In an important Class B matchup Oct. 16 Pomfret School and Kingswood Oxford ended tied at 0 in soccer. Javier Alonso had eight saves.
Coach Patrick Burke said: While both teams started well, both goalkeepers made strong saves throughout the game. It was a game of missed opportunities for both Pomfret and KO with KO having the better of the chances early in the game and Pomfret taking the momentum in the second half.
“Goalkeeper Alonso came up big in the first ten minutes of the game as he made three strong saves to deny Kingswood’s talented #9. Our defense of Ryan Cho, Lawrence Viola, Eumir Rodriguez, Gerald Gao, and Ethan Forbes settled in after that and limited KO’s chances to set pieces. In the midfield, Ethan, Devin Walcott, Grant Maurer, Nate Watson, Kaya Horvath, Caleb White, Nick Ferrucci, and Fred Coulibaly gave us strong minutes. Fred and Nate were impactful in wide channels and their runs with and without the ball gave us our best chances. Declan Chapman, Dylan Tran, Cole Castro, and Van Horvath found time on the ball and helped us keep possession during the first half. We had one of our best chances in the final minute of the half when, from a set piece, Devin put a low drive around the wall that was curling into the net before KO’s goalie made an outstanding save. It was 0-0 at half.
“We started the second half well, as a nice combination play from Grant, Declan, and Devin led to a foul just outside KO’s box. Declan put a great strike on frame, but the KO keeper got a diving touch to force it onto the post. We continued to attack, but couldn’t find the final ball or right cross. Jerry Da gave us strong minutes in the middle, while Nick, Cole, and Fred all had opportunities. Our defense remained organized and Javier made one or two saves when called upon. We also did a nice job of defending set pieces as Ryan, Gerald, Devin, Kaya, Lawrence, and Eumir all won important aerial battles. We had momentum late in the game as Grant, Dylan, and Declan all had strong runs from the midfield, but we couldn’t put our shots on target and our crosses didn’t find our teammates. It ended 0-0.”
Tie Against Suffield
The Pomfret School boys’ soccer team ended its Oct. 13th match against Suffield Academy with a tie.
Coach Patrick Burke said Suffield played an intense, organized, and focused game.
Pomfret’s defense (Eumir Rodriguez, Ryan Cho, Henry Cattell, Gerald Gao, and Ethan Forbes) played well and kept Suffield attacks limited. Goalkeeper Javier Alonso made four saves. The best attempts during the first half came from combination play between Fred Coulibaly, Nate Watson, Nick Ferrucci, Cole Castro, Kaya Horvath, Dylan Tran and Declan Chapman. Declan, Fred, and Cole all went close in the first half, he said.
In the second half, Lawrence Viola, Devin Walcott, and Caleb White found more of the ball in the midfield and some strong runs and quality passes created chances for Nick, Declan, Cole, and Fred. Burke said “We had a few solid set pieces chances as well, but our shots were unable to truly trouble Suffield’s keeper. Our second half performance was better, but at the final whistle the teams remained locked at 0-0.
Worcester Wins 2-0
Oct. 11 the Pomfret School boys’ soccer team knew they had to stay focused the full 90 minutes against Worcester Academy, ranked #1 in New England, said coach Patrick Burke.
He said: “For the majority of the game Pomfret was up to the task, but good teams make small lapses pay, and Worcester was able to capitalize in the second half.
“Pomfret had strong performances today from all of our players. Javier Alonso was fantastic in goal (12 saves). The defense of Ryan Cho, Eumir Rodriguez, Gerald Gao, Ethan Forbes, Henry Cattell, and Lawrence Viola were organized, communicative, and focused. They blocked shots, won aerial duels, and made Worcester earn every opportunity. Pomfret’s midfield of Grant Maurer, Declan Chapman, Devin Walcott, Caleb White, Nate Watson, Cole Castro, Kaya Horvath, Nick Ferrucci, and Lawrence had more of the ball in the first half, but their work rate and complete level remained strong. Dylan Tran and Fred Coulibaly led our attack, and both found space when checking back and were able to retain possession effectively.
“The first half was a back and forth 45 minutes with both teams having opportunities and creating chances. As our legs grew heavy and some injuries occurred, Worcester had more momentum in the second half and were able to sneak one past Javier (which was very hard to do today!) in the 55th minute. We continued to battle and fight for an equalizer. Nate and Fred came closest during this stretch and it was often the good work of Devin, Cole, Kaya, and Declan that sprung our counters. In the 85th minute a loose ball from a set piece was able to barely cross the goal line and give Worcester a 2-0 lead and the win.
By Patrick Burke

.
 

PSA soccer gets
pair of wins
The Putnam Science Academy boys’ soccer team added a few years to coach Ryan Dunnigan’s 28 in a pair of wins last week.
The first one Oct. 19 against Pathfinder Academy. The Mustangs led by a goal for much of the second half before surrendering the equalizer with just four minutes to play. What could have been a deflating tie turned into a thrilling, heart-pounding 2-1 victory when Zach Vlachos scored the game-winner in the 90th minute to set off a wild celebration.
Vlachos’ goal came after PSA won a free kick just outside the 18 at an angle that required a cross. Tomas Melon delivered a perfect ball to the back post where Vlachos volleyed into the back of the net.
“Right as the ball hit the net it was amazing,” Vlachos said. “Definitely my favorite goal I’ve scored this season and I’m having trouble putting into words exactly that feeling. But the best thing I can say is relief for the team and for my confidence going forward. I’m super happy with the result.”
Melon dropped the cross perfectly before the keeper could come out.
“When Zach scored, I was so happy,” he said. “I started jumping and screaming at the top of my lungs.”
It was quite the rollercoaster for the Mustangs.
“To concede late after defending so well can be very disheartening but we picked ourselves up, kept pushing and thankfully got a goal out of it,” said Adam Azman. “The emotion when you score any goal is unbelievable but when you score so late especially after a game that eventful is difficult to put into words.”
Said Arthur Prates: “Winning at the 90th minute is amazing. Not something we plan to do because we want to win earlier, but when it goes in at the 90th minute, you just go crazy. You want to hug everybody to celebrate. “
Vlachos kept things rolling two days later when he again accounted for both PSA goals in another 2-1 win, this time over Massasoit Community College.
This one wasn’t quite as dramatic as PSA this time led 2-0 late. But a late MCC goal made the final minutes more interesting than Dunnigan would have liked.
PSA’s week ended on a sour note though, as Saturday the Mustangs were on the wrong end of a 2-1 score against the Hoosac School. Vlachos again scored for PSA, giving him seven on the season.
By Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy

.
 

caption:

Centaurs at Work
Right: Woodstock Academy senior Collin Manuilow (6) shields the ball from a Windham defender in a Centaurs victory over the Whippets. Above: Woodstock Academy junior Alyson Bunning tries to retrieve the ball for the Centaurs in a recent match. Photos by Marc Allard.




Woodstock Academy coach Paul Rearden likes where his team is going into the final three matches of the season. The Centaurs are 5-6-1 after losing a close one to Ledyard Oct. 16, 3-1. It means they need to win one of their last three to qualify for state tournament play.
“That’s the way I’m reading it. I think we’re in really good shape and if we play the way we did (against Ledyard), we can win our next three games,” Rearden said.
The Centaurs travel to Waterford Oct. 20. The match with Burrillville Oct. 23 is cancelled, leaving the Centaurs with a game against Bacon Academy Oct. 27 and a game at Plainfield Oct. 30.
The Centaurs fought hard against the Colonels (10-1) in an ECC Div. II clash.
“Sometimes when you lose a game, but you put in a performance the way we did (versus Ledyard), it doesn’t feel like a defeat. We had them rocking,” Rearden said.
Ledyard (4-0 ECC Div. 2) put the first ball in the back of the net in the first half and that was the halftime score. The Colonels made it 2-0 just 15 minutes into the second half. But 10 minutes later, the Centaurs (3-3 ECC Div. II) answered when freshman Austin Byer chipped it into Jeff Phongsa who played a soft ball into Ty Morgan. Morgan finished his fourth goal of the season into the far corner of the net.
Woodstock almost got the equalizer when Byer sent another ball into the area to Owen Tracy. Despite being at a tough angle, Tracy got the volley off and it struck the post and rolled down the line.
Ledyard finished off its win with a goal late in the game.
 “I was really, really pleased. Everything we had been practicing, they put into action. It was our best performance of the season by a lot,” Rearden said.
The Centaurs walked away with an 8-0 victory over Windham. Noah Page got the Centaurs off to a good start against the Whippets (1-10, 0-5). Woodstock was awarded a penalty kick just 9 ½ minutes into the match and Page converted not once, but twice. It was ruled his first attempt had come before the official’s whistle to start play. So, Page, undaunted, lined up again and put it into the back of the net for a second time.
The Centaurs scored four more times in the first half. Max Ferreira found himself along on the right side of the goal and Phongsa found him with the ball for the 2-0 lead. Just three minutes after that, Ferriera was on the delivery end as he found Morgan with a pass for another Woodstock tally. John Bennett contributed on both of the last goals of the half as Ryan Odorski scored off a Bennett corner and Gabe Viau was the recipient of a nice cross from the freshman to make it 5-0 at the half.
Morgan and Odorski each scored their second goals of the match in the second half and Zach Roethlein, who started in front of the goal for the Centaurs, was allowed out onto the field and got the last tally of the day.
Girls’ Soccer
Woodstock picked up its fourth win of the season, blanking the Valley Regional Warriors, 3-0, in a non-league contest. The win raised Woodstock Academy’s record to 4-7-2.
“I’m proud of the team winning at Valley Regional, because that’s a strong club,” said head coach Dennis Snelling. “The team really played with great intensity and won a lot of tackles to keep possession of the ball.”
The Centaurs were dominant in the field, taking 17 shots to just four for the Warriors (4-5).
Junior Grace Gelhaus started the scoring for Woodstock. She picked up her ninth goal of the season halfway through the first half. Senior Ava Coutu then made it 2-0 with her third tally of the year. Then freshman Juliet Allard, off a Gelhaus assist, put home her sixth goal of the year.
The week did not start as well. The Centaurs lost to the NFA Wildcats 2-1. The loss dropped Woodstock to 1-2-1 in Div. I of the ECC. Gelhaus scored the only goal of the match. Rebecca Nazer made 10 saves in goal.
Volleyball
The Academy volleyball team’s varsity bench is gradually filling up again. But it has taken awhile and the time to catch up is just not there.
As a result, those teams who have been playing the entire season have a leg up on the Centaurs who fell to 2-12 overall and 1-4 in Div. I of the ECC with losses to Lyman, E. Lyme and Fitch, all by 3-0 scores, last week.
“The chemistry just has to come back,” said coach Adam Bottone. “It’s pretty complex especially since we just have never had the same group in the same positions on the floor this season. The consistency of the same girls in the same positions has been a problem.”
Unlike Lyman Memorial and Killingly, who like Woodstock, experienced issues with COVID, the Centaurs did not shut down the program to allow players to get healthy and then resume the season.
Instead, Woodstock postponed two matches and then returned to the floor with a skeleton crew of seven or eight players. It has led to seven consecutive losses.
That included a defeat at the hands of the Bulldogs who were playing just their eighth match of the season.
Lyman improved to 6-2 with a 25-20, 25-19, 26-24 win over the Centaurs.
Woodstock Academy led, 24-21, late in the third set only to see Lyman score the final five points of the match for the win.
Senior outside hitter Aurissa Boardman had eight kills against Lyman. Boardman missed a match with Conard on Oct. 8 due to an injury but has been cleared to play.
Boardman leads the Centaurs with 126 kills, 110 service points and 29 service aces this season.
Ellie Nunes, who has been sidelined since early in the season, returned for the Lyman match and finished with 16 digs. “It was good to see Ellie and Emily Goodell return at defensive specialist. It helped with our passing and kept us more competitive with East Lyme,” Bottone said.
The Vikings (10-2) won the first two sets relatively easily against the Centaurs down by the shoreline, 25-11 and 25-19.But Woodstock did rally in the third to make it close before falling, 25-23.
Boardman had six kills and seven digs while fellow senior Annarose Avery added five digs and four assists in the loss.
Fitch arrived late for the match Oct. 15 due to traffic troubles but that didn’t slow down the Falcons (11-2, 4-1) who won the three sets, 25-15, 25-22 and 25-18.
Boardman finished with 10 kills and Avery added 11 assists in the loss.
There is some good news.
The Centaurs also have Bella Sorrentino back and are expecting Leila MacKinnon and Lizzie Lovrien to return this week.
But that news was tempered a bit. In a case of one step forward and two steps back, junior Morgan Bonin suffered an injury in the East Lyme match and her return this season is doubtful and freshman Sophie Gronski was injured in the Fitch contest.
Field Hockey
It was supposed to be a three-game week for the field hockey team but the only game that was played was Oct. 16 when the Centaurs lost to Enfield, 7-0. The game with Waterford early in the week was scuttled by transportation woes. A match against Killingly Oct. 14 was postponed.
Ava Basak made 14 saves in goal for the Centaurs (1-7-2) in the non-league contest.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

..