Martlets Shutout Canterbury

The Martlets hosted the Canterbury Saints on a beautiful fall afternoon on Wilbraham Field. Playing good possession soccer throughout, at first the Black and Gold had a difficult time finding their way through the stalwart Saints defensive line. Canterbury wisely chose to have at least 9, and sometimes all 10, players on the defensive side of the ball and try to quickly counter on changes of possession – a tactic that worked a little too often for this coach's comfort level. With starting keeper Dennis Quiwon '26 leaving the game after 20 minutes with an injury, reserve keeper Alex Wood '25 stepped up when the team's defense let Canterbury slip through. Wood was called on to make several big saves, including two key one-handers, to earn the combined shutout with Quiwon. Woody was given the game ball for his efforts. Luka Misko '27 opened the scoring in the 14th minute, deftly firing a ball past the sprawling Saints keeper into the left side of the net. Henry Warner '25 started that play, beating his man down the right side and feeding Abraham Monsee '25, who found Misko. It was Misko's first Martlet goal of his career – the first of likely many. Daniel Olaosebikan '26 followed with his own first goal of the season (and his career as well). Monsee started that play down the left side, turning the Canterbury back along the end line and feeding Olaosebikan in tight on the Saints cage. The keeper made the first save, and the Canterbury backs joined the scrum, but somehow Olaosebikan won the ball and hammered it home. The first half ended with the Martlets in control 2-0, but the game still seemed up for grabs if Westminster couldn't build on that first-half lead. Changing tactics a bit in the second half to find a way either over or around the Maginot Line held by the Saints, the Martlets quickly earned some good chances. Arshaan Shah '26 made it 3-0 when he buried a rebound off a Galima Sonnah '26 rocket. Sonnah had launched his shot from about 20 yards out, and the dipping ball hit the inside of the left post and found its way out to Shah on the far side about 15 yards from the goal. That was only 7 minutes into the second frame and opened the gates a little bit in the Canterbury defense. Monsee added the fourth goal of the afternoon only 5 minutes after Shah's, beating several Saints as he slid across the top of the penalty box before tucking the ball into the goal. Dylan Wendle '25 added the fifth Westminster goal when Warner – a threat all afternoon – beat his man again on the end line and fed Wendle on the six-yard line. Olaosebikan made the final tally 6-0 with his second of the afternoon when he was on the receiving end of a neat tic-tac-toe passing play involving Finn Hocking '26, Warner, Misko, and Sonnah. Lots of contributions from many Martlets who may not see as much playing time as the starters: Finn Williams '26, Matt Gregorski '27, and Nick Lopriore '26 all had the opportunity to gain valuable game experience and took full advantage, playing hard and making solid plays. Full credit to Canterbury, who hung in there for 90 minutes and pressed hard on the Martlet net for the whole game. The Black and Gold improved to 3-8-1 on the season and met our daily goal as a team: play hard and get better. This is a young group with lots of promise, and it's nice to have some success to validate the effort these guys are making day-in and day-out in training. Next up: the Hotchkiss Bearcats at home on Wednesday. Wilbraham Field promises to be packed with the Martlet faithful, and tickets may be hard to come by – but some can certainly be had if you know ace kit man Richard Kim '25.