In First Game, Martlets Face A Ready Taft

The Martlets opened the 2011 season in Watertown against a very strong Taft side.  Taft already had a win under their belts and they played with confidence and with a sense of purpose that is more typical of mid-season.  The hosts seized control of possession early and put the Martlets in a defensive posture that they would find hard to shake.  Nonetheless the game remained scoreless for nearly 30 minutes before the Rhinos took the lead on a well-placed cross to the far post that was headed home.  That would be the only scoring in the first half, but Taft struck twice in the first ten minutes of the second half to take control; their fourth goal in the 65th minute put the game out of reach.  Westminster notched their goal in the 89th minute, set up by a great hustle play by Cory Latour '12, who pressured the Taft back on a ball over the top, then pressured the keeper as he came out to play the ball.  The ball was cleared nearly to midfield where it was picked up by Stan Sandoval '13, who drilled a long ball into the net before the keeper could recover.  Strong games were turned in by Jack Zaykowski '12 and Lorin Tobey '15 in their Martlet debuts, as well as by Sean Han '14 in his first start.  The boys will look forward to applying lessons learned as they play their lone night game of the season at Suffield HS on Saturday.