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Sports Highlights 09.19.16
First Boys’ Cross Country
The Westminster harriers traveled to Tabor Academy in Marion, Mass., Sept. 17 to race a strong contingent of Eastern schools in a preview of its New England championship race in November at the same site. The Martlets arrived late and had to rush the warm-up but the boys were eager to get a first time and came out flying. Emmett de Kanter ‘19 was leading the entire field through the first two miles but he had two Tabor runners working together on his heels the whole time. They moved in front of him in the third mile, but Emmett shouldered his way back in and, in a photo-finish foot race, finished second. Those three finished within a second of each other. Next for Westminster was captain Jordan Gabbidon ‘17 and newcomer Elliott Kennard ‘19, both who broke 19 minutes on this fast course. Matt Norris ‘19 ran a solid race to finish No. 4 and Daniel Pinckney ‘20 was the top Third Former in fifth. Justin Schuster ‘19 had a terrific effort and Matt Cosentino ‘18 looked strong. The team finished fifth of eight teams but, considering we have not done any real speed work, the boys can be certain that they will be a lot faster there in eight weeks. Next week, the first team will travel to Canterbury for their annual invitational. Click here for full results.
First Girls’ Cross Country
With nine new runners, the Martlets were excited to get out on the race course on Sept. 17 for the first time this season and see what they could do. The team traveled to Tabor Academy which hosted 10 teams in their invitational. The course was flat and featured a couple of loops, which made for an ideal initial outing for the rookies on the team. The First Team benefited from the leadership of veteran and captain runners Oumou Kanoute ‘17 and Abby Hovey ’18, who worked hard to get the girls excited and give them the confidence in their first race. Kanoute picked up right where she left off last season, finishing ninth overall in 20:59. Liz Casey ‘18 in her first cross country race as a Martlet crossed the line second for the Black and Gold. Casey had a strong finish and has a great future ahead of her. Another newcomer, Third Former Bethany Winters was next and also looked impressive striding down to the finish. Sarah Minella ‘17 and Hovey completed the race one second apart, followed by returning runner Maggie Chaves ‘19. Caroline Percival ‘19, another Martlet new to running, gave it her all, going out fast for the first couple of miles and rounded out the top seven Westminster runners. The Martlets also fielded a seconds team for the junior varsity race. Third Former Dylan Foster led this mostly rookie group. All the girls felt good about their first race and show a great deal of promise. It will be exciting to see how the group develops over the next two months. Click here for full results.
Second Boys’ Cross Country
Second Boys’ Cross Country has a healthy mix of veterans and newcomers, and this trip to the Tabor Invitational was an opportunity to race on a fast course to which it will be returning in eight weeks for the New England Championship. Tim Harris ‘17 and John Kuzminskas ‘18, a veteran and newcomer, epitomized this at the front of the pack; both ran hard. Ultimately, the veteran prevailed, with Harris running just over 20 minutes and earning the seventh spot on the roster for the Canterbury Invitational. Kuzminskas faded a little in the middle but came roaring back at end. He will be competing for a first team spot before long. Andrew Doucette ‘18 also ran like a third-year competitor, running a little slower early but increasing his speed and taking third for the second team, just ahead of John Rao ‘17. Third Former Alex Ellis got the last scoring spot and Connor Seeley ‘18 and Vincent Wang ‘19 rounded out the top seven. For the other runners, the race represents a benchmark time that they will be shooting to top in future races.
First Girls’ Field Hockey
Westminster began smartly Sept. 14 with two goals in the first eight minutes from corners. Northfield Mount Hermon came back strongly to make the score 2-1 by the 13th minute of the game, but Westminster pulled ahead to make the score 3-1 in the 18th minute. NMH scored another goal just before halftime to set up a goalless, hard-fought, second half and a gritty first win of the season for Westminster First Girls’ Field Hockey (3-2). The team hustled well in phases of the game, and, despite some injuries, battled hard in all areas of the field. As the first game of the season, with only four practices under their belt, the team produced a hard-fought performance with some rough edges to be smoothed off in practice this week. Scorers: Lilly Holmes, Rosy Sieglaff and Emma Lange, all class of ‘18.
First Girls’ Field Hockey
At its Sept. 17 game, Westminster started at a superb rate, dominating the first 10 minutes against Ethel Walker School and spending almost all of the game in the opponent’s half. Ethel Walker scored a well-crafted breakaway goal after 10 minutes, but Westminster continued to hold the majority of possession, without being able to put the ball in the goal. Ethel Walker scored again early in the second half before Westminster pulled it back to 2-1, with 10 minutes left on the clock, to make for a nail-biting finish. Westminster missed some chances in the last 10 minutes, and Ethel Walker looked dangerous on a number of occasions. Final score was 2-1, a win for Ethel Walker. Westminster played their best game of the season and learned a huge amount from a well-fought loss. Scorer for Westminster was Lilly Holmes ‘18.
Second Girls’ Field Hockey
Second Girls’ Field Hockey started the season off Sept. 17 well, with a win over Ethel Walker School. The team worked together, communicated well and had fun. For some Martlets, it was their first time back on the field in months and for others it was their first game ever. All new and returning players, stepped up to the competition by approaching the ball, sticking with the play and passing to their teammates. The play bounced between the offensive and defensive end throughout the game. Returning players worked to help new players learn where to stay positioned during the game, while the new players put great effort into every touch they had on the ball. The sense of teamwork was strong in this first game. Eda Chen ‘20 scored in the first half and Eliza Polukhin ‘19 scored in the second with an assist from Sophia Gasser ‘18. Maddie Vanech ‘19 had four saves and played a solid game overall, communicating with the defense as much as she could.
First Girls’ Soccer
First Girls’ Soccer traveled up to Northfield Mount Hermon Sept. 17 for the first game of the season. Although it was a bit of a slow start for the Martlets in the first half, luckily Katherine Eckerson ’17 was able to find the back of the net keeping it a one-goal game at the half. In the second half, the girls started stringing together their passes, and Eckerson found the back of the net again. NMH played tough and fired back quickly putting the Martlets behind once again. Captain McKenna Burelle ’17 pulled the trigger just outside the 18-yard box to tie the game. There were a few opportunities as the game was winding down, and the NMH goalie came up with some big saves. The girls look prepared for their home opener against Deerfield on Wednesday. Final score, 3-3.
Second Girls’ Soccer
Second Girls’ Soccer opened its season on Sept. 17 with a strong team effort, winning 4-2 vs Northfield Mount Hermon. The Martlets got on the board first when Abby Davis ‘20 headed home a Natalie Rubin ’19 cross. Ridgely Green ‘20 doubled the lead a short time later when she took a through ball and blasted it past the keeper. Jenny Guider ‘20 played a strong first half in net, smothering a couple of through balls just in the nick of time. The Hoggers narrowed the lead with a late first half goal, but the Martlets came out flying to open the second half. The Martlets would generate 10 shots, converting on two, while dominating play. Susie Mahoney ‘20 and Maddie Dwyer ‘18 each scored on well-placed shots after getting behind the NMH defense. Allison Kijanka ‘20 was solid in net for the second half, while backliners Lizzy McCoy ‘20, Daniela Mays-Sanchez ‘20 and Dallis Alvarez ‘18 did well to sustain the Martlets’ territorial advantage.
Third Boys’ Soccer
What started as a blowout turned into a nail-biter with Third Boys’ Soccer
narrowly missing a chance to tie the score in the last two minutes of its Sept. 17 game against Loomis Chaffee. The Pelicans began the scoring in the 10th minute. The Pelicans dropped two more goals into the Martlet net and built a 3-0 lead by the 30th minute. The Martlet defense settled down and held the Pelicans scoreless for the rest of the game. Cameron Jury ‘19 was solid in the net in the first half. His punting ability allowed Jacob Monroe ‘20 and Ned Blanchard ‘20 to pressure the Pelican defense. Blanchard and Monroe were omnipresent in the offensive end. The main reason the Pelicans were grounded for the final 50 minutes was the Martlet defense. Peter Hall ‘18 was a stone wall. Hall and his mates kept the Pelicans flightless for the entire second half. Along with Hall, Eddie Lie-A-Cheong ‘19 held the Pelicans in check from the center of the field. After a handball in the second half, Elton Paintsil ‘18 put a penalty shot in the top left corner of the net. Paintsil then played a significant role from his midfield position as he set up Tucker Weiber ‘18 and Darion Benchich ‘20 with several sideline runs. After a particularly strong possession, the Martlets had a corner kick. Weiber placed a beautiful ball in front of the net, and Willie Noble ‘20 got his left foot on the ball. Noble sliced the kick away from the Loomis keeper and closed the lead to 3-2. In the final 20 minutes, Jake Murdock ‘19 refused to let the Pelicans get anything going. Murdock out hustled everyone for some key possessions, finally serving a splendid ball to Weiber for a sideline run. Weiber played a cross in the front of the Pelican net. As several Martlets were trying to get a foot on the ball, the Loomis keeper made a spectacular save to preserve the victory.
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