WOODSTOCK — Led by senior Amelia Hurd, the Woodstock High girls soccer team unleashed an offensive barrage on Rivendell Academy on Friday, claiming an 11-1 win in the teams’ season opener.
Hurd notched a hat trick and added an assist during what at times felt like an offensive clinic marked by surgical passing from the Wasps.
“This is a great way for me to get back into it, and I feel like myself again,” said Hurd, who missed half of last season with an injury.
Junior Hannah Lantiegne was also strong offensively with two goals and two assists, while senior Ava Rich and freshman Eliza Kranz notched a goal each for the Wasps (1-0-0). Senior Julia Barry had a goal and four assists. Junior Alaythia Lockhart and sophomore Emmy Barry each had a goal and two assists for Woodstock.
Senior Khloi Bruso also helped get her squad on the board, firing a shot that deflected off a Raptor defender into the net.
“Our passing was great today. I think we (had) a lot of communication, and I’m really excited to see what happens this season — I hope we get far in playoffs this year, and I hope we win some games,” Hurd said.
Friday marked a new era for Woodstock, as it was not only the Wasps’ first win of the season but also its first with Stacey Forest as the program’s head coach.
Forest, who grew up in Madison, Conn., previously coached Barnard Middle School boys soccer before joining the Wasps two years ago as an assistant. She has since filled the shoes of the now-retired Greg LaBella, who coached the Woodstock girls for more than 20 years.
“I was nervous all day — a good nervous. My dad always said, ‘If you feel like throwing up, you’re probably in the right place,’ ” she said.
The new Woodstock head coach, who has raised her kids in town, added: “My goal was to always be on this field with these girls.”
Under her new coach, Hurd indicated the Wasps have a strong bond and is even focusing on things outside of their play on the pitch to stay at their best.
“We’re looking at like our feelings, what we need to be eating, sleep schedules, like everything that we need to work on individually at home,” she said.
After some back-and-forth play, where both squads picked up some golden chances early in the first half, it was Woodstock that would break the scoring seal.
With just over 33 minutes remaining in the half, Lantiegne finished a nice cross from Lockhart as the Wasps went up 1-0.
The VPA Division IV Raptors entered the game already behind the eight ball, as they were playing an opponent in Woodstock that plays in D-III. Adding to the difficulty, Rivendell played with no substitutes due to injuries.
However, Rivendell showed some fight, with Lily Murray racking up multiple scoring chances, but was unable to find the back of the net.
Eventually, the Wasps extended their lead with a bomb of a shot outside the box from Lockhart with about 13 minutes left in the half. To make matters tougher for Rivendell, Lady Luck did not seem to be in its corner as, about a minute later, the Raptors conceded a goal from a Bruso shot that deflected off a defender.
The Wasps added two more goals before the first half’s whistle from Lantiegne and Julia Barry, respectively, to go up 5-0.
The Raptors showed more life to begin the second half, with Murray getting her squad on the board. That was short-lived, though, as the Wasps responded by scoring six unanswered goals, including Hurd’s hat trick, to lock down the 11-1 win.
“It’s a huge win — these girls have worked so hard these past two weeks in preseason. We lost nine seniors last year, and we picked up eight new players, some of which have never been on varsity before, and it doesn’t show,” Forest said.
“If they keep playing like this, we could be unstoppable.”
Woodstock is back in action on Monday at Otter Valley on Monday evening. The Raptors have a Monday afternoon trip to Leland & Gray.
