The main event never materialized, but the precursor certainly filled the void.
Putnam Science Academy’s boys’ Prep basketball team, ranked No. 1 or 2 depending on which poll you’re looking at, was slated to take on Northfield Mount Hermon, also ranked No. 1 or 2 depending on which poll you’re looking at, Sunday night in Springfield, Mass. But Covid concerns led to the postponement of that game and left the Mustangs with just their Jan. 14 at St. Thomas More.
But make no mistake, there was plenty of intensity and plenty of celebrating after PSA improved to 15-0 with an 81-69 victory over their in-state rival.
“Any road win is a good win, but winning at St. Thomas More is different,” said PSA coach Tom Espinosa. “This is the toughest place to play.”
Barry Evans had 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals for the Mustangs, who also got 18 points, five rebounds, five steals, and four assists from Arturo Dean and 11 points, six rebounds, and two blocks from Mouhamed Dioubate.
“The intensity was good, the atmosphere was good,” Dean said. “The coaches told us it wasn’t going to be easy playing in their house. There were some bad calls in there but our coaches told us to just play through it and let them handle the refs and we need to keep playing. I think we did a good job of that.”
PSA, which entered the game winning by an average of 38 points, were never able to pull away as their lead hung around 10 points. The Mustangs took their first lead, 21-19, at the 8:20 mark of the first half when Evans put back his own miss. From there, every time the Mustangs looked like they might put some distance between the teams, the Chancellors knocked down some shots and got it back to six or four points.
But PSA’s pressure defense, as it has done to every opponent thus far, just wouldn’t let St. Thomas More get any closer than that. St. Thomas More coach Jere Quinn acknowledged that much to reporters after the game, but that was after spent a good portion of the actual game screaming at the officials to call a technical foul on the PSA bench because there were instances in which the assistant coaches were standing. He actually got his wish with about four seconds to play as PSA’s entire bench was on its collective feet ready to celebrate the win.
Desmond Claude, who joined PSA this season after spending the last three in St. Thomas More’s program, had seven points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals. DayDay Gittens was good again as well, finishing with seven points, five assists, three steals, and two blocks.
“It was intense,” Dean said. “We love games like this. We want games like this. It was good to see this team face adversity, and when it hit, we conquered it.”
Earlier last week, PSA toppled Bridgeport Prep, 129-75, as seven players scored in double figures, led by Gittens’ season-high 17 points.
Dean finished with 14 points, eight assists, and eight rebounds, while Dioubate posted his seventh double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Evans also had a double (10 points, 12 boards), Josh Rivera had 14 points, and Claude and Sotirios Nafpliotis both had 12 for PSA.
PSA’s Varsity team knocked off Wilbraham & Monson, 63-37 Jan. 12. Pau Amengual scored a game-high 16 points, and Joseph Magne added 14 points.
“We came out the gates with a lot of energy,” said Mustangs coach Nick Schmidt. “We really took pride in guarding the ball and defense led to steals and transition layups. I was very happy with our effort. We were chomping at the bit to finally play a game after a month off. Our hungriness won us the game.” Taylan Cengiz chipped in with 13 points and Ethan Senkyire had 11 for the Mustangs.
The boys’ Elite team had a rougher week, dropping its two games out of the semester break, 79-64 to Springfield Commonwealth and 95-72 to St. Thomas More’s Prep 2 team.
“Little rusty, little worn down after the break,” said coach John Cavaliere. “We’ve got to get back to it and doing what we do.” Jalen Claude had 26 points and Lamar Watkins finished with 14 in the loss to St. Thomas More.
By Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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Centaur alum
chosen in 1st
round of
MLS draft
The Woodstock Academy associate head of school Holly Singleton remembered coaching a summer soccer match for the Centaurs several years ago and, on this occasion; her team was short of players. Simon Becher showed up to fill in.
“I put him in and the whole offense fell apart,” Singleton recalled. “Everyone was just passing the ball. I pulled Simon out and asked him what he was doing and he said to me that he was just trying to get everyone the ball so they could score. I told him, ‘Everyone is waiting for you to score, Simon.’”
He listened and, of course, he scored.
The 2018 graduate used his touch around the net to carry him to Oakwood Academy, then on to the College of Holy Cross, St. Louis University and, on last week, Major League Soccer.
The Brooklyn native was chosen with the 16th pick of the first round in the MLS Superdraft by the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
“I’m very proud of his accomplishments, not just because he has become a professional athlete which was always his goal but because he is a classy human being with a good heart. Not only did he achieve his dream, he did so by being a good human being,” Singleton said.
Becher realized his dream while watching the stream of the MLS draft from his home in Brooklyn.
“It felt amazing,” Becher said. “I had no idea. There was no call (from Vancouver) before (the pick) so when it popped up on the TV, it was the first time I heard. It was a dream come true. It was something that I have, honestly, been dreaming about and envisioning since I learned to kick a soccer ball. I’m just excited to get started.”
It wasn’t easy. Becher had to make some sacrifices. He never played soccer for Woodstock, instead, he opted to play for Oakwood Soccer Academy. They do not allow their players to play high school soccer.
Oakwood was one of the hardest decisions Becher had to make — he missed playing on the same soccer field as his friends.
“Woodstock Academy is a very tight-knit community,” Becher said. “The staff was always supportive. They were always flexible with me missing days because of travel. Obviously, I spent a lot of time up on the Woodstock Academy fields on the weekends in the offseason, using the facilities to train and being with all my friends. They supported me, supported my dream and believed in me.”
Becher signed his National Letter of Intent to play in early 2018 for the College of Holy Cross. He led the Crusaders in points with 16 as a freshman, getting seven goals and two assists.
To achieve his dream, he transferred to St. Louis University. “I wanted the challenge; wanted somewhere where I would be pushed in my development and grow my game in a bigger market, competing against some of the best teams in the entire country. I think I got that with St. Louis,” Becher said.
The Billikens were undefeated for 20 games which is “pretty unheard of,” Becher said. “If you look at everything we achieved in the past year, all the way down the team, (the coaching staff) believed in us. We worked hard and worked hard for each other.”
Becher finished as the second-leading scorer in the NCAA this past season with 38 points; 14 goals (6th best in the NCAA), including five game-winners, and 10 assists.
Becher was a first team United Soccer Coaches All-American and a Hermann Trophy semifinalist and was the fourth member of the Billikens chosen in the draft Tuesday. Teammates Isaiah Parker (3rd), a forward, defender Kipp Keller (5th), and goalie Patrick Schulte (12th) went just before him.
Now, he heads to Vancouver. “I connected with coach (Vanni Sartini), the media and (public relations) people (Tuesday). Preseason starts next week so I will be packing my bags and heading up there,” Becher said.
The Whitecaps finished sixth in the Western Conference of the MLS with 49 points; 12 wins, 13 draws and nine losses.
“I bring a work ethic. I bring creativity to the attack, someone who can score, can get assists, a lot of different things. Hopefully, I can make an impact and help them push for the playoffs and win an MLS Cup,” Becher said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
Bank raises
$39.2k
for pantries
OXFORD, Mass. — Robert J. Morton, president and CEO of bankHometown, announced that the bank’s 18th annual Neighbors Helping Neighbors fund-raising drive raised $39,200 for local food pantries. This brings the total amount raised over the 18 years the program has been in place to $264,900.
The annual appeal is part of bankHometown’s charitable giving program, called The Giving Tree, which reflects the bank’s commitment to making a real difference in the neighborhoods it serves. Throughout the month of November, the bank invited customers, employees, and members of the community to donate funds at bankHometown branches. All donations received were matched, dollar for dollar, by bankHometown and the total divided among food pantries in Central Massachusetts and northeast Connecticut communities the bank serves. Each of these pantries received $2,800 to help feed families in need:
Connecticut: Community Kitchens of Northeastern CT - Killingly, Daily Bread - Putnam, Friends of Assisi - Killingly, Thompson Ecumenical Empowerment Group (TEEG).
Massachusetts: Athol Salvation Army Food Pantry, Auburn Youth and Family Services, Inc. Food Pantry, CARE Food Pantry - Clinton, Food Share - Southbridge, Charlton & Sturbridge, Friendly House Pantry, Worcester, Friends of the Millbury Seniors, Ginny’s Helping Hand, Inc. - Leominster, Oxford Ecumenical Food Shelf, Sutton Senior Center’s Michael A. Chizy Food Pantry, St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry - Webster.
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Roundup
Alpine team
gets 1st test
For the first time ever, the Woodstock Academy Alpine Ski team could score as a team in a Connecticut Interscholastic Ski League competition. The Centaurs girls finished eighth in their inaugural outing.
Woodstock coach Kevin Brody said the sport is dominated by girls especially on the high school level and that’s where the Centaurs strength lies. The girls’ team tripled in size from last season, with the influence of both Eliza Simpson and Emma Brody.
Simpson led the way with a fifth-place finish out of 150 female competitors last week.
Kevin Brody said one of the keys for Simpson and the team as a whole was the ability to practice the weekend before. Weather had threatened but did not impact the practice session and each athlete was able to make at least 16 gate-training runs down the mountain.
“Eliza had a good night (at the first competition last) Thursday. Her first run was a little shaky, but everything fell back into place for her on the second run,” Kevin Brody said. They’re working to add speed.
Emma Brody was also impressive with a 19th-place individual finish and Emma Reino placed 73rd.
On the boys’ side, junior Davis Simpson was ninth out of 150 competitors and Anthony Listro was 78th.
“It doesn’t have to be powder, but I’ll take anything white and cold on the ground. Time on snow really makes a difference for the improvement of alpine athletes. We’re not like any other sport; we don’t have gyms or arenas to train in. We rely on cold to make this happen,” Kevin Brody said.
Indoor Track
The Woodstock boys’ and girls’ indoor track teams competed inside a brand new multi-million dollar indoor facility in Bethel and had great results. The girls had a couple first-place finishes with senior Linsey Arends crossing the line first in the mile in 5 minutes, 44 seconds and junior Bella Sorrentino was best in the shotput with a throw of 31-feet, 9 ¼ inches and was also second in the long jump.
Arends joined Lauren Brule, Talia Tremblay, and Isabella Selmecki to capture a first-place finish in the 4x400m relay and the quartet also qualified for the States. The 4x200m relay team of Juliet Allard, Ava Coutu, Sorrentino and Selmecki also qualified for States. Magdalena Myslenski finished second in the pole vault by clearing the bar at 7-feet and also qualified for State competition in so doing. Julia Coyle was second in the 3200m and third in the mile and Allard finished third in the 55m hurdles with a personal-best time of 9.55 seconds.
On the boys’ side, Vince Bastura was first in the 3200m (10:54) and second in the 1600m (4:48.40). Keenan LaMontagne was best in the shotput with a heave of 47-1 ¼ and teammate Jared Eaton was second (41-8). The sprint medley team of Braedon Emerson, Jack Marshall, Jeff Phongsa, and Christian Menounos finished second; the distance medley relay team of Joel Koleszar, Gavin Grant, Caleb Koleszar and Seamus Lippy was third.
Boys’ Hockey
Get the puck on the net. That was the order from the Woodstock bench and junior center Max Larkin delivered. With just 1 minute, 28 seconds left in overtime, Larkin found himself alone in front of the net with the puck.
The goal gave Woodstock a 6-5 win over the E.O. Smith-Tolland. It was their first game since Dec. 27. The team had suffered a bout with COVID and were still missing players going into the mid-week game.
“We were short multiple varsity guys who play a lot of varsity minutes and it definitely showed especially on defense,” said coach Kevin Bisson. “It was good to see our defense gut that one out. “
The Bucks (5-2) scored just 43 seconds into the game. Larkin, off a pass from Chris Thibault, knotted the score at 1 just under four minutes later but E.O. Smith-Tolland scored the next two goals. Zach Girard cut the deficit in half with a goal with 1:30 left in the first period.
The Centaurs then tied it five minutes into the second when Don Sousa tallied with help from Jared Nielsen (3 assists) and Maxx Corradi. The Centaurs took the lead 8:07 into the period when Noah Sampson scored but the Bucks would tie it. Sousa struck again with 7:09 left in regulation to put the Centaurs up, 5-4, off an assist from Sampson.
E.O. Smith – Tolland forced the overtime with a goal. The Bucks had the better of it early in overtime but the Centaurs rebounded in the eight-minute period with Don Sousa doing everything he could to get his freshman brother, Dante, his first varsity win in goal.
Sousa fired four shots, all of them that had possibilities of going in, but were just turned away. It was Larkin who broke through.
Later in the week, the Centaurs played over-the-border rival, Auburn on Saturday and fell to the Rockets, 5-2. The loss dropped the Centaurs to 2-3 on the season.
The Centaurs found themselves in a hole early. Dillon Winkelmann and Owen Stattenfield scored within 22 seconds of each other in the first 2 ½ minutes of the game. Auburn would own a 3-0 lead with a goal.
In the second period the Centaurs outshot Auburn, 12-5, and one of those went in. Thibault scored his second goal of the season off assists from Larkin and Kyle Brennan to make it a two-goal game.
The Centaurs almost fought off a two-man Auburn advantage to start the third period and got one of its number back on the ice but just before the second penalty expired, Valone netted his second goal of the night.
Corradi scored just 1:25 later off assists from Ryan Wallace and Sampson but Woodstock Academy could not find the net again and Auburn scored an empty-net goal to account for the final.
Girls’ Hockey
There wasn’t much more senior goalie Mia Dang could do. She turned aside 30 Auburn shots to keep the Centaurs girls’ hockey team in its Central Massachusetts League game with the Rockets.
Unfortunately, three did get through and Auburn skated away with the 3-0 victory. The Centaurs fell to 0-3-1 overall and 0-2-1 in the league with the loss.
“Mia was fantastic,” said coach Eric Roy. “The game could have easily been 10-0, but she stood on her head and was a true leader. She calmed everything down and saw every puck well. It was a great game for her.” The Centaurs, however, are still looking for some offense.
A rapid succession of games would help. “We have had COVID and haven’t had a consistent full team with a set of games. After (last) week, when we get back to a little more normal; practice, game, practice, game, routine things should come more together,” Roy said.
Girls’ Basketball
The youngsters came through for the girls’ basketball team against Amistad Academy. Freshmen Eva Monahan and Sophia Sarkis and sophomore Kerry Blais were all key components in a 54-40 win over Amistad Academy.
“It’s good to see; good to see they have that confidence. They are all going in and scoring, and being aggressive,” said junior point guard Leila MacKinnon.
The Centaurs had a 10-point halftime lead, 19-9, and almost doubled that in the third quarter, bringing it up to as many as 18.
The Wolves (0-3) went on a 9-2 run to open the fourth quarter and cut the lead to five, 37-32.
But Monahan (14 points) quelled the Amistad momentum with a pair of free throws and a basket.
Amistad scored, but the Centaurs answered with the next seven points including a pair each by Sarkis and Blais, who both finished with 10 points, to go up by a comfortable 14 points, 48-34, with 2 minutes, 58 seconds to play. Reegan Reynolds added seven points.
Woodstock finished off the week with a 3-6 record after a loss to Bacon Academy. Monahan led the Centaurs with eight points while Blais and Madison Brown each added five against the Bobcats.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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