Fall Sports Highlights 9.25.17

The Martlets had their first race of the season on another summer-like day racing at the Canterbury Invitational. The girls didn't let the weather get to them, however, and persevered against the Division I contingent of fast teams. Newcomer Annabelle Smith '21 looked impressive in her first race for the Black and Gold finishing just out of the top 10 in 11th place. This younger runner will be exciting to watch this season. The rest of the team ran closer together with three veteran runners crossing the line next, Bethany Winters '20, Liz Casey '18 and Maggie Chaves '19. Michelle Wu '21 also ran in her first varsity race and is figuring out how to race with herself. Jennifer Jerand '19 and Abby Hovey '18 rounded out the team with Hovey running in her fourth consecutive Canterbury Invitational, quite a feat.

At the Canterbury Invitational Sept. 23, the Westminster harriers knew that the unseasonable temperatures would be a factor for everyone, so they went out more conservatively with the hopes to outlast some of their competition. The strategy worked and the team moved on the field in the third mile when the course took the runners up a long hill towards the finish. Co-captain Emmett de Kanter '19 made a great move in the last 200 yards to take fourth overall; he was followed by co-captain Teagan Stedman '18, who, despite turning back to circle a missed flag, finished 12th. Kieran Haug '21, had the biggest drop from the previous week and moved into third position on the team, followed by stalwarts Justin Schuster '19 and Elliott Kennard '19. The team’s displacers, the Daniels Chey '18 and Pinckney '20, also broke 20 minutes, a tough barrier on this course, especially given the heat. The team moved to fifth out of 10 in Division 1, with an average improvement of almost 30 seconds per runner over last year's Canterbury Invitational. A great start to the year.

The Martlets played a quiet but effective game under the lights vs NMH. Goals were scored by Greta Baker ‘19 (first half), Rosy Sieglaff ’18 and Emma Lange ’18 (second half). The Martlets dominated most of the possession and territory, but NMH's goalkeeper had a fantastic evening with 20 saves.

 

A slow start from the Martlets allowed Convent 15 shots on goal in the first half, with an incredible performance from Hannah Stone '18 in the goal to keep the score at 0-0. The Martlets got their game together and went 2-1 up in the second half before conceding in the last minute of regular time to make it 2-2. Convent dominated regular time but the Martlets dominated the OT period. Despite the flow of play in OT, Convent scored to win in sudden death. This was a very high standard of play from both teams. The Martlets need to work on mindset — their field hockey is very strong this year.

 

It was an unusually hot September day when the team played NMH away. They made team goals of passing often, communicating with each other and providing support. In the first half it took a while for the team to get moving but towards the middle of the second half, they scored their first goal. The momentum started to pick up and continued as the game progressed. The Martlets held it in their offensive end and managed to put it in the net three more times. Ally Marenco '18 was in goal and didn't see much action thanks to a solid line of defense (Lucy Noel '18, Sarah Levine '19, Layla Ennis '19 and Eva Pfeiffer '21) and midfield players (Katie Kosior '18, Sofia Kuusisto '19, Liz Murphy '19, Jenna Kosior '21 and Francesca Bradley '21). Offense (Sophia Gasser '18, Eliza Polukhin '19, Abby Moss '20 and Rebecca Sargent '20) did a good job of taking shots and following them into net. The Martlets are looking forward to continuing their momentum and working together this season. Goal scorers included: Sargent, Polukhin and Gasser with two goals. 

Third Girls’ Field Hockey started out the season with a victory. The team made big improvements from the first to second half and spent the overwhelming majority of the later part of the game in the offensive zone. After some good shots from Halli Keenan '21 and Eda Chen '20, Celia Sotirhos '21 scored the one and only goal (assisted by Chen) with just two minutes to go in the game. Kyani Jemmotte '20 recorded her only save of the game in the last two minutes as well, but the Martlets prevailed.

 

Westminster players fought hard in a tough matchup against Granby. With many players still new to the game, Westminster made some big improvements over the course of the game on Hovey Field, but were unable to find the back of the cage today. Kyani Jemmotte '20 and Ally Marenco '18 both had some great saves in goal today. Celia Sotirhos '21, Eda Chen '20, and Halli Keenan '21 did some great work in the circle shooting. The midfield was dominated by Alisa Toner '21 and Olivia Zhang '20

 

Westminster was outplayed by a well-coached, bigger, older team that seized a 19-0 first half lead and never looked back. Tarek Mourad ’19 and Brandon Williams ’18 played well on defense; Chris Robinson ’20 had an interception, three catches and 146 return yards.

It was a tale of two halves as First Girls' Soccer traveled north to take on Deerfield. It took the Martlets some time to find their groove and Deerfield capitalized on that and put one in the back of the Martlet net just six minutes into the first half. Westminster then woke up and both teams put the pressure on opposing goals, but Westminster keeper Siena Sandridge '19 remained strong the rest of the half, logging four key saves. The score favored the home team 1-0 at half. In the second half, Westminster turned it on to make it an even game. Katy Maxon '18 found Emma Davis '18 outside the 18-yard box 11 minutes into the half. Just five minutes later, Maxon fought for a ball at midfield and found Taylor Adams '20 on the right sideline. Adams beat her defender and took a shot that hit the post, but Paige Phillips '20 was there to finish the loose ball. The Martlets held onto the 2-1 lead, battling to defend while still attempting to create chances in their attaching end. With five minutes left, however, a Deerfield defender took advantage of a loose ball in the Martlet half for a one-timer into the net to tie the game 2-2.

 

Westminster First Girls' Soccer came out ready to work on a hot Sept. 23 afternoon against a tough Wilbraham & Monson squad. Just 30 seconds into the game, captain defender Emma Alpaugh '18 won a loose ball in the back to find Emma Davis '18 who tipped it to Paige Phillips '20 on the right sideline. Phillips then found Georgia Swank '19 at the far post to open up the Martlet scoring. With 12 minutes left in the first half, Katy Maxon '18 found Davis on a corner kick with a one-timer into the net. Just six minutes later, Davis took a shot at the 18 yard box and, despite the fantastic save by W&M's keeper, Katie Neilsen '18 finished to send the Martlets into half time with a nice 3-0 lead. Solid defending and composure from goalkeeper Siena Sandridge '19, captain Emily Samar '18, Alpaugh, Jaclyn Laplante '20, Mary Kille '18 and Susie Renehan '19 helped play the ball out of the Martlet defensive end to solidify the 3-0 win.

 

Westminster had a couple chances early in the game but the pace of play would be just too much to overcome. Taft played some direct balls to two very skilled strikers who would score multiple goals. Peyton Knauf '19 would have some solid in tight saves for the Martlets.

 

The Martlets made the short trip up to Suffield Academy for a fun night game. The first half saw both teams exchange some good scoring opportunities. With about 15 minutes left in the first half, Suffield was awarded a PK, which it converted on. The second half saw Westminster trying to press, which left the back line exposed at time. Suffield was able to convert on a turnover in a dangerous part of the field and then added one late. The Westminster team never looked like it was totally comfortable on the turf.

 

The Martlets played an exciting game up at Deerfield, earning a 1-1 result that was a fair outcome for two well-matched teams. The action was all over the field: at times a back-and-forth midfield battle, while at others the teams took turns putting their opponents under pressure with quick attacks. Westminster struck first in the 32nd minute. A nice series of passes worked the ball into the box along with several Martlets. When the ball found the feet of Susie Mahoney '20, she slotted it neatly past the keeper from close range. Unfortunately, Deerfield equalized three minutes later, but as quickly as the goals materialized they dried up, and the 1-1 score would hold for the remaining 45 minutes of action. Shout-outs go to Jane Ogden '19 and Campbell Swift '21, who stepped in to play solidly in defense after Dallis Alvarez '18 was injured midway through the first half, and to Lizzy McCoy '20 and Daniela Mays-Sanchez '20, who were tireless, also in defense.

 

Westminster struck first, just three minutes into the game, when Walker Stevens '19 received a perfectly weighted through-ball from SK Lee '18 and pushed it past the Taft goalkeeper and into the net. Taft's skill, speed and discipline brought them right back into the game, however, as they scored three unanswered goals in the span of five minutes to take a 3-1 lead into halftime. The Martlets, on their heels and playing defense for much of the match, played a physical game and added some stingy defending to keep the Rhinos from scoring in the second half. In the 51st minute, Stevens beat a defender and dribbled in along the end line from the right side of the box before laying it off to Ryan Pineault '20, who touched it into the goal to cut the Taft lead in half. Ten minutes later, Jake Monroe '20 got his left foot on a loose ball rattling around in front of the Taft cage and put it in the net to tie the game at three goals apiece. Both sides threatened for the remainder of the game. With under 10 seconds to play, a Taft player on a breakaway got in behind GK Alex Gadowski '18 and had an open look at the net before Martlet defender Darion Benchich '20 closed on him with lightning speed and ricocheted the ball over the crossbar to preserve the tie.

Sept. 23: Soccer - Second Boys’ 1 vs Suffield Academy 4

Four minutes into the game, forward Georgia Nolan ’20 suffered a severe injury. The team did its best to come back strong, but trailed 2-0 at the half. In the second half the team did a much better job in time of possession, but ended up finishing the game down 3-1, with its one goal coming from Alex Wolf '19 with an Elisabeth Knauf '20 assist.

 

On a hot afternoon in Suffield, Westminster played a fantastic first 12 minutes of the game, keeping a stingy and aggressive Suffield JV squad out of the goal and keeping the score 0-0. Trailing 4-1 at the half, a quick Suffield goal early in the second half took some wind out of a fatigued team and they let in a few more. Despite the score, goalie Annie Brewer ’21 played an incredible game, facing a constant barrage of shots and making some diving and jumping saves. The Westminster defense is still coming into form, and there were some solid plays made through that first half. Alex Wolf '19 had Westminster's lone goal with a Lizzi Cronin '21 assist.

 

Westminster defeated a youthful Bement School team on Sept. 20. The pick of the goals came through Quinn Armstrong ’20 with an audacious 40-yard lob. 

 

Westminster suffered a late goal to draw with the Salisbury School. Charlie Flam ’20 scored after a sublime through ball from Quinn Armstrong ‘20. Westminster was in control for much of the game and it was only an outstanding effort from the opposition that beat Cameron Jury ’19 in goal. The team is moving in a good direction and was unfortunate not to finish the afternoon with a win. The true MVP was Willie Noble ’20 at left back. Noble played the majority of the game and shut down any threat coming down his flank. His tackles were clean and he put in a superhuman effort to recover if he was ever beaten.

The "Quad Squad" started its season with a win in a close game against Salisbury. Goals were scored by Peter Sanger '21, Harry Stevenson '20 and Quoc Truong '20. Tremaine Dawson '21 was superb in goal.