Fall Sports Highlights 10.15.18

The Martlets traveled to Salisbury, Connecticut Oct. 13 to compete against Kent School. After several days of rain, the traditional Salisbury course was rendered unusable. The coaches acted quickly to engineer a new course overnight, which brought runners around school buildings and through fields on the main part of Salisbury's campus (while still managing to include several hills). The resulting course measured just under 3.1 miles. The girls suffered a narrow defeat (27-30) to the Lions, despite competing with a smaller-than-usual squad. Annabelle Smith ’21 was Westminster’s top finisher, completing the course in a time of 21:39 to take second place. Martlet Miranda Douglass ‘21, who placed third overall in the girls’ race, followed her closely. Underformers Aleyna Baki ’21 and Bella Tawney ’22 made an excellent effort in the final 400m of the race to finish sixth and seventh, respectively, on the arduous course. After battling shin splints for several weeks, Allie Masthay ’21 made an impressive return, rounding out the top five finishers for Westminster.

 

Some races you go for time, some for place and some you survive. The incessant rains this fall had drowned the Salisbury course, so the coaches made a heroic effort to save the meet by constructing an alternative course on the main campus. That said, the new course brought the racers through sloppy fields and muddy slopes as well as twisting sidewalks around buildings; one section was a downhill mudslide that took down a few runners. The Martlets showed their grit and grace, pushing through these adverse conditions with few complaints. Westminster took the top five spots against both Salisbury and Kent, and the team’s displacers finished ahead of Kent’s third and Salisbury’s second racers. Emmett de Kanter ‘19 won in a time of 17:19, despite a little confusion about the finishing turns of the course, and the boys were in control from start to finish. The team is now 4-0 for their dual meet season. In the Second Boys race, the Martlets fell to a very deep Kent team 43-20, although Alex Ellis ’20 was the top finisher for the second weekend in a row. Second Boys did best the Scarlet Knights, 16-39, keeping their dual meet record at .500.

The Martlets played some great field hockey, pushing Hotchkiss hard in the second half. Hotchkiss scored two goals from corners in the first half and retained its lead with good defense. Westminster tried some new formations to see if it could capitalize more on possession and territory advantages — these worked well, and the team looked more dangerous in the circle than it has of late.

 

After 150 minutes of a goalless jinx, Westminster scored a nice stroke through Abby Munger '20 to level the scores at 1-1. From there, the Martlets seemed liberated to score again and made two more nice goals to finish 3-1. Westminster shot 14 to Williston's one, and so it was another game of good, dominant play from the Martlets. Gemma Green '21 and Greta Baker '19 scored the other two goals.

 

 

The Martlets displayed tremendous grit as they took on the rhinos. They braved the mud and blustery weather and maintained control of the game through the first half. Callista Adorno ‘22 finally found the back of the cage with only a few minutes left in the game. Taft was able to respond off a penalty corner after the clock had run down and tied up the game. The teams battled through an overtime period but ended the evening 1-1. Kyani Jemmotte ‘20 had several excellent saves that kept Westminster in the game.

 

The Martlets travelled to Lakeville, Connecticut to compete against the Bearcats of Hotchkiss Oct. 10. Unfortunately, Hotchkiss' first goal in the first minute of play set the Martlets back into a deficit they were never able to overcome. The first goal happened so quickly, and, despite potential for a Westminster counter attack, the Martlets could not quite get in their groove after this tough start. Hotchkiss found the net six times throughout the 80 minutes and Westminster left Lakeville with a disappointing defeat.

 

The Martlets traveled north to Williston Northampton School for a Saturday night game under the lights. There was high energy from both squads, but Williston was the first to convert this energy into a goal, putting one in the back of the net off a header from an early corner kick four minutes into play. Much of the play was in the middle third of the field, but Westminster remained in control of much of the possession, keeping the ball on the ground to combat the long balls from Williston’s back line. The teams broke for half and the Martlets were hungry for a goal. Westminster began the second half with many chances in its offensive end, but it was not until 15 minutes into the second half that the Martlets found the back of the net. Jaclyn Laplante ‘20 crossed a ball into the 18 after a corner kick and Priscilla Ameyaw ‘22 finished with a beautiful side-netting shot — her first career goal as a Martlet. The momentum shifted and Westminster controlled the rest of the game, outshooting Williston, but the buzzer sounded too soon. All players displayed grit with notable performances from goalkeeper Allison Kijanka ‘20 and center back Laplante. 

 

Westminster would make the short trip over to The Master’s School for an off-day matchup. Both teams started slow with the field conditions. Jordy Nelson '21 would open the scoring with a great turn and shoot goal from about 20 yards out. Riley Wood '19 would make it 2-0 with an in tight rebound goal. Master’s would play some hard defense and keep the visitors from adding any more in the first half. The second half started quick for Westminster as the team would add three goals in swift succession — two from Zach Papapetros ‘20 and one highlight-distance shot from Ryan Messina '20. Gabe Mays-Sanchez '22 would finish off the scoring with a nice side-netting shot on a breakaway. Lucas Wahlberg '21 would finish the game with only one save but he was active playing balls out. Tarek Mourad '19 would finish the game with a couple saves in relief. The game wrench would go to Wick Carter '19 for his hustle up and down the left side of the field. The Master’s School would pick Nelson as the Westminster player of the game.

On a hot sunny day, the Martlets hosted the Doors in a very even match up. Deerfield would open the scoring in the first half off a misplaced ball, which would turn into an odd-man rush, and the Deerfield player would hit a hard-driven ball into the net. Westminster would tie it up midway through the second half on a well-placed PK by Nathan Constantino '19. Deerfield would battle back to take the lead 2-1, but not for long. Ryan Messina '20 would convert on a well-placed cross with three minutes to go in the game. Westminster would let its guard down with three minutes to go in the game which Deerfield would take advantage of to take the 3-2 win. The team wrench was passed to Lukas Dudzik '19 who played with courage with numerous nagging injuries. Deerfield chose Constantino as player of the game for the Martlets. Lucas Wahlberg ’21 would finish the game with a solid five saves.

 

Westminster traveled up to Salisbury on that school’s parents weekend to take on a spirited group. The Martlets, at times, again played good soccer and had decent amount of possession. However, they were not able to find the back of the net with their chances. The team wrench would be handed out to Nate Pane '19. Peyton Knauf '19 would finish the game with three saves. Nathan Costantino ’19 would be awarded player of the game for Westminster by the Salisbury coaching staff.

 

The girls never got it going against the Bearcats, suffering a disappointing 4-1 defeat. The hosts took advantage of a strong tail wind to apply relentless pressure in the first half, earning a 3-0 lead at the intermission. Unfortunately, the wind did not provide the same boost to the Martlets in the second half, although the girls did generate some offense, and they got on the board when Susie Mahoney '20 got behind the defense and converted her breakaway. On this day, however, Hotchkiss was a more aggressive, better passing team, and it never really ceded control of the game, adding another goal late off a corner kick for the final score.

 

Second Girls’ Soccer played its best game of the season, earning a decisive 5-0 win. The passing game was firing on all cylinders, enabling the girls to maintain a large advantage in possession, and creating plenty of scoring chances. Susie Mahoney '20 was in the thick of many of the attacks, and notched two goals in the first half, one of which was a pretty one-timer off a Hailey Tullo '22 corner kick. Cecilia Raymond '20 also created much havoc, and added a goal of her own when a shot by Alexa Dwyer '22 deflected off the near post, staking the Martlets to a 3-0 lead at halftime. The girls continued to roll after the intermission, with Dwyer and Tullo adding goals of their own after getting behind the Wildcat defense. Shout-outs go to Audrey Froelich '19, who played with great poise at holding midfield, and to Margaux Sorenson '22 and Amelia Jansing '22, who made good reads and effective touches in defense.

 

Second Boys’ Soccer was unlucky not to score against a good Deerfield team. Theo Vandervoorn '20 came in as the keeper and gave a very good account of himself. The first half was the best for the Westminster boys and saw them stretching the Deerfield back line with some incisive movement. Linc Dines '21 worked hard up top and continued to be a potent threat around goal. Dines was excellent at converting half chances into shots on target or keeping lost balls alive and turning them into a shot. Even in this loss there were good signs from the team. There was much better support around the field and the movement off the ball is starting to improve. This will help the team keep possession and maintain pressure in dangerous areas. The score does not tell the whole story and the boys should be pleased with their efforts and improvements.

 

The lads of Second Boys’ Soccer went out to Salisbury Oct. 13 and returned home with the win. Conditions were tough, as the players slid all over the muddy pitch but the Martlet midfield, led by captain Tyler Kinney’19, established early dominance over their opponents. The Martlets got the scoring going midway through the first half as Linc Dines ’21 latched on to a through ball, sprinted away from the defense and played a delicious cutback to Henry Mitrano’19 who cut in and tucked away the chance. The Martlets continued their ravenous energy into the second half and their energy was punctuated by a thunderous outside the box goal from Wylie Clarke ’21 which nestled itself into the top left, giving the Salisbury keeper no chance. Vincent van Nordeck ’21 added Westminster’s third after having been denied twice before by an offside call and some excellent goalkeeping. Salisbury did not go quietly adding two goals before Peter Sanger ’21 put the game out of reach with a tidy finish from close range. There were a number of good performances from the Westminster boys, including Theo Vandervoorn ’20 performing excellently in a last-minute start, Darion Benchich ’20 and Jonah Prentiss ’22 anchoring a steady back line, and Tyler Donegan ’22 showing great skill in his first turn at striker. There were many great individual performances, but it was an all-around excellent team performance.

 

In the sun and the rain, against the dramatic backdrop of the Appalachian Trail, Third Boys' Soccer lost a nail biter at Salisbury. After a deadlocked first half, the Crimson Knights scored on a straight shot to the far left corner. Shortly thereafter, they scored again during a scrum in front of the goal box. But Westminster answered back when William Mazzaro '21 fired a well-placed penalty kick into the back of the net, his second goal of the season. Running out of time, the Martlets tried to make the best of several scoring opportunities but ultimately came up short when the final whistle blew. In the end, Ben Ferrell '21 made the most out of his goalkeeping debut, always keeping the Martlets within striking distance. The Martlets received other notable performances from crafty midfielder Ian Lee '21, defender Kendrick Freeman '21, and setup man Rex Flinn '21.

  

On a warm October day, the boys traveled to the beautiful hills of Western Connecticut to face the Highlanders at the historic Gunnery School. William Mell ‘21 had a spectacular game from the midfield. He ignited almost every Westminster score, and, late in the game carved up the Highlander defense and placed the ball in the upper right-hand corner for the Martlets’ final score. Brian Opdenaker ‘21 got the scoring started early as he received a spectacular pass from Quinn Plumb ‘21. Opdenaker scored his second goal when Cooper Kistler ‘22 served him a beautiful ball. Ben Mihailovich ‘22 then found Plumb and Plumb beat a diving Highlander keeper. Alex Unruh ‘22 and Mihailovich played assist-score with each other. Leading 3-0, Mihailovich found a streaking Unruh and Unruh beat two Highlanders and the keeper. Unruh then played a long ball. Mihailovich beat the offside trap and scored. The Martlets led 5-0 and that is how the first half ended. The Highlander goaltender made dozens of saves in the second half. It was then time for Max Hong ‘22 to get to work. Coming off a spectacular week of practice, Hong sliced through the defense and beat the keeper with a rocket ball. Mell finished the scoring and Westminster drove off with a 7-1 victory.

 

 

History was made on Westminster’s campus Oct. 10, as the water polo team hosted its first match in the history of the school. With a formidable Deerfield team visiting, the Martlets played in front of a packed house for the first half of the game. For many fans this was their first opportunity to see a water polo match in person, so the experience was eye-opening for many. This has been an educational season for all of the Martlet polo players, and this match was no exception. Deerfield opened up the scoring early, and stunned Westminster with its speed, and especially its physicality. This game, more than others this season, was particularly physical and exhausting for Westminster. Deerfield was unwilling to concede inside water, and open water was at a premium on offense and defense. Not to be thwarted, however, Westminster played a more physical game with each quarter. Jeremy Hopsicker ‘22, Max Larock ‘22 and Layton Harmon ‘21 all met with some fierce battles in the hole offensive position, and on a few occasions, Westminster was able to advance the ball toward the goal. Carter Henshaw ‘20 lobbed a nice ball toward the front of the net, and Hopsicker was able to capitalize by elevating and directing the ball into the net. Hopsicker would add another tally on a 5 meter penalty shot late in the game. Shane Wahlberg ‘19, the lone Sixth Former on the team, made some excellent saves in the second half of the game at both ends of the pool. In a season of firsts, this was a great way to learn what it will take to compete against league teams in the years ahead. Westminster will keep working on ball control, maintaining composure on offense and limiting time and space for the opposition. There was no quit in the Martlets on this day, and everyone earned playing time. Moving forward, hopefully Westminster can capitalize on the experiences it continues to have in the pool.