Centaurs
bounce back
with win
The Woodstock Academy girls’ soccer team was coming off of being shutout for a first time this season.
It made up for lost time.
The Centaurs downed Auburn on the road, 6-0, Oct. 19.
“It was a good bounce back game especially getting back on track scoring goals with Norwich Free Academy and Bacon Academy coming up, kind of must-win games for us, next week,” said Centaurs coach Dennis Snelling.
Woodstock Academy is battling for an ECC tournament berth with three league matches left to play including the two this week against the Wildcats and Bobcats.
They also have Plainfield on Oct. 29.
The Centaurs scored three goals in each half with two players getting a couple each.
Adeline Smith started the onslaught for Woodstock Academy (8-4-1) with the first goal just under 10 minutes into the match with the Rockets.
The sophomore midfielder added a second goal, her third of the season, in the second half.
”We gave her a different role,” Snelling said of Smith. “She is still in the center of the field just a bit more forward. It was good to see her get those scoring chances.”
Grace Gelhaus also scored two goals.
She picked up her 12th in the first half and 13th in the second.
The freshman also added an assist to give her 21 points on the season.
Junior forward Peyton Saracina added a goal, her 13th of the season, and two assists which gave her 20 points this season.
Kayla Gaudreau added her second goal of the season and Lucy McDermott had an assist.
The outcome was a lot better than earlier in the week.
It’s never easy to lose.
But it is a little easier to stomach when it happens despite a solid effort.
That was the scenario Oct. 16.
Woodstock Academy played well, but a couple of plays did the Centaurs in and they fell to East Lyme, 2-0.
“I can’t complain at all about the effort,” Snelling said. “We tell kids not to hang their heads when they try and do their best. Their attitudes were right, the mindset was perfect. We thought we could win the game. We played well enough to win the game. What can you be upset about?”
The Centaurs took 18 shots on goal compared to seven shots for the Vikings.
The only problem was that two went in for East Lyme.
The first came off a set play on a corner with senior Angie Venditti sending the ball into the middle where it found the foot of Alivia Catanzaro.
The senior midfielder sent it into the back of the net with 9 minutes, 31 seconds left in the first half.
“They got about five or six corners in the first half. I gave (his team) advice about not giving up corner kicks,” Snelling said.
For good reason, Catanzaro had come very close a second time when her header just went wide right of the post.
The Centaurs did not allow a corner in the second half while getting 10 of their own.
The only problem was that Woodstock Academy was missing a key ingredient.
Emma Redfield had left the game in the first half with an ankle injury.
“She’s our big playmaker on the corners, not to make excuses, but she does serve the ball in very well. We certainly were missing her (Wednesday). I think she played the first eight minutes and that was it,” Snelling said.
To make matters worse, Snelling had changed his alignment a bit for the match.
“We tried a new formation for a first time and you take someone out of it right away, but we adjusted well,” Snelling said.
The Centaurs had numerous chances against E. Lyme keeper Avery Owen but the senior was up to the task, making 12 saves.
“We shot the way we shoot in practice; we just can’t hit the goal. It’s tough. It was the first game we were shutout,” Snelling said.
The E. Lyme defense had something to do with that.
“(Venditti) is a great sweeper, probably one of the best defenders in the league, if not the best. They’re disciplined, do the right things, switch and cover really well. That was the difference,” Snelling said.
The Vikings got some insurance when Margret Dunne won a 1-on-1 battle deep in Woodstock Academy territory, and found the opposite side of the net with just over six minutes to play.
The win gave E. Lyme the ECC Division I title.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
..
Volleyball
coach
pleased
Team tops in Div. I
There have been a lot of firsts for the Woodstock Academy volleyball team under the direction of coach Adam Bottone.
But a 3-1 win over Darien Oct. 19 will go down as one of his personal favorites.
The Blue Wave has been one of the elite teams in the sport in the state.
Darien has won 17 state championships including nine in a row from 2001 to ’09.
Bottone still recalls the two meetings the Centaurs had with Darien in the Class L state tournament
The Blue Wave downed the Centaurs, 3-0, in 2009 in a second round match.
The Centaurs lost in a second round match, 3-0, in 2007, not getting out of single digits in the first two sets.
So a win over Darien was pretty special.
“It’s phenomenal,” Bottone said. “They’re solid and this is one of the biggest wins of my career. I’ve been in some good ones. Back when Ledyard had (Division I player) Michelle Klinikowski, we won with Sarah Swenson when she was a senior. There was the state tournament match against Avon where we were down two, fought back and won in five. This win is definitely up there in the top three.”
The Centaurs (12-4) had to rally a couple of times against the Blue Wave to win their 10th straight match.
Darien took the first set, 25-22, and were up by nine points in the second but Woodstock Academy fought back for the 25-22 win.
The Centaurs went up 2-1 with another 25-22 win in the third but the fourth was a little troublesome.
Woodstock Academy trailed 24-19 and on game point, junior setter Marissa Mayhew stepped behind the service line.
She delivered five of her 12 service points in the match to tie the game at 24.
Darien (8-5) did go up 25-24 before the Centaurs tied it and went ahead, 26-25.
Woodstock Academy took the match despite an errant pass on a volley. The ball was headed low toward the net when middle hitter Amelia Large jumped up, swiped at it with a backward motion of her hand and just dropped it over the net.
Mayhew added 17 assists and 17 digs while senior Paula Hernandez had her typical game with 39 digs, 25 kills and 14 service points.
“(Saturday) wasn’t pretty by any means but the fact that we’re hanging in there, competing and winning, when it’s tough, is important. I would be fearful if I was other teams because when it truly 100 percent clicks for us, we’re going to be close to unstoppable,” Bottone said.
Woodstock Academy did have a tough start to the season to rebound from.
But it didn’t hurt when it came to its ECC record.
The Centaurs finished off their Division I battles in the league with a spotless record through six matches after a 3-0 win over Norwich Free Academy Oct. 16.
“It’s awesome. Hopefully, it continues for many years to come. I don’t know that it will. There are solid teams in the Large division and to come out undefeated against quality teams with some quality players and good coaching is not easy. The opposing teams made us work for those wins, it feels great,” Bottone said of another undefeated Division I campaign.
He also likes what he is seeing on the court.
“We’re starting to do a lot of things better than we were early on,” Bottone added. “Our middles are starting to work a lot better, our receive is getting cleaned up some and now we’re working on defense to make it more effective. It was better (Wednesday).”
Bottone had to work in a new libero this season.
He found one in former middle hitter, senior Katie Papp, who has been up-and-down this season but lately, has had much more upside.
“She struggled early on, found her groove and then went back to struggling. We talked about the mindset and how that comes into play with what we do and I think she’s making herself stay relaxed and loose. She’s not worried so much about making a mistake and that has helped her quite a bit. Her passing has been a lot better and her defense is good,” Bottone said.
Papp did have one complaint after the win over NFA.
Her elbows were swollen and painful from hitting the floor.
“I said, ‘Read better, and you won’t have to hit the ground,’” Bottone said with a laugh.
Papp had another solution.
“I need elbow pads,” she said with a smile.
But she agreed with the rest of Bottone’s assessment.
“It’s all mentality. In the beginning of the season, I wasn’t in it mentally and now, I’m more comfortable and am playing much better,” Papp said.
The Centaurs celebrated “Dig Pink night” for breast cancer awareness month which had them pumped for the match with the Wildcats.
“We’re always so excited. We decorated the whole place and we get a ton of people to come. It was a great night,” Papp said.
Both for Dig Pink and on the floor.
The Centaurs won the first set easily, 25-11.
They had to battle a bit more in the second set, three kills by Hernandez at the end, helped to account for the 25-21 win.
Woodstock Academy had to overcome a little adversity.
The service game for the Centaurs was not sharp and they committed eight service errors in the second set alone.
“We struggled at the line a lot and so did they. We gave an error and I was like, ‘Oh man, what are we doing?,’” Bottone said. “We had 18 errors. But every time I said that, (NFA) would return the favor. I don’t think (NFA) played to its potential, part of that was that the balls we put into play, made it difficult for them.”
The Centaurs clinched the win with a 25-19 victory in the final set.
Hernandez finished with 11 kills, 18 digs and 10 service points.
Mayhew had 19 assists to go with seven digs and eight service points.
Woodstock Academy claimed the ECC Division I title for itself with a 3-1 win over Fitch in Groton earlier last week.
Hernandez had 23 kills and 25 digs; Sierra Bedard 5 kills and a block and Aurissa Boardman 9 kills and 11 service points for the Centaurs.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
..
The following charges were listed in the Putnam Police Department logs. The people charged are innocent until proven guilty in court. The Town Crier will publish dispositions of cases at the request of the accused. The dispositions must be accompanied by the proper documentation. The Putnam Police Department confidential Tip Line is 963-0000.
Oct. 2
Joshua Watson, 39, Elm Street, Brooklyn; sixth-degree larceny.
Oct. 9
Derin Labonte, 29, Joy Road, Woodstock; violation of probation.
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On dean’s list
WORCESTER — The following local residents were named to the Worcester Polytechnic Institute dean’s list for the spring 2019 semester: Shealyn Musumeci of Woodstock, Class of 2019 majoring in architectural engineering; Duncan Driscoll of Danielson, Class of 2020 majoring in aerospace engineering; Cory Houghton of N. Grosvenordale, Class of 2020 majoring in chemical engineering; Jake Barefoot of Woodstock Valley., Class of 2020 majoring in electrical and computer engineering; Jake Sullivan of N. Grosvenordale, Class of 2021 majoring in aerospace engineering; Lilly Nardelli of Chepachet, Class of 2021 majoring in mechanical engineering; Evan Hallberg of Chepachet, Class of 2022 majoring in biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering.
Graduates
LEWISTON, Maine — Andrew Veilleux, of Dayville graduated after majoring in history and European studies at Bates College. Veilleux, the child of Mr. and Mrs. Marc J. Veilleux of Dayville and is a 2015 graduate of Escola Graduada De Sao Paulo.
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