There are some coaches who have the belief that a loss in the regular season is not all that bad a thing.
It can bring a team back to reality and give it more of a sense of purpose knowing that everything it had worked for all season could easily be taken away in just 80 minutes.
Woodstock Academy girls’ soccer coach Dennis Snelling is not a disciple of that philosophy, but it’s how he had to approach it after a 1-0 loss to Norwich Free Academy Oct. 24.
The loss cost the Centaurs an undefeated season. They finished 14-1-2.
It also cost them the top seed in the ECC tournament.
That honor went to Plainfield and so it was the second-seeded Centaurs who took to the pitch Oct. 26 in a Division 1 quarterfinal match with No. 7 East Lyme.
The Centaurs again found themselves behind, but this time, they were able to rally and beat the Vikings, 3-1.
The win vaulted the defending ECC Division 1 champs into the semifinals where they again played NFA Oct. 30 (the match ended too late for this edition) . The championship will be played Nov. 1 in E. Lyme.
“It looked like the NFA game the way we started out. We weren’t playing well enough to win so I was concerned,” Snelling said.
That was a concern following a 4-1 win over Killingly Oct. 22y when Snelling was concerned he had lost leading scorer Ivy Gelhaus (18 goals) for the remainder of the season to a knee injury.
Gelhaus, fortunately, only suffered a bruise and was back on the field against East Lyme.
The concern over the lack of offense grew even more when Emma Belleville put the Vikings (4-12-1) up 1-0 when she took a cross and headed the ball past keeper Irene Askitis with six minutes left in the first half.
Give a big underdog a halftime lead and it gives the underdog confidence.
The Centaurs were able to take that away and had the momentum before halftime when sophomore Peyton Saracina got a nice volley off a corner kick from Kayla Gaudreau for her fifth goal of the season with 54 seconds left in the half.
Still, the Vikings came out and played hard, making it difficult to discern between the No.2 and No. 7 seed until just under eight minutes were left.
Saracina took a cross from Gelhaus and headed it home to give the Centaurs the advantage.
Freshman Adeline Smith scored her third goal of the season off a team-leading seventh assist from Gaudreau with 2:47 left to give the Centaurs a little breathing room.
Snelling said the Vikings concentrated much of their attention on Gelhaus, double covering the senior, which opened the door for the younger Centaurs to get some opportunities.
They could have used that scoring against the Wildcats. NFA sophomore Kayla Park scored a goal in the first half on a breakaway. Snelling decided he had to go for broke.
The Centaurs outshot the Wildcats, 15-4, despite playing on a rather difficult surface. Fontaine Field in Norwich, like many grass fields in the area, has been reduced to more mud than grass because of the wet conditions.
The loss to NFA last week may also have turned out to be a benefit.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy
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Legal Notice
Town of Putnam
REQUEST FOR
PROPOSALS
GEOTECHNICAL
ENGINEERING
SERVICES
MUNICIPAL
COMPLEX
PROJECT
The Town of Putnam is seeking Requests for Proposals from qualified firms to provide test borings and geotechnical engineering services for the site of the planned Municipal Complex. Proposal documents are available at the Mayor’s Office, 126 Church Street, Putnam, CT 06026, at www.putnamct.us or by emailing
Proposals must be received in the Mayor’s Office, 126 Church Street, Putnam, CT 06260 by 3:00 PM on November 15, 2018. The Town of Putnam reserves the right to accept or reject any and all proposals, or any part thereof, if it is in the best interest of the Town.
Nov. 1, 2018
The preseason for the Woodstock Academy prep basketball teams came to a conclusion with the PJN Classic tournament over the past two weekends.
From now on, everything counts.
“The kids are excited, they’re ready to go,” said Centaurs prep coach Tony Bergeron. “We’ve had a long preseason. They want to put the uniforms on and compete.”
The Centaurs Gold and Blue prep programs both open this weekend with the Woodstock Academy Invitational featuring a pair of games for both squads..
The Gold squad takes on the Olympus Prep Academy Red team at 7:45 p.m. Nov. 3 at the Alumni Fieldhouse and the Olympus Prep Academy Grey squad at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 4.
“Olympus is comprised of New York/New Jersey area kids, very tough, very well-coached. It’s an extremely organized Academy and has two teams, much like we do. Those games will be interesting,” Bergeron said.
Olympus Prep Academy, out of Williamstown, N.J., splits its two teams in half with equivalent talent on both rosters.
The Blue team will be playing Thetford Academy out of Quebec, Canada.
“Thetford is a little different (than Olympus). It has a Gold and a Black team and their Gold team is absolutely loaded. They have Quincy Guerrier who is headed to college, probably at mid-semester – the rumors are Syracuse University. He’s a 6-foot, 7-inch wing who scored 41 points against our Gold team last year so he’s terrific. The Black team is very talented, but younger, so we’re excited about the Invitational for sure,” Bergeron said.
The Centaurs Blue squad will play the Thetford Black team at 4:15 p.m. Nov. 3 and the Thetford Gold squad at 1 p.m. Nov. 4.
Bergeron said he has learned a lot about the Woodstock Academy program over the past couple of weeks.
The Blue team played six scrimmages and the Gold squad had five.
“They grasped the system and played completely unselfishly. I think both teams are doing that well right now which is terrific. The traction we have with college coaches is unbelievable and how many have shown up on campus is probably the highlight of the preseason,” Bergeron said.
Two more Woodstock Academy players announced their verbal commitments to Division I schools recently.
Preston Santos, a native of Providence, will be headed to the University of Massachusetts while Darion Jordan-Thomas, from Brockton, Mass., has given Staten Island’s Wagner College a verbal agreement.
That brings to number of committed players to five.
Earlier, forward Tre Williams committed to Indiana State; point guard Noah Fernandes decided he was going to be a member of the Wichita State Shockers and swing player Mikal Gjerde will play for San Diego State.
Bergeron said, even with those commitments, this season will still be a learning experience for most in his program at Woodstock Academy.
“I think we just have to learn more about the level that we’re getting ready to play. I don’t know if they’re fully comprehending what is coming our way and it comes soon, but they will find out. Get some wins and learn how to win and take a loss here and there and learn from that. There is some growing to do. We’re a young team,” Bergeron said.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy
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PUTNAM — Putnam Science Academy alum Hamidou Diallo made his NBA debut on Opening Night against the defending Champion Golden State Warriors. The Warriors received their 2018 NBA Championship rings on Oct. 16 when they opened at home to start the season. It wasn’t just a big night for the Warriors as Putnam Science Academy alum Hamidou Diallo would make his Thunder debut in an eventual loss to Golden State 108-100. Diallo played nine minutes for Oklahoma City off the bench and would finish with four points on 2 for 4 shooting. Hami, who is PSA’s all-time leading scorer with 1,415 points in his PSA career, also compiled a steal, assist and rebound in his debut. Diallo was drafted by the Brooklyn Nets in the second round of the NBA draft before he was traded to the Thunder. Head Coach Tom Espinosa of Putnam Science Academy was thrilled to see one of his former Mustangs playing on the biggest stage. “Hami is a special player and we knew that here at PSA. To be able to watch him on national television and be able to see him grow as a person and a player is truly remarkable.”
Josh Sanchas
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy