Woodstock
The No. 2 Wasps (14-2) will host the winner of today’s quarterfinal clash between No. 3 BFA-St. Albans (10-4) and No. 6 Burlington (11-4). Woodstock, which last won a state title in 1999, most recently reached the finals in 2003 and was a semifinal participant in 2006, ’07, ’11 and ’14.
The hosts had a 6-2 halftime lead before Burr & Burton scored three times in fewer than three minutes and provided each of the third quarter’s four tallies. Tied, 6-6, Woodstock staged its own rally, scoring the next five goals and running the Bulldogs, who had only seven substitutes, into the ground.
The third quarter “was a punch in the mouth, but we countered it,” said midfielder Griffin VanNiel, one of only four Woodstock seniors. “We started taking our time on offense and looked for the best pass, kept their defense rotating and got some open goals.”
Caden White, a Woodstock junior who had a goal and an assist, started the fourth-quarter explosion two minutes into the stanza when he dodged out from behind the net, scoring as he was knocked heavily to the dusty ground. Classmate Jed Astbury connected 15 seconds later with a long sidearm bounce shot, and the hosts never looked back.
Cameron Hedberg, the Bulldogs’ lone senior and a diminutive but outstanding attackman, scored three times for the visitors. Burr & Burton (10-8), which won the 2014 and ’15 Division II titles and is 38-14 in playoff competition, competed under its third coach in as many seasons and looked a shell of its once-powerful self.
Woodstock, conversely, appears on the rise. Senior attackman Cullen McCarthy had two goals and two assists. One of his tallies came on an acrobatic swim move that got him from the side of the net to its front, where he beat Bulldog goaltender Trevor Finaldi, who made eight saves. His Wasp counterpart, Gabe Marsicovetere, stopped 13 shots.
Junior Micah Schlabach, also an emerging talent in football, had a goal, and Piconi, one of several ice hockey standouts on the lacrosse squad, had three goals and two assists. Jed Astbury had two tallies and his brother, Ora, had two assists and showed a nice clearing touch with runs from his defensive position. Freshman midfielder Field Willis, who appears as if he might fit under a teacup, had a goal and showed grit while absorbing several punishing checks.
“Their heart is everything,” said 10th-year coach Brandon Little, whose eyes watered with emotion while addressing his team before the game and reporters after it. “That’s the tone our leaders have set all year. We’re going to be in shape and love each other and do it for each other.”
Because of what Little admits was somewhat of a weak schedule this spring, there’s doubt in some corners that the Wasps can do much more. All possible foes the rest of the way are from the state’s northern reaches, including top-seeded Champlain Valley (14-1), the five-time defending Division I champion. Little said trying to book many of those schools, which increasingly choose to play out-of-state teams, is difficult, but he believes Woodstock belongs in its current company.
The semifinals will be “a bigger emotional hurdle, but we have more confidence than ever now,” the coach said. VanNiel concurred.
“Hearing that talk, we take it personal, and when we play those teams from up north, we’ll show them what Woodstock lacrosse is all about,” he said. “We’re going to shock a lot of people.”
Notes: Former Woodstock standout and recent Rensselaer (N.Y.) Polytechnic Institute graduate Oliver Kaija attended the game and said he’s accepted a civil engineering job in Raleigh, N.C. … Little, a Woodstock High graduate with young children, said he is unsure as to whether he’ll be back at the Wasps’ helm next season, … Woodstock, which has the smallest enrollment among Division I lacrosse programs and has never competed in Division II, is 34-21 in postseason play since debuting in D-I during the 1993 season. The Wasps are 4-4 in title games and 8-6 in semifinal appearances. … The teams’ coaches agreed with the three referees to extend halftime from 10 to 15 minutes and to stage water-break timeouts midway through the third and fourth quarters. Temperatures reached the mid-80s. … Hedberg is from South Africa and also played basketball and football for the Bulldogs. He helped the latter team go 37-4 during the past four seasons.
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com or 603-727-3227.