Sports Highlights 12.14.15

First Boys’ Hockey is now 3-0 on the young season after defeating Choate and Brunswick last week. The Martlets hit the road to Choate on Wednesday afternoon - always a tough rink to play in – and were able to come away with a 3-1 victory. The squad sustained quality pressure in the opening period, but it was the Wild Boars who struck first, capitalizing on a three-on-two breakdown. Cal LeClair '17 answered at the start of the second, banging home a rebound off a Jack Flanagan '17 shot to tie the score at 1-1. With just over seven minutes to go in the second period, Mike Ventricelli '16 put the Martlets up 2-1 on a power-play goal assisted by LeClair and Jayme Stepto '16. The third period saw scoring opportunities for both teams, but the Black and Gold capitalized to give themselves a two-goal cushion as J.P. Schuhlen '16 scored another power-play goal, assisted by Flanagan and Connor Lloyd '16. Nick Sanford '16 made a number of athletic saves late to keep Choate out of the net; he finished the day with 22 saves, and the Martlets finished with a win.

 

On Saturday, Westminster hosted a defensive-minded Brunswick team in its first home game of the season. Both teams played well from the opening puck drop, exchanging opportunities in the first but heading into the second scoreless. The tie was finally broken in the middle frame when Brunswick scored off a bad clear. Down 1-0 in the third, the Martlets knew they had to step up their effort if they wanted to get a win. Early in the period, Taggart Corriveau '16 found the equalizer, hammering home a power play rebound goal off a Kevin O'Leary '16 shot. Flanagan gave Westminster the lead after Logan Hinton '17 made a great play to keep the puck in the zone. Just 30 seconds later, Stepto broke free on and scored a nifty backhand goal to extend the lead. Down 3-1 with less than two minutes left, Brunswick kept fighting and cut the lead in half on a power play. The visitors then pulled their goalie in a last-minute push for the tying goal, but Corriveau and Patrick Dawson '18 found two empty net goals to put the game on ice. Goalie Stephen Gasior '16 finished the game with 23 saves, capping a week that saw a combined 45 saves for the Black and Gold goaltenders. The boys will look to ride their hot start into a strong showing at the upcoming Flood-Marr Holiday Tournament.

 

 

Looking for its first win of the 2015-2016 season, First Girls’ Hockey went down to the wire against a strong Loomis Chaffee team but ultimately fell in overtime by a final score of 2-1. The Pelicans took an early lead in the first period, but the Martlets fought back to tie it 1-1 in the second on a goal from Ashlee White '18 assisted by Emma Lange '18. After a back-and-forth third frame in which neither team could find the go-ahead goal, the squads faced off in overtime. Though it was Loomis who came out on top with the game-winner, both teams fought hard. The girls will look to rebound from a tough start to the season when they play in the upcoming Harrington Holiday Tournament.

 

 

 

The dynamic First Boys’ Squash team has yet to yield a match this season, starting a perfect 3-0 after sweeping Salisbury, Loomis and Berkshire by a combined match score of 21-0! On Wednesday, Coach Doucette looked sharp in his new bow tie for the 2015-2016 home opener and initial Founder's League contest. After some mixed results the previous week during the WALKS scrimmage, the prediction was for a close contest with Loomis. Instead, the Martlets took control early with three 3-0 wins at #2, #4, and #6. Declan Horrigan '16 had good width at #6, Wonjune Kang '16 was very smooth at #2 and Henry Amory '18 was particularly sharp at #4, allowing only 10 points in his match. When Aly Tolba '18 won at #1, the match was sealed. While he and Will Leathers '17 won in three games, Bryan Yekelchik '16, Sam Worcester '16, and Addison Cilmi '16 (playing exhibition) all fought back from 1-2 deficits to win in five games. All three matches were very close in the fifth game for an exciting finish.

 

After their earlier 7-0 win against Loomis, the Martlets were eager to take to the courts against Berkshire. The match proceeded smoothly for Westminster, with all contests being decided in three games except for the #5 match, which Sam Worcester won 3-1. Particularly strong was Aly Tolba, who didn't allow a point until the third game. With the victory, the team enters winter break 3-0.

 

 

The girls had their second consecutive barnburner of a match, this time getting edged out by Westover 4-3. The first round (evens) produced three great matches. At #6, Dora Mitchel '17 got edged 14-12 in her first game, then split the next two before falling in four. The team split the other two matches, both of which went to five games. At #2, Wells Poler '16 went down 0-2, and then evened her match with gritty 12-10 and 11-9 wins, only to see the comeback fall just short (9-11) in the fifth. Katie Deveaux '16 also fell down 0-2 at #4, before storming back for the comeback win, taking the last three games 6, 2 and 5. Once again the Black & Gold needed to win three of four odd matches, but the last four were not as close as the first three, with all ending in three games. Abby LeBlanc '17 at #1 and Sarah Poling '16 at #5 each remained undefeated on the short season. Leblanc once again used her all-around game to take and keep control, while Poling showed mental toughness in winning all three games in overset (10, 11, 11). The comeback was not to be, though, as neither Caroline Percival '19 at #3 nor Abby Newman '16 at #7 could solve their opponents. In exhibition action, Caroline Miller '18 proved too powerful for her opponent, winning in three. The girls will have to wait until the New Year to put their growing skills to the test again.

 

 

Second Boys’ Squash remains undefeated after winning over Loomis Chaffee 8-2 on Wednesday afternoon. The Martlets knew they would face a tougher challenger in Loomis Chaffee than they did in their first match against Suffield Academy. It was the team's first big test of the new season and, although the Black and Gold lost in straight games at numbers 7 and 10, they won the other eight matches - two in five games and the rest in straight games. Minh Nguyen '16 at #5 and Miller Guth '16 at #8 were especially dominating, with Guth winning 2, 3, 5 and Nguyen winning 4, 4, 1. Riley Wood ’19 played the most exciting match of the day, a back-and-forth affair with multiple lead changes that came down to two final games and went into extra points. Wood was especially gritty when falling behind in both games 4 and 5. During one point in particular, Wood twice fell to the floor, but hustled back up to get the next ball. In the end, his smart shot selection won the match for him. Once again the "nail" goes to two players: Nguyen, who surrendered only nine total points and Guth, who only surrendered ten points total and who is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with.

 

 

The Martlets played their first official match of the year and came away with a 7-0 victory over Westover. The even numbered positions played first, with Rachel Halfon '16 (#2) winning in four games 11-5, 9-11, 11-6 and 11-5. Annie Hicks '17 (#4) followed with a straight game victory 11-9, 11-6, 11-9, while Katie Kosior '18 (#6) also won in three games 11-2, 11-5, 11-3. The odd numbered girls then took the courts. Caroline Kelter '19 (#1), Katherine Ogden '16 (#3), Lucy Noel '18 (#5) and Callie Brossman '16 (#7) all won in three games. Annabel Bradley played an exhibition match and defeated her opponent in three games as well. The girls will now get to relax for a long holiday break before getting back to action in the New Year.

 

 

Second Girls’ Hockey has had a red-hot start to the season, winning over Deerfield 6-1 and defeating Loomis 9-2. The Martlets opened their season with a home game against a speedy Deerfield team on Wednesday afternoon. Blake Cote '19 got the girls on the board first, followed by a goal from Mady Paro '17 to give Westminster a 2-0 lead at the end of the first. The lead would swell to 3-0 in the second, when Georgia Swank '19 chipped in a shot with five minutes remaining in the period. The girls gave one back in the final period, but Cote, Ana Wigmore '16 and Katie Simeon '16 all scored before the final whistle to put the game out of reach. Lily Farriss '19 had a strong game in net as the last line of defense, making a number of impressive glove-saves.

 

The girls earned their second win of the season with another explosive offensive performance against Loomis Chaffee on Saturday afternoon. It was a physical, fast-paced game, but the Westminster squad did a good job of maintaining control of the puck with smart passes and strong efforts to get open in front of the net and create scoring opportunities. Westminster jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first period with goals from Kendall Brown ‘17, Cote and Katie Neilsen '18. In the second, the team pulled away after Swank, Cote, Natalie Rubin '19 and Brown extended the lead to 7-1. Although Loomis got one back in the final frame, Simeon and Rubin both scored to close out the 9-2 victory. 

 

 

Third Boys’ Squash won both of its matches last week, beating Salisbury 11-3 and Avon Old Farms 13-1. The Martlets earned their first victory of the season with a decisive win over Salisbury, as eight players won in straight sets. At the top of the ladder, Porter Girty ’18, the newest member of the team, Sean Ryan ’18 and Matthew Swenson ’17, played steady, nearly error-free squash in sweeping their respective matches. The next trio of Emmett de Kanter ’19, Carl Ekholm ’19, and Nate Londal ’19 followed suit by winning their matches convincingly, as de Kanter yielded only ten points, Ekholm won 5, 5, and 4, and Londal achieved a rare shutout win in his first game. Ethan Na ’19 got off to a fast start by winning his first two games, and then rebounded from a 10-12 defeat in the third to secure the match with an 11-0 fourth game win. Ryan Lee ’18 battled throughout his match, but eventually succumbed to a very athletic and agile foe. Meanwhile, Khalil Walker ’19 and Hayden Cathcart ’18 swept their respective contests by playing smart and steady squash. Nate Swift ’19 and Joe Patrina ’18 were also each victorious in three games, keeping their opponent off-balance with a variety of well-placed shots. The match of the day belonged to Spencer Organ ’18, who, in a valiant losing effort, engaged his opponent in a see-saw battle throughout the full five games.

 

The squad traveled to Avon Old Farms on Saturday and came away with a 13-1 victory. Swenson, Lukas Dudzik ’19, and Patrina all needed four games to secure their wins. Swenson pulled away to win his last game 11-2, while Patrina won his final two by identical scores of 11-7. Dudzik lost a tight battle in his third game, 12-14, but rallied to win the fourth, 11-6.  Ryan, Ekholm and Cathcart  each won in straight sets as their opponents had difficulty handling their hard serves. All three recorded an infrequent shutout game. Lee and Nate Swift also gained victory sweeps, although their contests were closer and more evenly-matched affairs. Maintaining the momentum, Walker and Ethan Na ’19 notched wins for the Martlets, keeping their opponents off balance with well-placed shots in all four corners of the court. Londal and de Kanter hit the court running with 11-0 and 11-3 first game wins, and then took the next two as well to close out their respective matches. Organ once again gave it his all, eking out a 12-10 first game victory, but then coming up short in the next three. At #1 on the ladder, Girty was bestowed the honor of playing on the three-glass-walled exhibition court, and he rose to the occasion with a 4,7,3 triumph.