Sports Highlights—10.15.2011

Westminster earned their second win in as many weeks with a 20-7 triumph over Wilbraham & Monson Academy. The Martlets struck first and took a 6-0 lead on the first of two four-yard runs by co-captain Andy Dines '12. Kadeam Ward '12 set up the score by returning an interception to the WMA five yard-line. The Titans answered and took a 7-6 lead, but Dines scored again to put the Martlets ahead. The Martlet defense held WMA scoreless in the second half, and a long run by Dines set up a four-yard run for Ward who also added the two-point conversion. The Martlets were led by Franco Serrao's '12 three sacks, Ward's eight tackles and interception, Tim Lyons' '12 96 yards receiving, and Dines' 71 yards rushing. Miller Steinle '12 totaled 135 yards passing, and Kash Naraine '12 opened up many running lanes and shut down the Titan running attack from his defensive tackle position. It was a hard-fought and satisfying win for the Black and Gold.

The Martlets grabbed their first win against Kingswood Oxford, 14-6. Sam Dardani '14 scored twice for the Martlets on a catch from Mike McNally '14 in the red-zone and a punt return. Cade von Gal '14 and Tristan Rai '14 had a few receptions and Tyler Buckley '15 had a few interceptions on the defensive side of the ball. The Martlet defense proved to be tough once again only allowing six points and creating multiple turnovers. Assem Abdelhameed '15, Arismer Angeles '14, Charlie Russell '14, Austin Pope '14, Ben Kleinschmidt '14, Andrew Weinschreider '15, and Dung Ho Park '13 all played an important role and combined for many tackles on the day.

Westminster traveled to Kent and came home with two w’s over the home team and Salisbury. Emmett Shipway '12 left all of the competition in the dust and was first across the finish line. Co-captain Marquez Cummings '12 came back from injury ready to contribute, and he ran a splendid race to finish in the #3 position overall. Travis Percy '14 Jake Medina '12 and Conor Mullen '12 worked together to run down stray Lions and push each other over the last distance to finish within ten seconds of each other to seal the meet for the Black and Gold. Rounding out the top seven for the Martlets were Will Sprenker '13 and Aaron Rubin '15.

The deep and fast Martlets did a nice job of running ahead of their competition to defeat Kent and Salisbury. Leading the pack for the Black and Gold were Zac Hamilton '14 and Tommy Griffith '14. Close behind were Ronald Yeung '13, Stephan Reyes '14 and Gary Yang '13; all three of these runners pushed each other through this challenging course and past their competition. Finishing out the top seven were George Knight '14 and Bryson Tomcik '15, making this an underformer-only scoring group and portending great things for coming seasons.

After tying Deerfield earlier in the week, the Black and Gold held on for a 2-1 win over Salisbury to extend their unbeaten streak to 5 games. Early in the game, Ryan Cholnoky '12 scored on a cross from Gordon Santry '12. The rest of half was mostly played in the midfield and was scoreless. After halftime, Drew Simeon '15 made it 2-0 for the Martlets. The Seconds defense, led by keeper John Pappas '14 and back Nate Falcone '14, had to hold for the rest of the game and while they let one goal in, they otherwise held on for the win. Pappas was forced to make over 10 saves in the final 20 minutes of the game.

Westminster notched another two wins this week with victories over Avon and Salisbury. The Martlets continue to improve and put together impressive games of soccer. John Vantine '13 maintained his role as lead scorer adding three to his total over the two games. Ryan Seymour '14 scored his first goal of the season and Ryan Mowery '13 also added to the Martlet scoring. The Martlet defense held strong led by Miguel Castello '13 and Evan Yenor '13 in the midfield, and Clay Cadieux '13 anchored a very solid defensive unit. David Lee '14 played well in goal.

After a number of tough games, the Martlets were able to come out on top of Williston 2-0. Both Westminster goals came off of feeds from Haley Schopp ’13 to Meggie Gresham '14. The Black and Gold defense was particularly effective at silencing the Wildcat attack thanks to the intensity of Annie Mayer '15, Co-Captain Natalie Biedron '12, Olivia Bey '15, and Schopp. This was a well-played game that highlighted the potential of every player and the team as a whole.