Martlets Shutout Kent

Westminster took on the Lions of Kent School on a beautiful fall afternoon at Hovey Field. The Martlets settled in quickly, but were missing the urgency and competitive fire they started the first two games of the season with. The first half was a back and forth match, with both teams fighting to gain possession in the midfield and turn any break into an offensive chance. As time went on, the Martlets continued to hold their ground, but struggled to get much going on offense. Cassie Goundrey ’24 made a key save at the end of the second quarter to keep the score knotted at 0-0. The Martlets switched things up at half time positionally and took the second half with a more spirited effort, focusing on completing plays in the offensive end, fighting to regain possession after errors, and working together to move the ball up field out of the defensive half. In the fourth quarter, Lily Vincent ’25 and Allysen Whitehead ’25 teamed up on an attacking penalty corner inserted by Hadley Crowther ’25 that saw Vincent send the ball to the back of the cage to give the Martlets a 1-0 lead. Westminster knew it had a lot of work ahead of them in order to finish the game on top. Kent found another gear in the final minutes of the game, but the Martlets' competitive edge was finally breaking out as the team was determined to keep the Lions off the board. The game concluded with an opportunity for Kent to tie the game on a timeout corner, but Olivia Gordon ’24 flew out to put pressure on the Kent player at the top of the circle, and Crowther made a fantastic play behind Gordon to break off the Kent passing play and clear the ball from Westminster’s defensive circle to end the game. Goundrey made several key saves in net to earn the victory for Westminster, especially in the final minutes of the game. Crother earned the team’s Player of the Game hat for her dominant play in the midfield and game-deciding stop with no time left on the clock. The Martlets will hit the road for a double-header weekend at Pomfret and Choate.