BEACON FALLS — The Woodland girls soccer team had its way with Wilcox Tech in last Thursday’s Class M first round. The Hawks were on the other end against Coginchaug in Monday’s second round.
No. 9 Woodland beat No. 24 Wilcox Tech, 6-0, before losing to No. 8 Coginchaug, 6-1, to end one of the best seasons in program history.
The Hawks experienced a bit of a slow start in their first-round game. Audra Blewitt drilled a header off an Alaina Neddermann corner early in the game for the first score, but Woodland didn’t add another goal until the 40th minute when Riley Shaw dished to Keri DeBiase in the left side of the box for a 2-0 halftime lead.
“I think we just came out flat,” Woodland coach Joe Fortier said. “Sometimes you take teams lightly, and that’s what it was. It’s a little bit of the loss from Naugy [in the Naugatuck Valley League semifinals], having a week off, and just being flat. You can’t turn it on and off like that.”
Woodland blew open the game in the second half with four goals. In the 44th minute, DeBiase dribbled into the box before firing a shot into the left upper 90 for a 3-0 lead.
In the 51st minute, Steph Dumond got on the board by working into the box and pushing a shot inside the left post for a 4-0 advantage.
Two minutes later, DeBiase completed her hat trick as she dribbled across the box to the right before changing direction and striking a shot inside the left post to make it a 5-0 game.
“Keri’s a special player,” Fortier said. “What makes her special is that she makes everyone around her better with her distribution skills and her defense. When she’s on her game, we’re playing well. I can’t say she’s had a great game and we’ve lost.”
DeBiase added an assist in the 58th minute when she connected with Dumond, who was on the left side of the six-yard box and crossed a shot to the right for a 6-0 lead.
The Hawks’ defense didn’t allow Wilcox Tech any opportunities.
“We have a bunch of veterans in the back,” Fortier said. “Kelly [Boucher] and Kelly [Sherman] saved us against Naugatuck. We always build the defense first, and they’re the rocks of the team. When they’re distributing from the back, that’s when we’re at our best.”
Woodland fell to Coginchaug in the second round game on Monday in Durham. Dumond scored the only goal for the Hawks on an assist by DeBiase. Alma Rizvani saved nine shots for Woodland, which finished the season 13-4-3, the second-best record in school history.
