Martlets Tie AOF

On perhaps the most beautiful day of the fall, we played perhaps our best game of the season and tied an Avon Old Farms team that had previously beaten us twice by a combined score of 12-5. With a bench shortened by multiple early departures, we mixed and matched our lineups and asked several players to play out of position and/or for more minutes than they were accustomed, and our boys responded tremendously. Co-captain Alex Martinez ‘26 and Luke Zappia ‘26 moved from the backline to the midfield and didn’t disappoint. Aidan O’Callaghan ‘26 boomed several effective corner kicks and, along with Henry Baird ‘26 and Andrew Sala ‘26, provided steady defense, clearing the zone multiple times. Brodie DiBeneditto ‘26 applied the most offensive pressure on the day, and both goalies, Jack Pickett ‘26 and Danny Maher ‘26, played exceptionally well, each garnering multiple saves. But the day belonged to George Baird ‘26. Playing midfield for the first time all year, George played with a combination of toughness and control that helped us keep the pressure on AOF all day, especially in the first half. But the highlight of the afternoon came when Maher, providing our forwards a much-needed breather late in the second half, made a valiant rush up the right sideline, fought off two defenders, and crossed the ball to George, who blasted a bounding ball into the left corner of the net for the game-tying goal, his first of the season. We had a few chances after that, but ultimately we ran out of time. Nevertheless, this was a game to feel good about for many reasons, and we’re very happy to go into the long-awaited long weekend on such a high note.