys’ hockey team.
The opening to the game went flawless with the presentation of the colors and a great rendition of the National Anthem but trekked a bit downhill after that.
The Centaurs had one of their rough periods, giving up four goals in the second 15-minutes and that set the stage for a 6-1 E.O. Smith/Tolland co-op victory Wednesday.
"Coming out of the first period, we felt pretty good. It was only one (goal) and it was a late one and we were very competitive and then it seems like the boys fell asleep a bit in the second," said coach Drew Beaupre.
Sophomore Beckett Hanson put the Bucks (3-8) up on the scoreboard first when he tallied with just 15 seconds left in the first period.
E.O. Smith/Tolland didn't have to wait long for more. A power-play had expired just a second before Alex Sutton put one in the Centaurs' net to put the Bucks up by two just 4 minutes, seven seconds into the second.
The Centaurs got whistled for another penalty and Michael Iacampo cashed in. Iacampo took advantage and made it 3-0 Bucks 21 seconds later.
E.O. Smith/Tolland completed the four-goal period with just 2:03 left when Sutton got his second tally of the night.
"I would say we lacked energy," Beaupre said after the second-period onslaught by the Bucks. "We have a lot of people out there playing as individuals, rather than for the team. That's certainly not everyone but it is one that has plagued the team at various points throughout the season. We can tell them to stand here, do this, work hard but at a certain point, it's up to them to look at each other and decide what they want out of the season and the game."
Iacampo got the hat trick as he scored his third goal 3:55 into the final period assisted by Jack DiStefano who had a hat trick of his own when it came to assists.
The Centaurs finally got on the board with 47 seconds left when Haggerty, a Pomfret School transfer, scored his first career high school goal off an assist from Cameron Perreault.
"The record could be very different. We've had three overtime losses and (five) one-goal games. We have certainly been in games; we were in this one after the first period. We would like to get that one win for sure," Beaupre said.

Girls’ Hockey
The girls’ hockey co-op knew it would have its hands full with Hall High School.
The Titans came in ranked third in the state in Div. I and left with a 5-0 victory.
Teagan Cohane was the biggest problem for the Centaurs as the senior center scored a goal in the first period and two more in the second to finish with a hat trick. She also assisted on Hall's fifth goal in the third.
Mia Longman and Paige Sweeney bookended the Cohane goals for the Titans (11-2).
The loss dropped Woodstock to  2-11-1.
Earlier in the season, the Centaurs handed the Fairfield co-op a one-sided 10-2 loss.
Woodstock could not repeat that effort on the road as Fairfield skated away with a 4-3 overtime victory.
Fairfield scored a power-play goal 3 minutes, 43 seconds into overtime to pick up the victory.
Zi Qing Biondo and Summer Discordia both had a goal and an assist for the Centaurs while Maci Corradi added the other goal. Grace Lescault and Mia Auger both had assists for Woodstock Academy.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

captions:
Wrestling Senior Day
The wrestling team celebrated Senior Day prior to its final home match of the season. From left: Kate McArthur (team manager), Owen Hamilton, Aidan Soukaloun, Olivia DiGregorio and A.J. Landreville. Photo by Collin Singleton/Woodstock Academy. 

Vivian Bibeau: 
Vivian Bibeau (24), shown in a game against NFA recently, scored seven points to help the girls’ basketball team overcome Killingly last week. Photo by Joshua Hernandez / actionframe_media.
 
Point guard Cam Yakal brings the ball down the floor for the Centaurs. Photo by Joshua Hernandez / actionframe_media.
 

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