Martlets Get a W in Watertown

The Westminster Girls' Varsity Soccer team defeated the Rhinos of Taft 4-1 this Wednesday afternoon. After the bus ride to Watertown, the Martlets were eager to get the game started. The squad entered the match with plenty of energy and grit to withstand the Rhinos. Taft came out with a fast start, putting pressure on the Westy defenders and placing a couple of deep shots onto the frame of the net which keeper Elizabeth DiBlasi ‘23 was able to handle with no issues. With 27 minutes on the clock, Mia Fluckiger ‘26 played a fantastic through ball to Catherine Graves ‘24. Graves found herself 1-on-1 with the keeper, but her shot was saved and bobbled by the goalie. Thankfully, Kaitlyn McQueeney ‘24 was there for the rebounded finish to put the Martlets up 1-0. The Martlets would have a few more opportunities as the first half rolled on. Fluckiger and Graves each with a couple of shots on goal, but nothing too threatening for the Rhinos. Not until there were 13 minutes left in the half were the Martlets able to get their second goal of the game. A Taft free kick from about midfield was quickly turned away into a counterattack for Westy. The cleared ball found itself to Graves, who dribbled by multiple defenders down the left side of the field and played a nice cross to Blessing Kieh ‘24 who was awaiting the ball just outside the box. Kieh took one touch to set herself up and she ripped the ball over the outstretched hands of the keeper and into the back of the net, putting the Martlets up 2-0 just before the half. The Rhinos had a strong start to the second half, maintaining possession in the Westy half. After a few daring shots from the Rhinos, they had a nice sequence of passes into the box and ultimately scored on a well-struck ball to close the gap to one goal. The Martlets rebounded immediately and scored again within the minute. Quickly off the restart, the Martlets pressed forward and earned a free kick. McQueeney played a beautiful ball into the box and after taking an initial deflection up into the air, Jillian Gregorski ‘24 got a head on it and found the goal to make the score 3-1. No more than two minutes later did Westminster find its fourth goal of the game. A crafty display of dribbling by McQueeney inside the Taft box would lead to a Gregorski goal after squeaking it by the goalkeeper off a deflected shot from McQueeney. With three minutes left in the match, Haley Cramer ‘24 had a great shot on target, but it was miraculously saved by Taft's keeper. The score remained 4-1 until the final whistle. With this win, the Martlets are now 12-2 on the season. The team looks forward to their next matchup against Berkshire this Saturday. The game will be played away at 3:00 PM. Go Martlets!