BEACON FALLS — Two years ago, former Woodland player Cait Witham returned home to take over the reins of the girls soccer program. She had some big shoes to fill following Loren Luddy, who guided the Hawks to the school’s first NVL title in 2004, and Joe Fortier, who took Woodland to the NVL title game in 2012.
Witham, an All-State goalie for the 2004 NVL champion Hawks and collegiate player at St. Joseph University in West Hartford, certainly has lived up to the expectations. She guided the Hawks (16-5) to the NVL championship game last season.
Witham has found those big shoes to be a perfect fit over the past two seasons guiding the Hawks to a 30-11-1 ledger, and raising the bar even higher this season. Assistant coach Jess Moffo, who is the head coach of the girls basketball team, lends her fiery disposition as Woodland is looking to be one of the teams in the hunt for another trip to the NVL finals.
The Hawks will lean on their defense as they look to return to the NVL title game.
“Defense is definitely our strength,” Witham said. “Last year we played a flat three and return two seniors on defense, Shea Geary and Sonia Sousa. We did lose Rosalina Santos to graduation, but having our starting goalie back is huge for our defense this season.”
Junior Jenna Pannone certainly made her presence felt in goal last season. She allowed just 11 goals and recorded eight shutouts in 16 regular season games. She added two more shutouts in the NVL tournament.
“Jenna doesn’t really need me to tell her what to do out there,” Witham said. “She plays in the offseason and is extremely talented. She has such a solid foundation and we are fortunate to have a player like that in goal for us.”
Woodland is led by senior captains Alexa Casimiro and Geary along with Pannone. Casimiro played in Germany last February as part of a premier team and will certainly be one of the keys to success for Woodland.
“Alexa has been a leader ever since her freshman season,” Witham said. “Her experience in Germany shows why she was named our MVP last season.”
Casimiro and Jess Rodrigues earned All-NVL honors last year and Rodrigues has been the team’s leading goal scorer the past two seasons. The Hawks will rely on a talented senior class that includes Val Vinca, Sousa, Geary, Casimiro and Rodrigues.
Woodland also has a few key integral parts with juniors Sam Plasky and Gillian Hotchkiss manning the midfield along with Hailey Boris and sophomore Haley Andrews.
Rodrigues and Plasky led the team with three goals each in the NVL tournament as the Hawks defeated Ansonia, 7-0, and Oxford, 3-0, before falling in the title game, 4-0, to five-time champion Watertown.
“A lot of our offense will be generated around our midfielders working the ball up in transition,” Witham said. “Alexa will be our center-mid with Sam, Hailey and Gillian forming a strong unit.”
Woodland will certainly be tested right out of the chute. They are scheduled to open the season on Sept. 12 at home against Naugatuck at 1 p.m. On Sept. 15, Woodland will host Holy Cross at 3:30 p.m., and then will travel to Watertown on Sept. 18 for a 3:45 p.m. contest with the NVL defending champions.
“It won’t be easy as we start the season with three tough opponents. We do have a scrimmage with Pomperaug, so that will give the team an indication of what they are up against.”
