Martlets Defeat Ethel Walker

The Martlets battled against Ethel Walker this Wednesday afternoon at home. Westminster came out strong at the first whistle and scored within the first two minutes of the match; Maya Goddard ‘26 initiated the scoring opportunity by playing a ball over the Ethel Walker backline to Blessing Kieh ‘24 who looked to goal. The Ethel keeper came out to challenge Kieh’s shot attempt, and Kieh received the rebound and passed to Jillian Gregorski ‘24 right in front of the net for the tap-in finish. Six minutes later, Kieh received the ball in the box from Gregorski and shot the ball. While her first attempt was saved, Kieh followed through with her run and found the back of the net for the second goal of the game. The Martlets took some time throughout the half to adjust to the Ethel Walker high defensive line but continued to make dangerous runs and looked to get forward. With 18 minutes left in the half, Goddard played the ball forward to Lauren Neuman ‘25 who, just managing to stay onside, found Mia Fluckiger ‘26 in the box who slotted it home to make the score 3-0. Four minutes before halftime, Ethel Walker was awarded a penalty kick in the Martlet box and capitalized on their opportunity making the score 3-1 entering the second half. Westminster tackled the first moments of the new half with energy and grit. Kaitlyn McQueeney ‘24 played a wonderful cross-field pass to Kieh who quickly dribbled upfield until an Ethel Walker defender deflected the ball to Fluckiger. Fluckiger took a quick touch to lay it off to Catherine Graves ‘24, who finished the ball from about 30 yards outside the box. Two minutes later, Graves played a beautiful ball over the top of the Walker backline to Gregorski. Surging up the field with speed, Gregorski dribbled through two defenders and placed the ball past a diving keeper to swell the Martlet lead to 5-1. With 18 minutes remaining, the Martlets scored their final goal of the game. Taryn Overstreet ‘26 passed the ball to Goddard in the midfield. Goddard then attacked the seams and ripped a shot from just outside the box beyond the outstretched arms of the goalkeeper. Goalies Emme Pacheco-Hager ‘25, Ellie Smith ‘27, and Helen Marshall ‘25 were all key in net today; special shout out to Marshall for her tremendous efforts and multiple great saves! Overall, today was a full team effort. With this win, the Martlets are 9-1-1 on the season. The team looks forward to their next game against Canterbury this Saturday, October 28th. The game will be played at home at 2:30 PM.