Sports Highlights 10.13.2012

After a tie early in the week against Hotchkiss, the Martlets were victorious 2-1 over Williston.

Striker Sally Sandoval ’15 scored from 25 yards out with only 40 seconds remaining in the game to carry the Black and Gold over the Wildcats. After dominating early, but not scoring, the Martlets fell behind Williston in the second half. A minute later, Laura Moore ’14 beat the Williston goalie high to tie the game. Both teams exchanged dangerous rushes and corners, but Sandoval finally got the shot she was looking for and brought the victory home for Westminster. Special notice should be given to Katherine Berry ’16 and Katie Deveaux ’16 who stymied the Williston strikers in the second half.
 

Westminster had two wins for the week: one over Hotchkiss and the second against Williston. In the first contest, Emma Merlin ’16 scored twice to give the Martlets the lead. The Black and Gold were able to hold onto a 2-1 victory despite strong pressure from the Bearcats. Much of the credit for the ball control that carried the Black and Gold goes to co-captains Haley Schopp ’13 and Shani Rosenstock ’15, whose poise in the middle of the field set the tone for the day. In their fourth consecutive win, 3-0 over Williston, the Martlets took awhile to establish control of the game. Finally Alyssa DiMaria ’15 headed home a cross from Katherine Eckerson ’16. The Martlets went up 2-0 with an own goal. Merlin got the third and final goal in the second half. Another strong performance was turned in by Rosenstock in midfield, while Chandler Nemetz ’15 made a bunch of nifty plays as well.
 

The Martlets played a great game against Porter’s to earn a 3-0 victory. The girls worked together to get the ball up the field, and made some great connections in the midfield. Nina Wilmerding ’15 started the scoring for the Black and Gold off an assist from Sarah Burstein ’15. Olivia Durham ’15 added another goal, with a great pass from Mackenzie Hawkes ’15. Abby Newman ’16 finished the game with a beautiful shot into the corner of the net. Nina Montross ’16 and Hawkes both had great games in the midfield and were very aggressive. NadrinaEbrahimi ’15 played solid defense throughout the game.
 

In their first night game on Hovey Field, the Martlets were able to put away an always tenacious and competitive Williston squad, 5-1. Westminster scored first, on their second corner. The Martlets converted when Megan Walsh ’14 popped it by the Williston GK. The Wildcats kept fighting and, despite a number of big saves from Kat Pate ’14, were ultimately able to get it by her to tie the game. Williston pressure remained significant in the second half until the Martlets broke through with their second goal from Hayley Ahouse ’13. The Martlet defense of Abby Reed ’14, Alli Devins and Annie French ’13 held and shut down several numbers-down situations. Both the third (Tebano) and fourth (Brooke Wolejko ’14) goals were textbook examples of hustle and tenacity in the circle. Tebano put in the last goal of the game with under nine minutes to play to seal the win.
 

In a beautiful team-oriented passing game, the Martlets earned a solid 3-0 win over Williston. The first half was scoreless, until finally with just five minutes left, Jade Marlowe ’15 took a shot from the top of the circle that went off of a defender’s foot then past the GK for the team’s first goal. Williston continued to fight in the second, but Westminster maintained control with confident passing and scored two more times. Marlowe was aggressive in the Williston circle, gathering a loose ball and passing to Sarah Melanson ’16, who executed a gorgeous reverse sweep into the goal. Three minutes later, Marlowe again assisted on a goal, this time on a broken up corner play, passing the ball to Katie O’Connor ’15 in front of the goal for a solid redirection to the corner.
 

The Martlets had an impressive week notching three victories over Deerfield, Renbrook and Hotchkiss. Impressively, Erin Ozturk ’15 scored five goals in the first game of the week. Amanda Savino ’14 and Alexa Armour ’14 each added to the tally. Captain Hadley Smith ’15, goalkeeper, had some authoritative saves and helped the defense turn back the swarming Deerfield attackers. Ozturk struck again against Renbrook with four goals, and Armour had the fifth goal of the game. In the 2-0 win over Hotchkiss, Ozturk and Armour split the scoring responsibilities. Overall, the girls are playing together well as a team in order to control play and bring home the wins.
 

On a hilly course in Northwest Connecticut, the Martlets were able to outrun both the hosts and Kent. Aaron Rubin ’15 sailed to his first individual win and the fastest Martlet time on this course with a sizzling 18:49 time. Coming in fourth overall and second for the Martlets was co-captain Travis Percy ’14, who ran just over 20 minutes. The next pack of co-captain Will Sprenker ’13, Tommy Griffith ’14, Toby Casper ’14 and Ronald Yeung ’13 sealed the victory for the Black and Gold, with the first six ahead of the Kent and Salisbury second runners.
 

The Black and Gold destroyed their competition on the hilly Salisbury course. Except for one Kent runner who snuck through, the Martlets swept both of their competitor squads by placing the seven Martlet Seconds’ runners ahead of their first runner. Leading this pack was Stephan Reyes ’14. Luke Tressy ’16 was right behind Reyes and was followed by Tim Harris ’16, who ran a fantastic race to move up several spots on the ladder. Dan Parsons ’13 and Ben Shaver’16 rounded out the Second team scorers, with Nick Rohn ’15 and surging Carlo Comia ’14 acting as displacers.

On a challenging course at Salisbury, the Westminster girls yet again proved their grit and grace as they beat Kent to continue their winning streak (3-0). Leading the pack for the Martlets and coming in first was Paige Capistran ’16, with a fast time of 22:52, despite the tough course. Close behind Capistran was Sydney Rivers ’13, coming in second place at 23:34. Mary Anderson ’14 came next, holding onto the number four spot for most of the race. Next were Molly Mullen ’13 and Dana Niland ’13, who showed their determination as they worked to pass several Kent runners after the one mile mark to win the meet for the Martlets. Rounding out the top seven were great performances by Jolene Patrina ’15 and Mae Mullen ’14.
 

Declan Horrigan ’16 scored the only goal of the day on a nifty header up and over the on-rushing Salisbury keeper, and Man-of-the-Match Philippe Morin ’15 posted a solid shutout as the Seconds won a tight match over a hard-working Salisbury side. Westminster generated several good chances before Horrigan nodded an Alastair Smith ’13 pass into the net in the 10th minute. The Seconds controlled the play for the balance of the first half, but could not add to that lead. The second half was a different story, as Salisbury took control of the game for stretches at a time. But the half belonged to Morin, who made a handful of top-notch saves. Despite their 16 shots on the day, Salisbury could not solve Morin. Playing particularly well for the Black and Gold were Mario Benicky ’14 and Jack Werner ’16, both in the midfield, and Evan Yenor ’13 and Smith, both in the back.
 

Westminster earned its first win of the season with a 28-0 victory over Kingswood Oxford. Eli Zempsky ’15 led the offense with three touchdowns. Chris Jones ’16 had an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown. Arismer Angeles ’14 also added two interceptions on the day. From the first whistle to the final buzzer, the Martlets controlled the field and had an outstanding day.