Sports Highlights 09.24.2011

After a somewhat disappointing 4-4 tie with Deerfield, the Martlets rebounded with a satisfying 2-1 win over Wilbraham & Monson. Making a number of impressive stops, goalie Sydney Daniels’13 was the star of the day, tallying 13 saves for the game. Yet, grit was on display from every member of the Westminster squad. Led by Captain Alana Carpenter ’12, the Third Form defense of Eliza Christman, Margot Frank and Sally Sandoval played magnificently, frustrating a powerful Wilbraham attack. In the last 10 minutes, the visitors pushed a fullback into the attack, but Ellie Deveaux ’14 shut down that threat. Laura Moore ’14 and Iris Dayton ’13 once again held tough in the middle. The Black and Gold scoring came from Third Form striker Megan Richard who twice took on two Wilbraham defenders and found enough space, finding the upper corners of the net with two rockets.

Putting a difficult loss to Deerfield earlier in the week behind them, Westminster secured their first win, 3-1, over Wilbraham & Monson. The visitors scored first, but the Martlets responded with strong offensive pressure and aggressive defending. After an impressive play by Haley Schopp ’13 to get the ball out of the Martlet defensive end, Annie Lacey ’15 tied the game with a beautiful shot from at least 20 yards from the goal. Going into the second half tied at 1-1, Westminster was determined to take control of the game and outshot Wilbraham & Monson 13-1. Christy Lightbourn ’13 scored the tie-breaker, when she sent a strong shot into the congested 18-yard box and a W&M player deflected the ball into the goal. Minutes later, Alyssa DiMaria ’15 gave a great pass to Michela Gozzi ’13 who one-touched the ball with her left foot and sent a sparkling goal over the tips of the Wilbraham goalie's fingers, securing the victory.

In their only game of the week, the Black and Gold found themselves off to a slow start and quickly down to visiting Sacred Heart. Struggling to find energy and consistency, Westminster managed to tie the game at 1-1 when Brooke Wolejko ’14 received a feed from Emily Moran ’12. Westminster started the second half with two quick goals from Eleni Tebano ’13 to take the lead. Moran finished off the scoring for the Martlets off of a feed from Wolejko, but SH was able to get one more goal in the waning minutes of the game. Marissa Mason ’12 made five saves in goal for the Martlets coupled by strong defensive efforts coming from Alli Devins ’13 and Hadley DesMeules ’12. Rachel Kennedy ’12 played well in the midfield for the Martlets.

The Martlets won their second game of the season after a sluggish start at Northfield Mount Hermon. The home team took the lead late in the first half, stunning the Martlets into action. In response, just seven minutes into the second half, Maggie Garrison ’13 executed a beautiful tip in off the left post off of a hard drive by teammate Dominica Park ’14. Then, Alaina Bisson ’15 took a solid shot on goal, which was deflected off of the goalkeeper's pads onto Rachel Monroe's ’14 waiting stick on the right post. Monroe calmly slipped it past the goalie to put the Martlets up 2-1. In an exciting game finisher, Monroe again found the ball off of the right post, but this time passed to Bisson on the left post, who placed it in the goal with just one second to go in the game. It was a strong and exciting finish to the game and the 3-1win.

Racing in the talented and tough Division I of the Canterbury Invitational, the Martlets produced impressive and fast results, finishing in 10th place. Emmet Shipway ’12 led the Martlet field with a 17:44 run (21st overall), over a minute faster than last year and only 11 seconds off his lifetime 5K PR in the second race of the season. Marquez Cummings ’12 was almost a minute faster this year, too, with an 18:42 run, while Jake Cahill ran a lifetime PR by 39 seconds with a time of 19:03! The next four runners finished within 10 seconds of each other (19:51 to 20:01), a sub-6:30 pace. The squad is quickly approaching the team goal of having the varsity seven all below 20 minutes.