Roundup
Centaurs hang on for important victory over Trumbull
It was looking like it could be what has passed for the norm for the Woodstock Academy girls’ hockey team this season.
The Centaurs co-op team took it down to the wire again but avoided a fifth overtime game this season as they held on for a 2-1 win over Trumbull Saturday.
The win raised the team’s record to 7-9 on the season.
“We sit in a spot where we control our own destiny, win and we’re in,” coach Eric Roy said of the team’s state tournament hopes. “We’re currently in 15th place (in the Connecticut High School Girls Hockey Association Division I rankings) but all of our remaining games are against teams that are ahead of us and they all have a lot of points to eat up.”
The Centaurs have just four games left including two against No. 6 Suffield and one each versus No. 3 Hall and No. 12 Mercy. Trumbull (7-6-2) was a team just ahead of them in the rankings.
And the Eagles did not make it easy on the Centaurs. Woodstock owned the one-goal lead with just eight and a half seconds to play in regulation when the officials made a rare call and awarded a penalty shot to Trumbull.
Freshman goalie Josie Hatch had seen only six shots all game as her defense kept the zone clear in front of her and the offense dominated possession. But when they needed her, the youngster stepped up and made the save.
“That was a season-saving save,” Roy said. “The degree of difficulty was even more multiplied because of the time left in the game and the fact that she had seen so few shots up till then. Making that stop, relatively cold, shows you how cool, calm and collected Josie is.”
The two teams were tied at one when sophomore Ireland Wilford broke the ice just moments before Hatch’s heroics.
With just 1 minute, 40 seconds left in regulation, the Norwich Free Academy sophomore got the opportunity.
“She was a true gamer,” Roy said of Wilford. “She came in sick as a dog and also took a high stick to the head in the game and she just kept digging.”
The defense, led by Mia Auger and Avery Nielsen, were able to keep Trumbull out of the Centaurs’ end and allowed Avery Cairns and Maci Corradi to forecheck in the neutral zone.
It was Corradi who was able to slip the puck to Wilford.
“That created a mini breakaway and Ireland made just a silky smooth, dipsy-do move that was able to beat their goalie,” Roy said.
The goal was the fifth of the season for Wilford.
The Centaurs knew going in that getting a puck past Eagles goalie Lucy Kimberly was not going to be an easy task.
“We knew goals were going to be hard to come by, (Kimberly) is one of the best goalies in the State,” Roy said. “She showed why (Saturday). She made 41 saves and they were all on legitimate scoring chances. But we showed what we have shown all year — resiliency. Our girls just did not quit. This is truly a special group and I am tremendously proud of them.”
The Centaurs outshot the Eagles, 43-7, but found themselves down 1-0 early in the second period when Trumbull scored.
Woodstock tied the game when Sophia Gouveia recorded her team-best 15th goal of the season off an assist from Ellary Sampson, her team-best 13th of the year, early in the third period.
Indoor track
Senior Juliet Allard had another good day in the final ECC Indoor track developmental meet of the season Sunday.
Allard took home three first-place finishes from the event which was the final warm up prior to the ECC championship meet scheduled for this Saturday at the Coast Guard Academy.
Allard won the 50-meter hurdle event in 8.89 seconds, nearly getting a school record. She followed that up with a first-place finish in the 300m in 42.99 seconds and to cap it off, was the anchor leg in the 4x400m relay where she came from 50-meters behind to help score a win for herself and teammates Greysen Dery, Bella Amlaw and Emma Weitknecht.
Ella Lidonde set what is believed to be an indoor school record for the Centaurs as she put together a 33-foot, 2 1/2 -inch effort in the triple jump to finish first.
Avery Plouffe was first in the shotput (35-2) and second in the weight throw (37-9); Weitknecht was second in the hurdles (9.03 seconds); Freshman Ava Eaton was third in the triple jump (28-7); Olivia Tracy was third in the 1600m (5:58.23) and Nova Almquist placed third in the 3200m (13:33) after a fourth-place finish in the 1600m.
Gymnastics
Woodstock was again missing its top gymnast, Olivia Aleman, in its only meet of the week at East Lyme last week. In this case, that was OK. The Centaurs still prevailed over the host Vikings, 130.85 – 125.35, and Aleman got another week’s rest.
“We had planned to take it easy this week anyways and with her back – it’s not an injury – it’s just bothering her; we decided to play it smart and give her some more rest,” said Centaurs coach Kasey Tocchio.
The plan was to get the senior back into training last week and back to her normal self for the last regular season meet on Tuesday versus East Lyme and Killingly as well as the ECC championship meet on Feb. 12 at Deary’s.
Aleman’s absence didn’t trip up the Centaurs as they finished 2-3-4-5 against the Vikings.
Freshman Anyah Oatley finished with a 33.75 total followed by senior Liv Gerum (32.45), junior Emma Long (32.25) and sophomore Rhea Desota (32.2).
“Rhea stepped up tremendously the last two meets and it shows we have some strength on this team,” Tocchio said.
The coach said that Long also stepped up in the vault and scored an 8.9 with some tough judges looking on.
The Centaurs at 5-3 cannot win the ECC regular season crown. That title will likely belong to the Ledyard/St. Bernard/Waterford Co-op which is undefeated in league competition.
But the Centaurs may have a shot at the ECC championship title.
“I honestly believe that the ECC’s are anybody’s game,” Tocchio said. “I think if all the teams hit, it will be difficult to beat that (Ledyard) Co-op team but if everyone does their best, Woodstock Academy can really show that we can be right up there.”
Which is where the little things come in.
“After the last meet, we just talked about showing how much they individually care about the little things in their routines that can make a big difference,” Tocchio said.
Boys’ Basketball
It was an up-and-down week for the boys’ basketball team.
The Centaurs started on a high note at home with a nice win over Griswold, followed that up with a strong effort against Killingly which fell just short and concluded with a loss at East Lyme on Friday.
The busy week left Woodstock with a 4-10 overall record with six games to play in the regular season.
The Centaurs need to win four of those to qualify for the CIAC Div. IV state tournament. Fortunately, four of those games, Windham in the coming week, Bacon Academy and Somers the following week and Waterford after that are all at home. Woodstock will also go on the road to play Windham and Ellington.
The formula for success has always been there. Get a motivated effort from senior center Brady Ericson and the team is very competitive. Such was the case early in the week as Ericson put together a monster effort and led the Centaurs to a 61-40 win over Griswold.
“I’ve told Brady that he can do that every night and he knows that. I can just take a tape recorder and play it over and over again. Those are the type of games that we can get out of him. It’s hard to do it on a daily basis but he’s very capable of it,” said coach Donte Adams.
Ericson put down 27 points including 12 of the 16 that Woodstock scored in the fourth quarter. He also finished with a double-double with 12 rebounds.
The Centaurs had seen their record dip to 3-8 after losses last week to Rockville, Cheney Tech and Stonington. So Woodstock came out with some fire.
The Wolverines came in with an 8-4 record and had been known for their prowess from beyond the 3-point arc this season.
The shots did not fall early for Griswold.
The Wolverines made only three of their first 10 and were 1-for-6 from 3-point land which allowed Woodstock Academy to open a slim, 10-7, lead by the end of the first quarter in a slow developing contest.
But the Centaurs heated up in the second.
They made seven of their eight shots to open a 27-20 advantage at the half.
“Guys came out with high energy from the start and I told them at the half that the first four minutes of the second half will dictate this game. (Griswold) is going to come out and throw haymakers, they’re going press us. We just have to take care of the ball and play our game. We had to put two halves of basketball together and we did,” Adams said,
Woodstock held Griswold without a point in the first 4:14 of the third quarter and scored five points of their own, three on a Lucas Quercia trey and two more on an emphatic dunk from Ericson.
The Centaurs made 7 of 12 from the floor in the third quarter, held the Wolverines to three makes and their lead blossomed to 17, 45-28.
Ericson finished things up in the fourth with his double-digit effort including two more dunks, one going the length of the floor.
Cam Nason was the only other player in double figures for the Centaurs with 12.
Senior Matt Hernandez may not have lit up the scoreboard, he finished with seven points, but he also contributed eight rebounds.
The four wins means the Centaurs are halfway to their goal; eight wins and a Div. IV state tournament berth.
The Centaurs did not go down without a fight as they put forth a spirited effort in a 44-38 loss to Killingly.
The Centaurs did fall behind early as Quinn Sumner scored six of his 12 points for Killingly in the first quarter when the visitors opened a 15-6 lead.
Even though Sumner had to sit in the second quarter due to foul trouble, Killingly was able to extend its lead to 11, 24-13, at the half.
The problem was that the Centaurs had the shots; they just couldn’t get them to fall, making 6 of 29 from the floor in the first half.
They closed to as little as seven in the third quarter but were behind by 10 going into the fourth. That’s when Nason finally heated up.
The senior had a tough first half, finally hit a bucket at the end of the third quarter and was ready in the fourth.
He hit three consecutive baskets to cut the lead to seven and a Quercia bucket reduced that even further to five, 39-34, with 1:53 to play.
Sumner hit a pair of free throws for Killingly but Quercia and Ericson, who led the team with 13 points, answered and it was just a 41-38 game with 13 seconds left.
But a tough call went against the Centaurs as they were whistled for an intentional foul which put Johnny Kazantis on the line for a pair of free throws.
Kazantis, who led Killingly with 14 points, hit both from the charity stripe and the nature of the call meant Killingly (12-1) also got the ball back.
The Centaurs were forced to foul Kazantis again and he made another free throw to account for the final.
Another source of pride, however, for the Centaurs was the defense. Killingly had not scored less than 62 points in any game this season. Until Wednesday.
“The guys definitely defended. They played the passing lanes, played hard, and it shows that when we play defense, hold a team under their average, we can compete with anyone in the league,” Adams said.
Will Bushey added 12 points for the Centaurs while Ericson had another double-double as he pulled down 10 rebounds and Quercia added seven boards.
On the road on Friday, the Centaurs locked up in a duel with East Lyme. It was close through much of the first half with the Vikings mustering just a little more in the way of offense in the second quarter to own a 24-19 lead at the half.
Freshman Drake Abdullovski scored all eight of his points, six on a pair of 3-pointers, to keep Woodstock close.
But the Centaurs fought back in the third and went ahead, 32-31, as Quercia scored all seven of his points in the game in the quarter.
The Vikings, however, were able to turn the tide. Two players combined for a trio of 3-pointers and East Lyme put a 9-0 run together to end the quarter.
The Vikings put it away early in the fourth with another 13-4 run to take the double-digit lead.
Ericson was the only player in double figures for Woodstock with 18 points.
Girls’ Basketball
The girls’ basketball team knew it was in for a couple of challenges last week.
The Centaurs welcomed Bacon Academy which is always a difficult opponent and then had to go on the road to play in New London which is never an easy task.
Such was the case again as the Whalers and Bobcats both prevailed and dropped Woodstock to 9-6 overall and 2-4 in Div. I of the ECC.
New London led from start to finish on Friday, jumping out to a 16-8 advantage after the first quarter and went on to record the 63-36 victory.
The Whalers forged to the lead in the first quarter and had a 27-18 advantage at the half.
In the second half, New London pulled away from the Centaurs.
Kaylee Saucier was the only player in double figures for Woodstock with 18 points while Isabel D’Alleva-Bochain added seven.
Bacon Academy opened a double-digit lead by the half with a 23-point second quarter and held on for a 50-41 win earlier in the week.
The Centaurs did put up a late challenge. Down 11 points going into the final quarter, D’Alleva-Bochain cut it to nine with a basket just 42 seconds into the fourth quarter.
It would be the last basket scored until D’Alleva-Bochain’s backcourt partner, Saucier, hit a jumper almost four minutes later.
After a bucket by Skyelyn Schoen-Rene for Bacon, Saucier would hit three 3-pointers giving her a team-high 17 points in the game.
Unfortunately, that would only cut the deficit to five as a Bacon Academy guard answered with a pair of her own buckets, including a 3-pointer, to keep Bacon Academy ahead, 45-40.
The Bobcats (12-2) then made 5-of-8 from the free throw line in the final 22 seconds to secure the victory.
D’Alleva-Bochain finished with nine and senior Sophia Sarkis was strong off the glass with nine rebounds.
Boys’ Hockey
After two games without a puck in the net, the first period on Saturday was a welcome relief.
The boys’ hockey team put home three goals in the first 15 minutes to take a one-goal lead over Amity Regional into the second period.
But the Centaurs failed to find the net again and the Spartans, the sixth-ranked team in Div. II in the state, scored five unanswered goals and left with a 7-3 victory.
The loss was the fourth in a row for the Centaurs who slipped to 2-10 on the season.
Seamus Coleman put the Centaurs on the scoreboard first as he tallied just 5 minutes, 26 seconds into the game with help from Jayden Fuller and Landon Murdock. Defenseman Liam Oliver (2 assists) knotted the game just a little over three minutes later.
But with 4:17 left in the opening period, there was a Woodstock highlight as freshman Gabe Flannery scored his first career goal.
Christian Costanzo scored the first of his two goals to tie the game just 1:16 later.
Sam Desmond put the Centaurs up before they went into the locker room as Flannery and Keegan Covello combined to get the senior the puck in scoring position and Desmond converted.
But the good feeling wouldn’t last long coming out of the locker room as center Cam Levy scored off the opening faceoff to tie the game. The Spartans (7-3-1) went ahead to stay on a Cody Rocchio goal halfway through the period.
Amity put the win away with three goals in the third period. Senior goalie Devlin Mansolf did all he could to keep Woodstock in the game earlier in the week. And he was largely successful in so doing. But he could not score and neither could his teammates as the Centaurs fell to Moses Brown, 4-0, Wednesday.
The Quakers came in as the top-ranked team in Div. I in Rhode Island and now have an 8-1 overall record.
Mansolf made 62 saves for Woodstock, but Moses Brown was able to get a goal in the first period when Matt Acevedo tallied just over three minutes into the contest. Thanks to Mansolf, who even shutdown a pair of two-on-one breaks in succession, the score remained that way until the second period.
Pierce Andrian gave the Quakers a little breathing room with a pair of second period goals and Anthony Fede finished things off with a goal in the third.
Woodstock is back on the home ice at 6:30 Feb.6 when the Centaurs play host to TriTown at the Jahn Ice Rink.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
.
captions, page 7:
Ellary Sampson recorded her 13th assist of the season. Photo courtesy of Woodstock Academy.
Above: Sophia Sarkis gets sandwiched between two Bacon Academy defenders last week in a game won by the Bobcats. Photo by Sam Clark/Woodstock Academy. Right: Senior Liv Gerum, competing on the beam earlier this season, helped Woodstock Academy defeat East Lyme with a third-place finish in the All-Around competition last week. Photo by Marc Allard/Woodstock Academy.
.