Valley News – Stuck on you, neighbor: Woodstock field hockey set to meet Hartford in state final

MANCHESTER, Vt. — The Woodstock High field hockey team played so well in the first half on Tuesday that Wasps coach Leanne Tapley told her team she had nothing to change.

The top seed in the VPA Division II playoffs scored twice in the first quarter and led by three at halftime, cruising from there to a 4-1 win over No. 4 seed Spaulding in the semifinals at Burr & Burton Academy. Woodstock advanced to the championship game Saturday at the University of Vermont against rival Hartford.

“We came out flying,” Tapley said. “Incredible ball movement. The passing back and forth between the forwards was great.”

Woodstock (14-1-0) took the lead midway through the opening quarter when Crimson Tide goalkeeper Abigail Geno strayed too far from the cage and the Wasps got the ball behind her, with senior forward Lily Gubbins poking it in. Gubbins also had a hand in Woodstock’s second goal in the final minute of the quarter, setting up senior forward Fleur Smeyers to double the Wasps’ lead.

The co-captain leads Woodstock with 20 goals, but just behind her is her younger sister, junior forward Hannah Gubbins. Smeyers started a rush early in the second quarter and got the ball to senior forward Natalie Parent, who found Hannah Gubbins to make it a 3-0 game. It was the 18th goal of the season for the younger Gubbins, who leads the Wasps with 14 assists.

“A lot of other teams, they have one standout player or a couple stars you have to look out for, but everyone on our team is like that,” Lily Gubbins said.

“We have a great goalie, we have a solid defense and all of our forwards are able to do things by themselves, but we can do a lot more together.”

Parent notched her second assist of the afternoon early in the third quarter, finding senior forward Norah Harper following a penalty corner as Woodstock again added to the lead.

Spaulding got on the board later in the third and had chances to further reduce the deficit, with seven corners in the third quarter alone, but the Wasps’ defense stood tall. Senior goalkeeper Audrey Emery made five of her six saves in the second half, and sophomore Kamryn Jillson and junior Georgia Tarleton were also instrumental in ensuring no more of the Crimson Tide’s corners led to goals.

Woodstock was playing on artificial turf for the first time all season. After their home win over Middlebury in the quarterfinals last Friday, the Wasps practiced over the weekend on the turf field at Rutland High to get used to the new surface. Tapley said she has to substitute more frequently on turf because players tire easily chasing the faster-moving ball.

“Our team always works well when we’re playing on grass that’s shorter. Our field is (thick),” Lily Gubbins said. “We have all the skills to play like we just did, but we never really get to utilize the because we’re always worried about the field. We finally got to put them forward.”

The Wasps will be on turf once again Saturday as they face the No. 2 seed Hurricanes, who handed them their only loss of the year, a 2-1 defeat, on Oct. 5. Lily Gubbins assisted Harper for Woodstock’s lone tally in that game.

Saturday’s final will be a rematch of not just the regular season battle, but also of the Division II girls ice hockey championship game last winter, featuring several of the same players for both teams. The Wasps won that one, 5-1.

“(Hartford) is strong in every position, and they like to bring it down the right side and cross it. They’re successful with it,” Tapley said. “We have anticipated all season playing Hartford in the finals.”

Benjamin Rosenberg can be reached at brosenberg@vnews.com or 603-727-3302.