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Sports Highlights 09.26.16
First Boys’ Football
First Boys’ Football won its game against St. Mark’s School, 28-14 on Sept. 24. Ahead 8-0 at the half, St. Mark’s tied it up in the third but then the Martlets scored three unanswered touchdowns to build a 28-8 lead before St. Mark’s added a late score. Delando Clarke ‘17 had three touchdowns; Alex Londal ‘17 added a score and a two-point conversion and Manny Meltzer ‘17 threw two touchdown passes, a conversion and scored another conversion. Conor Brennan ‘17 had two interceptions and several special teams tackles; Clarke, Marshall Watts ‘18 and Josiah Green ‘18 added interceptions (Green also recovered an onside kick); Dom Cirillo ‘17 punted for nearly a 40-yard average; and Joel Groves ‘17 had one-and-a-half sacks and a pass deflection.
Second/Third Girls’ Field Hockey
On a beautiful September day, the blended Second and Third Field Hockey team hit the road to Washington, Conn., to take on the Blue Dogs of Rumsey Hall. Sept. 21 was the first game of the season for the Martlets. The Blue Dogs scored first, tipping in a hard shot from the top of the circle. The Martlets battled back when Abby Moss ‘20 drove a shot into the Rumsey goalie and Eliza Polukhin ‘19 buried the rebound. The teams were knotted 1-1 at half. The Martlets picked up the pace in the second half, pressuring the Blue Dogs’ midfield and backs. But once again, Rumsey scored another goal five minutes into the second frame. The Martlets countered a few minutes later when co-captain Sofia Gasser ‘18 drove home a crossing pass from Moss. The Martlet defense, led by co-captain Lucy Noel ‘18, continued to stymie many Rumsey break-aways and give the offense several chances to score the go-ahead goal before time ran out.
Second/Third Girls’ Field Hockey
Westminster tried hard to keep up, intercept the ball, and maintain possession against Granby High School on a hot September day. However with a few well-placed goals by Granby High School, the team unfortunately lost the Sept. 23 game 0-2. Granby started the game out strong keeping the ball near Westminster’s defensive end. The Martlets defense talked well, used each other, and tried to recover back to support one another. Despite the trying efforts of the defense, near the beginning of the game Granby was able to slide past Westminster’s players and score a goal. After the goal was scored, Westminster stepped up its game. The Martlets stuck with their players, applied pressure on the ball, and kept the ball near their offensive end regularly. Lucy Noel ‘18 had some excellent free hits sending the ball up almost the entire field. Noel also had a great save as defense. Granby got around the Martlet goalie and Noel stopped the ball from going into the cage.
The offensive line went to the ball and brought it into the circle, attempted shots, but unfortunately none landed in goal. Near the beginning of the second half, Granby was able to place its second shot in the goal. Maddie Vanech ‘19 had many saves and continued to be a voice for her teammates. Katie Kosior ‘18, Adena Ajike ‘19, Liz Murphy ‘19, Annabel Bradley ‘19, Gabby Nemarich ‘20 and Abby Moss ‘20 all worked hard in the midfield getting back to the defensive end to help, and running up to support the offense. While the team is working on field positioning, intentional passes, and more, it is awesome to see each player continue to improve daily and work hard.
First Girls’ Field Hockey
Westminster started strong, with Lilly Holmes ‘18 scoring from a corner in the first minute of the Sept. 21 game against Milton Academy, and again before the end of the first half with Emma Lange ‘18 making a nice sweep at the post. Westminster sat back a little and Milton came back with a nicely worked goal to make the score 2-1. Despite some strong pressure from Milton, and a corner at the buzzer, the Martlets dug deep to hold off an equalizing goal, securing their second win of the season.
First Girls’ Field Hockey
At its Sept. 24 game, First Girls’ Field Hockey lost to Sacred Heart 1-0. This was a tight contest throughout. Westminster had six starting players sick or injured, but the players who stepped up performed superbly and with real passion. It was a great team display, with trust, character, discipline and support being central to the Martlets playing so well as a reconstructed unit. The game was very even, with lots of thwarted corners from both teams. In overtime, Convent scored a nicely worked goal with a cross and sweep. It was a hugely positive day and performance.
Second Girls’ Field Hockey
There is nothing better than playing field hockey on Hovey Field on a beautiful fall day! And the Second Field Hockey game against Northfield Mount Hermon on Sept. 24 didn’t disappoint the Martlet faithful fans. Both teams had scoring opportunities in the first half but neither capitalized on them, and the score was knotted 0-0 at the half. The Martlets were fired up after halftime, but the Hoggers scored first, just five minutes into the second frame. A few minutes later, Adena Ajike ‘19 intercepted a ball in the midfield and charged down to circle, dodging several Hoggers, and deftly passed the ball to a racing Eliza Polukhin ‘19 who slammed it into the net. Many Martlets played well, and the aggressive play of forwards Rebecca Sargent ‘20, Abby Moss ‘20, co-captain Sophia Gasser ‘18 and Sofia Raymond ‘19 almost tipped the score into Westminster’s favor. The Martlets face three opponents next week and hope to continue to develop as a team. Final score Westminster 1, Northfield Mount Hermon 1.
First Boys’ Soccer
Westminster opened its season against a very talented Taft squad on Sept. 21. The visiting Rhinos jumped on the board early with a goal 10 minutes into the first half. Taft played very fast down the wings, jumping on balls played into space for great crossing opportunities. The Rhinos would convert on four of these to take a commanding 4-0 lead into halftime. The Martlets, in their very first real game of the season, gathered their composure and came out and were able to put some chances together. The midfield players, led by co-captain Jack Griffith ‘17, Alex Semler ‘17 and Jeffrey Guiliano ’17, were able to get balls played outside and down the wings for Westminster to piece together some decent soccer. The Martlets back line of co-captain Alec Costanza ‘17, Will Leathers ‘17, Brandon Slawaska ‘17, Artur Szopa ‘17, Chanler Miller ‘18 and Will Lynch ‘20 were all busy during the second half with the Rhinos speed. Max Powers ‘17 despite letting in four early, settled himself down and made some great saves in the second half, and finished with nine total. Westminster got a nice header goal from Semler off a well-placed free kick from Griffith. The Martlets had a late chance from Ryan Messina ‘20 as he connected on a great cross, but the Rhinos goalie made a great save in close.
First Boys’ Soccer
Westminster hosted Suffield Academy on Sept. 24, a wonderful night for a game. The 6:30 p.m. start gave both schools the opportunity to come out in force to support their players. The Martlets came out to warm-up in their Monrovian Football Academy shirts. This game marked a fundraising event for Will Smith ‘10 and his soccer academy in Liberia. The game started out very fast under the lights on the turf. Both teams put together good stretches of possession but also quick counterattacks. Going into halftime, the score was 0-0. Suffield jumped on the board within the first 10 minutes of the second half off a free kick that turned out to be a goal off of a Westminster head. Down 1-0, the Martlets pushed ahead and produced many opportunities in the Suffield box. Jack Griffith ‘17, Alex Semler ‘17 and Chanler Miller ‘18 led the midfield. The backline of Will Leathers ‘17, Jeffery Guiliano ‘17, Alec Costanza ’17, Will Lynch ‘20 and Gabe Grimeh ‘19 played much better as a unit and were able to adjust to the pace of the turf. Max Powers ‘17 was again solid in net and finished the night with seven saves and took away many opportunities with his ability to get balls in the box. Cam Scott ‘18 ran hard up top along with Artur Szopa ‘17 and Darian Purcell ‘19. Westminster looks to get a few players back from injury this week as they head into a matchup against Choate and then Pomfret. Final score: Westminster 0, Suffield Academy 2.
First Girls’ Soccer
The girls had a great first half going up 1-0 on Sept. 21 against Deerfield Academy. Katy Maxon ‘18 and Katherine Eckerson ‘17 played over Deerfield’s back line, and Eckerson put the ball in the back of the net. In the second half, the Martlets came out on fire passing and possessing the ball well. Georgia Swank ‘19 played a nice ball to Eckerson who slotted Blake Cote ‘19 through who found the back of the net to go up 2-0. Unfortunately for the Martlets, that is about all that was left in the tank. Deerfield fought back minute by minute and ended up scoring five unanswered goals. There was nice play and four goals for Deerfield’s No. 10 Jaqueline Minor.
First Girls’ Soccer
The First Girls’ Soccer team traveled up to Wilbraham and Munson on Sept. 24. It was a beautiful day for soccer, and both teams fought hard throughout the first half. Both keepers were playing well and keeping their teams in the game. The girls possessed the ball nicely with good transition and counter attacks. Westminster struck first when Katherine Eckerson ‘17 was found in the middle of the field and played a nicely slotted ball to Mia Poling ‘18 (just a minute after arriving into the game) and Poling put the ball out of the keeper. Wilbraham never gave up and had a few opportunities but the Martlet defense, with the help of Cynnie White ‘17 in net, were able to keep Wilbraham off the board until Annika Bruce found Victoria Hintlian who drove the ball into the net as the equalizing goal. Eckerson and Blake Cote ‘19 both had close calls but Wilbraham was able to shake them off, ending in a 1-1 tie. The Martlets now focus their attention to Kent on Wednesday.
Second Girls’ Soccer
Second Girls’ Soccer notched its second win over visiting Deerfield on Sept. 21. Abby Davis ‘20 staked the Martlets to a 3-0 lead with a natural hat trick in the first half. Her tallies included a long strike, a neatly slotted shot from inside of the box, and a pure hustle play to stuff a ball home from short range after a shot couldn’t be controlled by the Deerfield keeper. Cecelia Raymond ‘20 increased the lead to four before halftime, winning a footrace inside the box and tucking a shot inside the near post. Deerfield got on the board midway through the second half, but steady pressure from the home side led to a Susie Mahoney ‘20 goal with 10 minutes remaining to bring the final margin back to four. This game was won in the midfield, with nice passing and ball-winning by Eve Cathcart ‘20, Lizzy McCoy ‘20, Ridgely Green ‘20 and Tori Kline ‘19. The deep penetrations Deerfield was able to generate were handled well by a defense anchored by Maddie Dwyer ‘18.
Third Girls’ Soccer
Goals by Laura Velez ‘20 and Alex Wolf ‘19 gave the team its first points of the season on Sept. 24 at its game against Suffield Academy. The final score was Westminster 2, Suffield 8.
Second Boys’ Soccer
Second Boys’ Soccer opened its season on Sept. 21 with a hard-fought battle against a skilled team from Taft. The Martlets were on the defensive early and went down 3-0 in the first half as Taft capitalized on some opportunities with well-placed shots on goal. Malcolm Kleban ‘20 made seven quality saves and kept Taft from opening the floodgates. The second half belonged to Westminster, which repeatedly pressed the ball deep into Taft territory and sent numerous shots toward the goal. In the 67th minute, Liam Peterson ‘17 played the ball from the right flank to Aly Tolba ‘18, who beat a defender and scored from 15 yards above the right post. Inspired, the Martlets continued their press with excellent defensive play from Kyle Forsyth ‘17, Myles Hamm ‘17, Spencer Rellinger ‘17 and Brett Daubert ‘20. Henry Mitrano ‘20 proved his utility as he skillfully played three different positions throughout the game. Forward Peterson disrupted a pass from a Taft defender and bodied his way toward the goal and past the keeper for the tap-in in the 71st minute. Westminster created several more chances in the closing minutes, including a marvelous penetrating carry by Hamm with a minute to play that ended in a foul just outside the box. The ensuing free kick rattled around in front of the net but the Martlets couldn’t quite get the equalizer. Overall, it was a solid opening effort for Westminster and a thrilling second half.
Second Boys’ Soccer
The Martlets played hard in a back-and-forth, physical game with Suffield Academy at home on Sept. 24 to improve their record to 1-1. Westminster jumped out to an early lead when Lukas Dudzik ‘19 darted into the penalty box and took a hard shot that bounced off the right post. Walker Stevens ‘19 gathered the rebound and maneuvered around the keeper to put the home team up 1-0. Despite Westminster controlling the middle of the field, Suffield’s speedy forwards were a threat on the counterattack, and they broke through the Martlet defense in the 32nd minute for the equalizer and again in the 59th minute to take the lead. Westminster battled back, however, as SK Lee ‘17 disrupted and intercepted a pass deep in the Suffield half and beat a defender and the keeper to even the score in the 63rd minute. Four minutes later, Spencer Rellinger ‘17 pulled the ball off the foot of a Tiger midfielder and fed it to Aly Tolba ‘18, who laid it off to Lee in front of the goal. Lee put it in the back of the net and the Martlets were up 3-2. Both sides were threatened in the closing minutes, and Malcolm Kleban ‘20 had eight outstanding saves. In perhaps one of the finest saves in years at the second team level, Kleban defended a high arching shot with a leaping stab off his fingertips that popped the ball up in the air with a backspin that would have sent it in the goal if it hit the ground. Somehow, he deftly managed to juggle and catch it as he flew through the air and landed on his back. The Martlets managed to remain ahead until the final whistle. A nice victory for a solid team effort on a beautiful day!
Third Boys’ Soccer
On a sunny Saturday afternoon, the Martlets battled a tough team from Salisbury. Westminster controlled the play for most of the Sept. 24 game, scoring the first two goals, and then held on for a 2-1 victory. Cam Jury ‘19 was spectacular in goal. Jury played 40 of the 70 minutes and had a spectacular save late in the first half when he took a direct shot to the gut. Eddie Lie-A-Cheong ‘19 and Carl Ekholm ‘19 controlled the play from the center of the field. Lie-A-Cheong and Ekholm continually served beautiful balls to the speedy forwards. The Martlets struck first when Willie Noble ‘20 played a great ball to the corner and Tucker Weiber ‘19 crossed to James Plumb ‘19. Plumb put the biscuit in the basket and the Martlets had their first lead of the season. Weiber continued scoring in the second half as he played a ball toward the middle and Wyatt Pastor ‘20 put it in the net. Wyatt Pastor ‘20 had a terrific game as he led the Martlet attack from the wing. Jack Murdock ‘19 absolutely controlled the center of the field. Murdock out-hustled the Salisbury players and won the 50/50 balls. He frequently played the ball ahead to Darion Benchich ‘20 for a few spectacular runs. The Martlets moved the ball well, switched the field on a few opportunities, and played the ball ahead to the corner. Noble and Will Gilson ‘20 were an effective team as they played off of each other. Gilson, Benchich, and the Martlets kept the pressure on Salisbury and finished strongly.
Fourth Boys’ Soccer
Carson Roth ’19 had a great day in goal despite the score at the team’s Sept. 21 game against The Bement School. Justin Flaks ’20 scored for Westminster, and Charlie Flam ’20 worked hard in the midfield. Final score, Westminster 1, Bement 7.
Fourth Boys’ Soccer
Charlie Flam ‘20 and Aidan Wood ‘20 had two goals each at the Sept. 24 game against Salisbury School, with assists from Kevin Kuang ‘19 and Scott Lee ‘20. Carson Roth ‘19 was superb in goal. It was the first win in years for the team, with a final score of Westminster 4, Salisbury School 3.
First Boys’ Cross Country
Fall weather arrived for a perfect day of running at the annual Canterbury Invitational on Sept. 24, and with teams from New Jersey to Boston present, the Westminster harriers were ready to see some of their fastest competition of the year. The field took off fast, with the leaders crossing the first mile at a five-mile pace before heading to the hilly second mile. While two Loomis runners led throughout, Emmett de Kanter ‘19 was jockeying with the front runners and, with a great kick, finished third overall to break 17 minutes for the first time this season. Jordan Gabbidon ‘17 was next, dropping a second off his 5K time from the previous week on a tougher course. Elliott Kennard ‘19 had another solid effort at No. 3, and Matt Norris ‘19 dropped his time from last year by more than two minutes. Daniel Pinckney broke 20 minutes, John Kuzminskas ‘18 was faster than last week, and Matt Cosentino ‘18 pushed through a leg injury to run a solid time. The team finished eighth of 11 teams, ahead of Kent, Brunswick, and Berkshire and four points behind Taft. Click here for full results. The team is excited to play host next weekend for the Richard Miller Invitational.
First Girls’ Cross Country
The First Girls’ Cross Country team made its annual trip to the Canterbury Invitational on Sept. 24, a beautiful fall day, and showed significant improvement in just one week. Even though this week’s course was more challenging, most of the girls ran faster than at the Tabor Invitational. The squad finished sixth out of 12 teams in the Division I race. Oumou Kanoute ‘17 again led the Martlets, and for the second week in a row finished in the top 10. Kanoute placed ninth and tied her personal best with a 20:29 time. Loving the hillier terrain, Abby Hovey ‘18 crossed the line more than 90 seconds faster than last week. Hovey ran most of the race with three other Martlets who were only seconds behind her: Liz Casey ‘18, Caroline Percival ‘19 and Bethany Winters ‘20. It was great to see this group of girls working together, encouraging and pushing one another. Sarah Minella ‘17 cut almost 30 seconds off of her previous race, crossing the line next.
Maggie Chaves ‘19 earned the grit award for the day. Chaves has been suffering with knee pain and in the first mile of the race she bonked her other knee, sustaining a pretty nasty bump. Determined to gut it out, however, Chaves continued to run and finished the race. It was a great day for the Martlets, who are just beginning to show what they might be capable of. Click here for full results. The team is excited to play host next weekend for the Richard Miller Invitational.
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