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Making History, Varsity Girls’ Soccer Clinch New England Championship
Relentless. The word that epitomizes the 2023 Westy Girls’ Varsity Soccer team. The team never stopped in their pursuit of a championship. A season that concluded Sunday with a 1-0 win over Thayer Academy on Harrison Field to secure the Class A New England Championship, the first ever in the school’s history.
When asked what made this year’s team different, co-captain Jill Gregorski ’24 said “Our motivation. Our discipline. Our consistency. We knew what we wanted to do and we executed it. Every day we were all in.”
The Martlets’ run in the tournament began with a 4-2 triumph over rival Loomis Chaffee. Mia Fluckiger ’26 opened the scoring with two goals to jump-start the offense. The girls withstood a surge from the Pelicans in the second half to advance to the semifinals. It would be a rematch of a regular season game with Miss Porter’s, the No. 2 seed. Miss Porter’s had won the Founders League title over Westminster as a result of their head-to-head results and Westy had that game on their minds as they made the short trip to Farmington.
It was a brisk day, with temps in the 40s and a wind that would gust and affect play. After a level first half, the Martlets asserted themselves in the second half and created numerous chances. Miss Porter’s defense held until the 70th minute, when Elysse Cumberland '24 dribbled through traffic inside the 18-yard box and buried a shot into the lower corner. The Martlets stood tall on defense (Mia Davis ’24, Olivia Martin ’27, Maya Goddard ’26, Hannah Coccaro ’26, Izzie Leone ’27) and closed out Miss Porter’s to secure their 16th win and a place in the Championship vs No.4 seed Thayer Academy.
With less than 20 hours until the Class A Championship game, Westminster knew they would have to dig deep. The major advantage Sunday was the game would be played at home. On a sunny morning on Williams Hill, Jill Gregorski ’24 scored in the 29th minute off a corner won by Elysse Cumberland ’24. Despite having chances in the second half, the Thayer keeper kept Westminster from a second goal. Westy’s defense, anchored by keeper Emme Pacheco-Hager ’25 and Maya Goddard ’26, turned away any Thayer chances and the Martlets held on for a 1-0 win. The celebration went on long after the game for a team that had come up just short last year, losing to Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in the Championship. This one won't be forgotten any time soon.
The team finishes the season 17-1-1 and will go down as one of the best teams in Westminster School athletics history.
Coach Kelly Wosleger summed up the season saying: “It was a storybook ending and a dream come true to be able to win a New England Championship on our home field. This team is truly special and I am beyond lucky to have the opportunity to be their coach. There is not a more deserving group.”
“Coach Wosleger has done a phenomenal job of recruiting student-athletes who are not only incredibly talented soccer players but who are also remarkable people who contribute to our community in so many ways,” said Director of Athletics Tim Joncas ’00. “Her commitment to attracting high-level people coupled with her unmatched knowledge of the game and her care for the program and her players have all factored into taking our girls’ soccer program to its current level.”
“Our athletic program and school, always benefit from having teams compete in New England Championship tournaments — competing at the highest level. Competing, and winning a New England Championship, draws a lot of positive attention and increases interest in our athletic program and our school,” said Joncas.
See photos on Flickr here. Photos courtesy of Lisa Thomas-DuFresne, Courtney Leone P’27 and Tim Harris ’17.
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