Winter Sports Highlights 2.6.17

‪Jan. 30: Basketball-First Girls’ 28 vs Wilbraham & Monson Academy 71

Despite the final score, the coaches were proud of the Grit & Grace Westminster showed when faced with adversity during the Jan. 30 game, much of which didn't have anything to do with the game of basketball. Westminster was outplayed and outcoached by a better team, but the Martlets played hard and kept their poise when many, many others didn't. Captain McKenna Burelle ’17 led the way with 17 points, including 10-14 free throws, and Sophie Tawney ’17 added six points and 12 rebounds.

 

‪Feb. 1: Basketball-First Girls’ 46 vs Miss Porter's School 50

Westminster played a great game against a solid Miss Porter’s School team but came up just short as the home team converted a breakaway layup with one second remaining in the game. An inadvertent extra timeout gave Porter's two free throws and the ball to close out the game and account for the four point final deficit. Westminster jumped out to an early lead, held on to a one-point margin at halftime, came out flat and fell behind by as much as 10, but ultimately fought its way back to make it a nip-and-tuck affair in the final minutes. Paige Phillips ’20 led the team in scoring, Sophie Tawney ’17 led us in rebounding, McKenna Burelle ’17 and Emma Alpaugh ’18 were next in the scoring column, and Jaclyn Laplante ’20 contributed several steals and deflected passes.

 

The team traveled to Miss Porter’s School on Feb. 1, and in a back and forth battle, the two teams ended the first half tied at 20. The Martlets struggled to grab rebounds and generate consistent offense in the first half but came out determined to play better in the second half. The girls worked hard and played solid defense and found some offensive momentum to outscore Porters 26-7 in the second half for a final score of 46-27. Alayna Tawney '19 scored 16 points for the team and Ridgely Green '20 had 14 points.
 

The Martlets went into the winter long weekend with a solid 57-27 victory at home against Millbrook. Matt Marciano '19 hit four three pointers and scored 15 points overall to lead Westminster. Chris Whipple '18 and Eli Cohen '19 added eight points apiece for the Black and Gold. Adrian Enchill '17, Andrew Lee '17 and Jack Devlin '19 each had strong defensive efforts and forced a number of Millbrook turnovers. Cohen had some key assists, and Liam Seeley '20 led the team with six rebounds.

Basketball-Third Boys'

On Feb. 1, the Martlets traveled to Renbrook to play the Hawks. The Martlets had a quiet first half but bounced back during the second half. Captain Edward Lie-A-Cheong ‘19 with 14 points and Henry Mitrano ‘19 with 12 points led the offense. The Martlets played well on defense. The second half was led by captain Zach Tarazi '18 with five blocks. The Martlets fell short with the final score at 42-55.

 

Westminster had a strong game against the visiting Griffins of Pomfret School. After a scoreless first period, Westminster broke the drought with a beautiful goal by Lily von Stade '17 off a nice play from Emma Lange '18. Pomfret battled back and the remainder of the period was even. Westminster goalie Leah Klassen '17 made solid saves and helped kill two penalties. The third period belonged to Westminster as Lilly Holmes '18 brought the tempo in the forecheck. At the 10-minute mark, Rosy Sieglaff '18 found the back of the net off a play from Megan Rittenhouse '20 and Jenny Guider '20. Finally, Sixth Form captain von Stade struck again, putting home a rebound off a perfectly placed shot by Taylor Adams '20.

   

‪Jan. 30: Hockey-First Boys’ 2 vs Williston Northampton School 3

The Martlets struggled to find the back of the net again on Jan. 30 against Williston. After Williston scored the first goal, the game was delayed for an injury, and both teams moved to the locker rooms until the ice was cleared. Jay Powell ‘17 scored later in the first period to even the game at one. Tasso Housakos ‘18 scored a highlight reel goal to send Westminster ahead 2-1 on a strong inside move and an even better shot. The game would be even early in the second period after Williston scored on a shot from the point. The third period would see Westminster buzz around Williston’s net, outshooting them and earning excellent scoring opportunities. Nonetheless, the game went to OT, and Williston notched the winner, handing the Martlets another tough loss. Kai Edmonds ‘19 played well, stopping 16 shots, and making some excellent saves throughout the game. 

Westminster swept the Winged Beavers with a powerful performance at home on Feb. 1. After a close overtime win at Avon a week earlier, both teams were ready for a battle. Avon got on the board first with a power play goal early in the first period off an odd-man rush. Westminster answered a few minutes later when Logan Hinton ‘17 sent one over the AOF goaltender’s glove off a great feed from Jack Flanagan ‘17. AOF would score another power play goal with two seconds left in the first to head to the break 2-1. It was all Westminster from there, as both Tasso Housakos ‘18 and Patrick Dawson ‘18 scored to push the Martlets ahead 3-2 before the end of the second. Flanagan stood out on the score sheet in this game, notching the final tally for the Martlets with a nice move to the paint and closing the deal. Although the Martlets again spent too much time on the PK, at five on five they dominated the momentum with physical play and consistency. In this heated rivalry, Westminster takes the sweep for the season. Kai Edmonds ‘19 played well, with some exceptional saves late to keep his team in the lead.

 

‪Feb. 1: Hockey-Second Boys' 4 vs Avon Old Farms School 3

Second Boys’ Hockey made its annual trek down Route 10 to play the Winged Beavers of Avon Old Farms (Varsity B). Despite outshooting Avon by a 2-to-1 margin in each of the first two periods and having the better-quality chances, the Martlets had some defensive lapses and fell behind by a score of 3-0. Fortunately, the visitors had 15 more minutes to make a game of it and so they did. The Black and Gold got their first goal on a power play when Brendan Jacobs '17 pushed the rebound in off a Jeffrey Guiliano '17 shot. Jack Griffith '17 and Max Powers '17 were also in on the play. Less than two minutes later, Walker Stevens '19 set up Griffith to make the score 3-2 Avon. With a dramatic comeback in sight, the Martlet offense went into high gear. At the five-minute mark Ned Blanchard '20 weaved through a plethora of Avon skaters and tied the game on a great individual effort. Just over one minute later, Blanchard and Ryan Pineault '20 combined on a pretty passing play to a waiting Darion Benchich '20, who fired it in for the go-ahead goal. The Martlets narrowly escaped a late-minute onslaught by the desperate hosts but Spencer Rellinger '17, who had 14 saves on the afternoon, held them at bay. The final score was, 4-3, Westminster. This was an outstanding third period effort by the Westminster Seconds. Four unanswered goals on the road against a most competitive foe was an impressive feat and certainly made the transition into the long winter weekend break that much sweeter.

   

‪Feb. 1: Hockey-Third Boys’ 1 vs Avon Old Farms School 3

With SK Lee's ’18 parents traveling halfway across the world to support the Martlets, Third Boys’ Hockey’s lean bench did not disappoint in its compete level or commitment in all three zones. With only two lines and three defenseman, following an early injury to key blue liner Wes Oltsch '20, the Martlets battled the steady wave of speedy Winged Beavers who rolled four lines from the opening whistle. On this day the Martlets strategy was pretty simple: advance the puck one zone at a time, get the puck deep and get off. Striking first, Josh Cosentino ’18 notched the first of the day with a smooth shot from the slot. The pace was quick and the boys executed well for the first two periods before fatigue started its insidious toll. Will Scott ‘20 was brilliant all afternoon, making many wonderful saves and effectively managing his rebounds. An Aiden Wood '20 wrist shot, tipped by Grant Noble ' 18, was disallowed just when the Martlets needed it most. Avon's two power play goals and one other forced the team to pull Scott in the final minutes, yielding one nice opportunity. The Martlets played hard and well, leaving no regrets out on the ice.

 

The girls go into long weekend having completed a brutal stretch that included matches against top-12 teams in New England. On Feb. 1, Hotchkiss, which took each match 3-0, although several girls managed some headway, blanked the team. Abby Leblanc '17 played well in taking her second game to 11-8 against a very strong #1. Caroline Miller '18 also got to eight in a solid second game at #4, while Dora Mitchel '17 took eight points in each of her first two games at #6. The closest the Martlets came to taking a game was at #7, where Lucy Noel '18 came up just short in her first two games, eventually falling 12-10, 11-9, 11-4.

 

 

Second Girls’ Squash hosted an always competitive Hotchkiss squad and lost a tight 4-3 match. In the first round of matches, Rebecca Sargent '20 won in four games at #1, while Georgia Swank '19 also won in four games at #7. Eve Cathcart '20 lost in three games at #5 and Lily Mahoney '17 lost at #3 in five hotly contested games. Going into the second round of matches the score was knotted at 2-2. Annabel Bradley '19 won in four games at #2, but Annie Hicks '17 and Maddie Dwyer '18 lost at #6 and #4 respectively. Dwyer's match went the full five games before she fell 11-8 in the deciding game. Brinley Cuddeback '17, Sam Monte '17 and Elaina Comia '19 all won their exhibition matches. All in all, the girls fought hard to the end and should be proud of their effort.

   

 

‪Feb. 1: Squash-Third Boys’ 2 vs Canterbury School 8

The Martlets hit the road for the last time this season, making the long trek to New Milford to face the Saints from Canterbury. This contest was closer than the final tally indicated, as five of the 10 matches went the distance, with the hosts winning three of them. Both Travis Paulsen ’20 and Scott Lee ’20 started strong and had their share of chances to close out the match in the fourth game, but their opponents battled back to win that game and the next one as well. Meanwhile, Ryan Lee ’18 found himself down 2-0, dug down deep to tie things up, but couldn’t quite secure the victory. The two five-game winners for Westminster were Jack Hajdukiewicz ’18 and Vincent Wang ’19. Like Scott Lee, Hajdukiewicz dominated in the early frames and allowed his opponent to tie things up, forcing a fifth and decisive game. In an exciting finish, he persevered 11-9. Wang continued his winning ways, coming back from a two games to one deficit to win the final two games by identical scores of 11-6. At the top of the ladder, Spencer Organ ’18, staved off several match points in the fourth game, and had a few game points of his own, but eventually lost 16-14.