Sports Highlights 10.5.15

 

Westminster’s Cross- Country teams hosted the annual Richard Miller Invitational on a cold and breezy Saturday afternoon, and both the Boys’ and Girls’ squads had strong individual and team showings.

 

The girls finished sixth overall out of nine teams. In a field of 64 varsity runners, co-captain Oumou Kanoute ’17 placed fifth overall with a course PR of 22:02, only 26 seconds behind the top finisher. Abigayle Hovey ’18 finished second on the team and eighth overall with a course PR of 22:24 and Sarah Minella rounded out the team’s top three with a 29th place finish and a course PR of 24:41. Newcomers Katherine Ogden ’16 and Maggie Chaves ’19, and veterans Nicole Fox ’16 and co-captain Grace Brentano ’16 all had very strong showings for their first home meet of the season. The JV squad had a fantastic showing, with two veteran runners, Ashlyn Chin ’16 and Maggie Dedominico ’16, both running course PRs by 1:41 and 5:00, respectively. Ashlyn, Maggie, and newcomers Annie Sherbacow ’19 and Alayna Tawney ’19 all crossed the finish line within 31 seconds of each other, competing like pros to the very end of the race.

 

By the time the First Boys' race began, there was a lot ​of energy from the three races that had already finished, and a fast field of young runners took to the line. After a quick first mile, there was lot of jockeying in the hills, and a pair of Williston runners ended up leading the pack onto the track for a 1-2 finish for that school. Westminster's top finisher was first-year flyer Emmett de Kanter '19, who again set new high standards for novice runners by breaking 18 minutes (17:58), the sixth fastest Westminster time on this course in the last 20 years. Last year, only one Martlet broke 20 minutes at the RMI; this year, three other Black and Gold harriers joined him. Co-captain Jordan Gabbidon '17, newcomer Michael Fiorini '18 and co-captain Ben Shaver '16 all ran their lifetime bests on this course. Rounding out the scoring five was Matt Cosentino '18, who ran a lifetime best and is now within striking distance of that 20-minute barrier for his next race. Matt Norris '19 and Tim Harris '17 rounded out the First team runners. The team finished fifth in the fast field, but they could quickly make up ground on the other teams as these young runners continue to improve.

 

 

First Girls' Soccer started slow on Wednesday afternoon but turned in a great second half performance to get a big 2-1 victory over Kent. The Lions took a 1-0 lead 13 minutes into the game, but Blake Cote '19 answered back for the Martlets eight minutes later to tie the score. It was Cote's first goal with the Black and Gold! In the second half, the girls played great, up-tempo offense and shut-down defense. Just a minute into the half, Jacqui Richard '16 made a crisp pass to Emma Merlin '16 on a set piece just outside the 18-yard box, which Merlin put it away with a deft one timer. The team played one of its best halves of the season, with great teamwork and communication. 

 

First Football had another impressive performance on both sides of the ball on Saturday afternoon, as the team went down to Hopkins and came away with a 44-6 win. The boys went ahead 22-0 by the half, and led 28-6 after three quarters. In the fourth, the Martlets exploded for another 16 points. Isaiah green '16 added onto his record-setting performance last week with 218 yards, two touchdowns and a two-point conversion, as well as a fumble recovery and five tackles. Tim Callahan '17 had 87 yards, two touchdowns and eight tackles of his own. Greg Livingston '18, stepping in as QB after an injury to Henry Purdy '17 last week, had his first career touchdown pass, a toss to Marshall Watts '18, who scored his first touchdown as well. Isaiah Pryor '16 added a career first touchdown, while Brandon Williams '18, Callahan, Livingston and Green each had two-point conversions. The defense was impenetrable for a second week in a row. Conor Brennan '17 and Green both intercepted passes, while Dom Cirillo '17, Chaz Ruffin '16, Carl Doucette '16 and Ricardo Vazquez '16 all had tackles for losses. Ruffin also added a blocked punt, and Delando Clarke '17 added five tackles and two very well-defended pass attempts. Perhaps most impressive was the outstanding blocking from the front line of Vazquez, Cirillo, Ruffin, Rob Ebrahimi '16, Doucette and Jack Sargeant '17, and the excellent downfield blocking of wide receiver Clarke, which helped the Martlets rack up 357 rushing yards, five rushing TDs, and four rushing two-point conversions!

 

 

Westminster's Seconds Football team had to wait a bit longer to open its season than the other teams, but it was worth the wait - the boys put up 28 points and held Pomfret to a meager 6 points in a big opening win. The Martlets went into halftime with a 20-0 lead, and though the offensive pace slowed during the second, the team continued to dominate time of possession and held on for the victory. Brandon Williams '18 was the player of the game with three touchdowns and 172 yards, while Jagger LeClair '18 scored one and both Manny Meltzer '17 and Alex Londal '17 brought in two-point conversions.

 

 

Second Girls’ Soccer had a pair of 2-0 wins this week against Kent on Wednesday and Choate on Saturday. Goal scorers in the wins were Devin Selvala ’16 with two goals, Emily Bernstein and Hallie Fiebel. The girls are now 3-0 on the young season and look to continue their high-level of play against Miss Porter’s on Wednesday.

 

 

Seconds Field Hockey rolled this week with a 9-0 win over Kent on Wednesday and a 7-0 win over Choate on Saturday. Goal scorers in the week were Abby Newman ’16 with 5, Sydney Autorino with 4, Abby Rosy Sieglaff ‘18 with 3, Dora Mitchell ‘17 with 2, Fraser Allen ’17 and Greta Baker ‘19. On Wednesday, the team used efficient, quick passes down the field to connect the offensive drives smoothly and steal momentum at every chance. On Saturday, Morgan Peirce '17 had her first game in goal and was able to record a shut out. While only one shot was fired against her, she stopped it and took on the challenge with a grit and grace. In both games, the girls took quick, decisive shots on goal and were effective in deflecting the ball into the cage. Most importantly, the team communicated well throughout and backed each other up. It was an impressive week for the Seconds team.

 

 

After a morning of heavy rain, Second Boys' Soccer took to a squishy field at Choate on Wednesday, but the weather held and the boys were able to pull out a 2-1 win over the Wild Boars. Westminster capitalized on some early chances in the first half, with solid play from Emiliano Serna '18 and Riley Wood '19 in the midfield and Myles Hamm '17 and Connor Seeley '18 in the back. In the second half, Choate tested the defense and had several quality shots on goal, all saved by Patrick Dawson '18 except for a solidly taken PK with 10 minutes remaining. Westminster goal scorers were Chris Swanson '17 in the first half and Max Grout '17 with the winner in the second.

 

 

Third Girls' Soccer played its best game of the season so far on Wednesday afternoon, topping Hotchkiss 2-1. Indira Marzbani '18 got the Martlets on the board first in the opening half, but the teams went into halftime tied 1-1. The girls came out into the second half fired up and played lock-down defense. The back line and mid-field is getting better with each game and is learning how to push the ball up the field better. The deciding goal from Kate Lovas '18 was created by stellar midfield play by Mia Stevens '18. Sophie Tawney '17 saved the game with the goalie out of position and the ball rolling towards an open net.