Cassidhe Wozniak has developed into one of the most potent offensive players in Franklin County and western Massachusetts and on Thursday she cemented her place in Turners Falls High School history.
The senior sniper scored three first-half goals and surpassed the 100-point mark for her career during the Thunder’s 5-0 victory over Franklin Tech in an independent contest in Turners Falls.
With 18 minutes left in the first half of a scoreless game, Wozniak, who entered the day one point shy of the mark, found herself in traffic in front of the Eagles’ goal when sophomore teammate Amber Taylor fired a shot in on Tech goalie Kylee Baleno who knocked it down, but Wozniak was on the spot to knock it home for a 1-0 lead. The game was stopped to recognize the star and afterward Wozniak, who began playing varsity as an eighth-grader, said that the best part of reaching the mark was all the support she has received.
“Its really good to get it,” she began. “It’s good to be able to work with my team and have them support me and all my coaches and family support me. I’m really proud of how the team played today, too.”
The goal perfectly encapsulated what has made Wozniak the offensive star she is. Growing up playing ice hockey with boys, Wozniak said she developed the no-fear mentality that allows her to be aggressive and go to the dirty spots in front of the net. She joked that nothing in field hockey compares to blocking a slap shot from a 6-foot-2, 250-pound high school boy.
“Hockey has definitely helped,” she said. “Playing with boys and getting hit in hockey helps, and in hockey you have to block shots and those shots are a lot harder than in field hockey. Hockey has definitely helped with hand-eye coordination and my stick-handling skills and my shooting techniques.”
In addition to playing ice hockey — something she hopes to continue doing at the collegiate level next year — Wozniak is also a hard worker according to Turners coach Becky Dame.
“She’s a really hard work and getting 100 points is something she wanted all year,” Dame explained. “She works hard every day at practice. She is always giving 100 percent. She doesn’t take a practice off.”
In addition to working at practice, Wozniak has also been working hard away from practice. Taylor has a field hockey goal at her home and Wozniak said the two have spent a lot of time practicing there.
“We go there and mess around for hours,” Wozniak said.
The two have developed quite a chemistry this season. Wozniak now has 15 goals and five assists on the year, while Taylor — with one goal and two assists on Thursday — is second on the team in scoring with six goals and eight assists on the season.
“Our dynamic is so good,” Wozniak said.
Dame said that while Wozniak has scored a lot of goals in her career — 85 to be exact — and does garner a lot of attention, she is extremely well-liked by her teammates, who took part in the celebration on Thursday.
“All of the girls on the team are excited for her, which shows just how much they like her,” Dame said. “She’s a team player and a great person.”
Wozniak wound up scoring all three first half goals to give her team a commanding halftime lead. She scored her second of the game with 11 minutes, 53 seconds to play on an assist from Olivia Whittier, and then notched her hat trick with 11:25 to play on another assist from Taylor. Taylor and Aly Murphy each scored in the second half.
Haleigh Greene earned the shutout with one save for Turners (6-2-0), while Baleno made 17 saves in the loss.
Mohawk 7, Athol 0 — Three players scored multiple goals, and Mohawk took care of business at home in a 7-0 victory over Athol in an independent field hockey game Thursday in Buckland.
The Warriors (3-5) led 3-0 at halftime, and held a 28-0 advantage in shots while holding a 15-0 edge in corners.
Mohawk’s Mya Lesieur, Caitlin Johnston and Tess Rancourt all tallied twice, and Alexis Williams also notched a goal. Johnston and Taylor Williams had assists.
Athol (1-7) was paced by goalkeeper Ryley Pond, who recorded 21 saves in net.
Southwick 6, Pioneer 0 — Alyssa Pompei scored a pair of goals, and host Southwick blanked Pioneer, 6-0, in an independent game Thursday in Southwick.
The Rams led 4-0 at halftime and put two more in the net after the break. Alex Grimaldi, Emily Martin, Gabby Houle and Devan Fox scored goals in the victory.
Southwick held a 14-5 advantage in shots and had a 14-4 edge in corners.
Pioneer (2-3) was powered by Athena Fowler-Shaw’s eight saves in net.
Turners 5, FC Tech 0
|
Turners |
3 |
2 |
— |
5 |
|
FC Tech |
0 |
0 |
— |
0 |
Goals: (TF) Wozniak 3, Taylor, Murphy.
Assists: (TF) Taylor 2, Whittier.
Shots: Turners 22. FC Tech 1.
Saves: (TF) Greene 1. (FT) Baleno 17.
Corners: Turners 19. FC Tech 3.
Mohawk 7, Athol 0
|
Athol |
0 |
0 |
— |
0 |
|
Mohawk |
3 |
4 |
— |
7 |
Goals: (M) Lesieur 2, Johnston 2, Rancourt 2, A. Williams.
Assists: (M) Johnston, T. Williams.
Shots: Athol 0. Mohawk 28.
Saves: (A) Pond 21. (M) Kendall 0.
Corners: Athol 0. Mohawk 15.
Southwick 6, Pioneer 0
|
Pioneer |
0 |
0 |
— |
0 |
|
Southwick |
4 |
2 |
— |
6 |
Goals: (S) Grimaldi, Pompi 2, Martin, Houle, Fox.
Assists: (S) Wilson, Martin.
Shots: Pioneer 5. Southwick 14.
Saves: (P) Fowler-Shaw 8. (S) Stratton 5.
Corners: Pioneer 4. Southwick 14.