The postgame handshake line is a symbol of sportsmanship. All too often though, it’s just players going through the motions. Good game, good game, good game, good game, good game, alllllll the way down the line.
The postgame handshake line after the Putnam Science Academy girls’ soccer team defeated Hoosac 13-0 Sept. 18, sounded a little different than normal however. See, when some of the Hoosac players crossed paths with Karol Souza in that line, the traditional and mundane became anything but.
Good game, good game, unbelievable game, good game, good game.
Good game, good game, wow what a game, good game, good game.
It was pretty clear to all who witnessed the game, and it was abundantly clear to Hoosac, that Souza was the dominant player on the field and had earned the special postgame props.
The PSA senior scored three goals and dazzled with her speed, her footwork, and her cannon-like shots on goal with either foot. Opponents and teammates alike rave about the native of Curitiba, Brazil.
“She takes your breath away,” said PSA coach Jen Bennet.
“It’s hard to explain her ability,” teammate Tais Mota said. “It’s too much. She’s so good. She plays at more than a college level. She’s at more than Division I level, if possible. If they had another special level, she would be there.”
Souza developed her skills and love of the game from her father, Celsio, with whom she was on the phone just minutes after the game.
“Soccer reminds me of my family back home,” Souza said. “That’s what my dad taught me. I play for the love of my dad.”
Celsio certainly would have loved what he saw Wednesday. His daughter scored the first goal of the game early after intercepting a short goal kick, carrying the ball back on goal, and firing a rocket off her right foot from about 20 yards out. She then added a second goal just a few minutes later, and a third before the first half was done.
She used her speed to distance herself from defenders, who also had a nearly impossible time stopping her when she used stop-and-start dribbling moves or anything-but-typical jukes.
“What can I say about her?” Bennet said. “She is someone who can take it from one 18 to the other 18, she’ll go right around girls, she’ll break girls’ ankles. She is just leaving them in her dust. She is phenomenal.
“Her ball skills, her speed, her ability to see the field, her ability to put the ball in the net … I’ve never seen something like this at this level. It’s beautiful.”
Souza, who has seven goals through the team’s first two games, said she is excited to have the opportunity to play in the U.S. and hopes that she will impress enough to earn a scholarship and play in college.
“It’s incredible, she said. “I love to play soccer and do what I know. That’s why I’m so focused on doing my best every single day. I was nervous to come. It’s another country, another culture, no family. That’s why I’m always on my phone to talk to home.
“But soccer here has given me another family. It is another family to me.”
By Steve Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy

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New hours
WOODSTOCK — The Bracken Memorial Library’s hours have been adjusted to be open to the public on weekdays after-school from 3 to 6 p.m. Modified weekend hours will be determined in the future.

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caption:

Sending Up
Woodstock Academy’s Eliza Dutson sends the ball upfield in a 2-1 win over Fitch Sept. 20. Photo by Jeremy Useted/The Woodstock Academy.



Record now stands at 2-2
It took a little while for the Woodstock Academy field hockey team to get going Sept. 20.
Probably because the game with Fitch started over a half-hour late due to a late arrival by the opposition.
“We were a little sluggish, but we played controlled, and made some great passes. We had some personnel in different areas to deal with injuries. We had less of a dynamic look because our engine was in the backfield,” said Woodstock Academy coach Lauren Gagnon.
But the Centaurs had enough up front to post a 2-1 win over the Falcons.
The Centaurs finished up the week Sept. 21 against Enfield and suffered a 3-1 loss.
The win over Fitch evened out the ECC record for the Centaurs at 1-1. The team is 2-2 overall.
The Falcons (1-4, 0-3 ECC) had a little better of the play early.
Bridget and Maggie O’Leary each had a couple of shots on goalie Rachael Roberts, but the senior, who finished with five saves turned them aside. Kaily Lachappelle replaced Roberts midway through the second half and made two saves of her own.
Woodstock Academy got on the board with 10 minutes, 49 seconds left in the first half when Emma Durand took a pass from Rachel Canedy and pushed it into the cage.
The Centaurs scored nine goals in their season opener a week before against E. Catholic. They have been harder to come by since.
The Centaurs seemed destined to get another in the second half as they peppered the Fitch cage early.
Canedy finally rattled it when she brought the ball in and scored unassisted with 17:10 to play.
The defense helped keep the Falcons off the board until late.
There was a brief sense of trouble late.
Jessica Russo took a pass from Bridget O’Leary and snuck it past Lachappelle with 29 seconds left in the game.
Fortunately for the Centaurs, it was too little, too late for the Falcons.
Durand said the win was especially important since it came on the heels of the loss to East Lyme.
“It’s important that we keep getting conference wins because we want to go far this year,” Durand said. “We have really great team chemistry. We’re communicating great on and off the field. We all love each other and that really helps.”
Enfield got the best of Woodstock Academy Sept. 21.
Sophia Rakovan scored the only goal off an assist from Canedy but it wasn’t enough as the host team put three goals up on the board.
Enfield had a little additional motivation coming into the game. The school honored Cookie Bromage prior to the game.
She has coached the team for 52 years and Enfield named the field after the veteran coach Sept. 21.
“I played against her as a student. She is a field hockey legend and a class act,” Gagnon said.
The Centaurs celebrated by baking 36 dozen cookies for the veteran coach.
It was a defensive struggle between the Centaurs and E. Lyme Vikings Sept. 17. E. Lyme came away with the 1-0 victory.
The Vikings finally broke through with a goal midway through the second half and it stood up.
The only goal came with 15:06 to play when Sarah Healy scored off an assist from Kristen Healy to give the Vikings (4-0, 3-0 ECC) the win.
Roberts made six saves in goal for the Centaurs.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

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