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Soccer Captains
Woodstock senior captains, from left: Magdalena Myslenski, Lennon Favreau and Grace Gelhaus will guide the Centaurs girls’ soccer team this season.
A known quantity.
In this case, that known quantity for the Woodstock girls’ soccer team is their opponents.
After a year away from ECC Div. I competition due to the pandemic, the Centaurs returned to it last year.
But that return to playing larger programs from larger schools was not easy.
The Centaurs made the Class L state tournament and finished with a 5-9-3 record, losing only three players, Stella Brin, Addy Smith and Ava Coutu, to graduation.
The experience will help this season.
“I think the team is really confident this year because of what they did last year. They know what they didn’t have last year that they do this year as far as new players are concerned,” said Centaurs coach Dennis Snelling.
The Centaurs do have some new faces and some welcome returners like Grace Gelhaus.
The senior scored 12 goals and added four assists last season. Snelling said she is one of the best to come through the program in his tenure.
Gelhaus will also have a little less pressure on her, personally, as she has already decided she is going to Elon University in North Carolina next year.
“I’m looking forward to playing soccer there. I met all the girls and it’s going to be awesome. I still want to do well this year, though,” Gelhaus said.
Much to the opponent’s chagrin, Gelhaus said where she has improved most from last season is in her shooting skills.
The senior felt that was a weakness in her game last season.
Her teammates begged to differ.
“She says she didn’t shoot well,” teammate Magdalena Myslenski said. “She did.”
Gelhaus will also have a little less pressure on the field as she has even more help up front.
Sophomore Juliet Allard returns after scoring eight goals a year ago.
Add to that, sophomore newcomer Leah Kosta who comes in from Stonington High School.
“Leah and Juliet above Grace playing striker, I just don’t know how a defense will match up without dropping players back. They will already be putting their best player on Grace and they will also have these two forwards to worry about,” Snelling said.
In an interesting quirk of fate, the Centaurs host Stonington in their season opener on Sept. 8 at the Bentley.
The Bears shutout the Centaurs, 2-0, last season.
Kosta scored both of the Stonington goals.
“I get along with Stonington’s coach and it’s always competitive, but it’s nice to have one of their best players from last year on our side. It doesn’t happen very often where you get a transfer student even as global as the Academy is, we don’t get a kid from another ECC school often,” Snelling said.
Two of the three captains on the Centaurs play on the defensive side. Myslenski is joined by fellow senior Lennon Favreau.
Also in back will be seniors Abby Morin and Paige Owens and sophomores Haley Whitehouse and Macy Rawson.
Two more newcomers, sophomore Freya Robbie and freshman Payton Leite, will also be in the backfield. Leite will wear her older sister, Kayla’s, jersey this year. Kayla is out for the year with an ACL injury.
“We’re working on a lot of movement and shaping the ball forward, even send it back to the goalies if we have the chance, just to work around the offense that’s coming at us. It’s great in practice to have Grace and Leah who are phenomenal and are giving us the best competition that we could have,” Myslenski said of the defense.
That defense will be playing in front of two experienced goalies in senior Fiona Rigney and junior Rebecca Nazer.
In addition to Gelhaus in the midfield, the Centaurs will also have the likes of senior Maya Orbegozo, junior Emma Massey and sophomores Bella Mawson and Macy Rawson. Senior Gabrielle Couture and sophomore Isabella Selmecki will see action up front.
“I think we can do better than five wins but looking at the schedule, I think we would be happy with making States again. It’s probably a harder schedule than last year with Granby and Ellington on it, but we’re thinking more than five wins for sure,” Snelling said.
Schedule:
Thurs., Sept. 8: vs. Stonington, 4:15 p.m.; Sat., Sept. 10: at Ledyard, 11 a.m.; Wed., Sept. 14: at Fitch, 4:15; Sat., Sept. 17: vs. E. Lyme, 11; Tues., Sept. 20: at NFA, 7; Sat., Sept. 24: vs. Valley Regional, 10:30; Sat., Oct. 1: vs. Bacon, 11; Mon., Oct. 3: at Killingly, 6:30; Thurs., Oct. 6: vs. Waterford, 4:15; Sat., Oct. 8: at Ellington, 11; Wed., Oct. 12: vs. Plainfield, 4:15; Tues., Oct. 18: vs. Fitch, 4:15; Fri., Oct. 21: vs. NFA, 4; Mon., Oct. 24: at E. Lyme, 6;Thurs., Oct. 27: vs. Killingly, 3:45; Sat., Oct. 29: at Granby, 5.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
.