Sports Highlights 12.08.2014

The Martlets' First Boys Basketball team opened its season with a 57-47 road win at Watkinson School on Wednesday afternoon. The game was tightly contested, but Westminster was able to pull away as time ran down. Dalton Prendergast '15 had a stellar first game, nabbing a double-double with 14 rebounds and 13 points, while Colin Dougherty '15 added 15 points and had 6 steals. Chris Jones '16 (7pts) and David Ryan '15 (8pts) helped the Martlets increase the pressure on their hosts in the second half, combining for 9 Watkinson turnovers to give the team the edge needed to come away with a victory.

 

Head Coach Pope asked his squad to bring their full effort and focus to their game against Kingswood Oxford on Saturday afternoon, and the team responded, setting a strong tone from the opening face-off. Erin Ozturk '15 and Katie Savage '15 continued to help establish the team's identity as captains with strong leadership on and off the ice. Other team veterans found seams in the K.O. defense and were able to create offensive opportunities through their finesse, and of course, their grit. Catherine Crawley '16 opened up scoring in the first when she received a pass from Sarah Migliori '16 and put it past the K.O. keeper. Migliori netted her own goal soon after, with an assist from Sarah Melanson '16. Nina Wilmerding '15 (assisted by Emma Lange '18 and Crawley) and Ozturk (assisted by Wilmerding and Lily Von Stade '17) closed out the scoring in the first period to put the Martlets up with a commanding 4-0 lead. Migliori notched another goal in the second, followed by a goal from Lillian Holmes '18, assisted by Cynnie White '17, to put the winning score at 6-0. Leah Klassen '17 has now posted two shutouts in net, continuing the stellar keeper play she exhibited with First Field Hockey in the fall. The even spread of scoring and assists highlights a strong team effort from beginning to end. Discipline was the name of the game on Saturday, and the team was composed and efficient in their first win. Grit was at a premium and Grace was evident in all areas of the ice.

 

First Boys' Hockey earned a hard-fought 5-4 win over Northfield Mount Hermon in its season opener. The game got off to a rocky start, as the Martlets found themselves in the penalty box and down 1-0 in the first two minutes of the game. The visiting Hoggers extended the lead to 2-0 off a blocked shot that found an opposing player in front of an empty net. Westminster was able to cut the lead in half when Jayme Stepto '16 found a streaking Rylan Williams '16 to set up a back door tap-in goal, but NMH came out flying in the next period and put up two early goals to make it 4-1, putting the Martlets in a deep hole. The boys turned it on halfway through the second period, netting a power play goal from Taggart Corriveau '16 and then scoring a shorthanded goal from co-captain Jack Fitzgerald '15. Heading into the third period down by one, the Martlets outshot NHM 18-4. Connor Lloyd '16 scored an early power-play goal assisted by Johnny McDermott '16 and Joe O'Connor '16 to tie the game. The winning goal would come off a great low shot by a driving O'Connor assisted by J.P. Schuhlen '16 and Fitzgerald. Goalie Stephen Gasior '16 finished the game with a sixteen save performance, many coming in the first period when the Marlets had to kill numerous penalties. It was a tough, gritty performance, but the boys were able to edge out the aggressive NMH team. 

 

The Martlets opened their 2014-2015 season with a 6-1 win over Salisbury on Satursday afternoon. It was a first team debut for every player except #1 Cal Perkins ‘15 and #2 Wonjune Kang '16. The opening round started well, with the boys winning the first game at #2, #4, and #6. Addison Climi '16 and Bryan Yekelchik '16 completed their matches 3-0, while Wonjune struggled to keep his opponent in the back. After losing a close third game 9-11, Wonjune was not able to get back on track and fell 1-3. The second round of matches went 3-0 to Westminster at #1, #3, and #5, with Perkins allowing only 7 points in total. Earning their first wins for Westminster were Sam Worcester '16 and Third Former Henry Amory '18. The match of the day was played by Declan Horrigan '16 at #7. In a seesaw battle that pitted a lefty against a righty, there were many scrappy gets, a few near collisions, balls hit between the legs and other exciting moments. In the end, Horrigan took the match by winning the first, third, and fifth games. Although his match was only for exhibition, Will Leathers '17 had a nice 3-2 win in his debut at #8.

 

First Girls’ Squash began its 2014-2015 campaign with a solid 5-2 win over the Pelicans of Loomis Chaffee. Abby Leblanc ‘17 and Margot Frank ’15 staked Westminster to a quick 2-0 lead in round one. Julia Cooper ‘15 notched a third round one win, and Wells Poler ’16 stepped up to seal team win. Ginny Durfee ’15 also contributed a win for the Martlets. Sophie Skinner ‘15 lost by the narrowest of margins, as she and her opponent traded points in the final two games (10-12 and 9-11). It was a strong opening win for a team that includes five newcomers.

 

Westminster’s Second Girls' Hockey team rebounded from its opening game loss with a 3-1 victory over Northern Lights. Although the girls went down 1-0 early after a bouncing puck skipped over the Martlet Goalie's head, the girls ended up outshooting their opponent 32-13. Katie Neilson '18 recorded two goals in the second period, the first assisted by Eliza Christman '15 and the second by Susanna Baker '15, to put Westminster up 2-1. Annie Bitterli '17 finished the scoring line with a goal in the 3rd assisted by Baker. Every line had impressive plays, but the team's main success came from a strong trio of Christman, Cynnie White '17 and Katie Simeon '17 on defense, who never left the defensive end vulnerable and sprinted to every puck despite playing most of the game.

 

Westminster's Third Boys' Hockey team traveled to Berkshire school to take on the Bears and were able to come away with a 6-1 victory. Berkshire opened the game by scoring just 5 minutes into the first period. Despite the poor start, the determined Westminster squad continued to play hard and went on a 6-0 run. With just under 3 minutes left in the first, Ken Mazzaro '17 slotted a goal to tie up the score. Josh Cosentino '18 then scored early in the second - his first career goal as a Martlet - quickly followed by a power-play goal from Brendan Jacobs '17. Jacobs put another one in at the end of the period to put the boys up 4-1. Midway through the third period, Tim Harris '17 notched his own power-play goal, which was immediately followed by a power-play goal from Hugh Plumb '17. The Thirds team gave a great effort and showed a lot of character in their ability to overcome an early deficit to pull out a big win.