Fall Sports Highlights for 10.9.17

In its second home meet in a row, Westminster hosted K-O and Williston and came away with a convincing win against the Wyverns while falling to the Wildcats. Annabelle Smith '21 had another fantastic race and was the first girl across the line, her debut win as a Martlet. Bethany Winters '20 looked strong as well and almost picked off a Williston runner at the line. Maggie Chaves '19 continues to look stronger and stronger every week and came in third for the Black and Gold. Michelle Wu '21 finished right behind her as did Liz Casey '18, rounding out the top five. Gabi Drumm '18 moved another rung up the ladder finishing sixth followed by Jennifer Jerand '19 in the top seven runners.

 

Westminster went to Miss Porter's with some players returning from injury. The Martlets quickly scored two goals in the first few minutes before bringing all players off the bench and maintaining a nice dominance of possession and territory. Westminster ended with a good win. Scorers were: Emma Lange '18 (1), Casey Winslow '21 (1), Greta Baker '19 (1) and Maggie Kelly '18 (3). Congrats to Kelly on a nice hat trick, and to Mandy Busky '21 on keeping a clean sheet in goal.

 

The Martlets played their best game yet: solid tempo and competitiveness throughout with a lot of chances on goal and a domination of possession and territory. With some players returning from injury, the Martlets looked strong in all areas. Greta Baker '19, Casey Winslow '21 and Maggie Kelly '18 all scored in the first 20 minutes with nicely worked goals. The Martlets kept pushing for the rest of the game, but struggled to net a number of opportunities.

 

The team worked together to pull off a win on Oct. 4. They communicated constantly and made short accurate passes to move the ball well. At the goal, they attempted many shots and were most successful sending a strong assist towards the goal while a teammate touched the ball to move it around the goalie and send it into the net. The midfield (Katie Kosior '18, Lucy Noel '18, Adena Ajike '19, Olivia Zhang, '20, Jenna Kosior '21 and Eva Pfeiffer '21) worked hard keeping the ball in the offensive end by providing strong support. Goal scorers included three goals from Sophia Gasser '18, two goals from Eliza Polukhin '19 and one goal from Rebecca Sargent '20. The final goal was unlucky for Porter's, bouncing off its own player into goal. Noel and Abby Moss ‘20 made assists. While the defense didn't see much action, they were on their toes and ready when it was down in the their defensive end. The team is continuing to work on bringing the ball to the outside of the field as they move it down field.

 

The Martlets worked hard to put the ball in the net on Oct. 7 and had some beautiful opportunities but unfortunately Loomis stopped them each time. It was a tough game with Loomis sending the ball back each time Westminster brought it down the field. Once the team started bringing the ball down the sidelines, progress was made progress and the team kept it on their end. However, there was a lot of running from one side of the field to the other in this game. The defense (Sarah Levine '19, Layla Ennis '19, Hannah Kaye '19 and Eva Pfeiffer '21) did a nice job of providing support and sending the ball back to the offense when it was below the 25; and goalie Mandy Busky '21 had a great clear out to the side in the last few minutes of the game. The midfield hustled and the attack had some nice set ups to goal, but it was a tough game.

 

The Martlets put up a tough fight against Taft on Oct. 4, but just couldn't bring things together. Lots of individual strong play but Westminster played in its defensive zone for the majority of the game. Kyani Jemmotte '20 was the game MVP recording 23 saves. Strong play also from Alisa Toner '21 and Clara Ekholm '20, both of whom made saves at the goal line. Francesca Bradley '21 and Sofia Kuusisto '19 did a nice job in the midfield throughout the game as well.

 

Despite the score, the Oct. 7 game was a more even match than Oct. 4. The first half ended 0-0. With only two subs, and some players still recovering from illness, it was difficult to maintain a competitive pace in the second half. Kyani Jemmotte '20 had another excellent game in the goal recording more than 10 saves. Anna Veber '21, Simonne Ponce '21 and Elena McGuigan '21 all had great games working the ball through the midfield.

 

It was a slow start for both teams, but 35 minutes into the first half, Georgia Swank ‘19 found the back of the net off a pass from Katy Maxon ‘18. Just five minutes later, Swank found Mia Poling ‘18 for a shot over the MPS goalie. MPS did not back down and notched a shot off a corner and the teams broke for half with Westminster leading 2-1. Westminster got another goal in the second half thanks to a Katie Neilsen ‘18 one timer from a MPS goalie save, but the home team’s three second half goals, including the game winner in the final minute of play, were enough to put MPS on top.

 

The Martlets hosted Loomis Chaffee for a game under the lights at Hovey Field. Both teams competed for all 80 minutes, battling on all areas of the field and coming up with chances throughout the match. Loomis got on the board first, seven minutes into the game, and remained on top the remainder of the half. The one-goal deficit did not stop Westminster from playing its game and creating opportunities. In the second half, with 16 minutes left in the game, midfielder Blake Cote '19 beat a few Loomis defenders and placed a beautiful shot in the upper left corner of the Loomis net to tie the game at 1-1. The battle continued and Westminster keeper Siena Sandridge '19 had outstanding saves to maintain the 1-1 tie, but with five minutes left, Loomis found the net once more and secured the close 2-1 victory. The Martlet defense in particular turned in a great game, led by Sandridge, and Westminster should be proud with its play during this game against a strong Loomis squad. 

 

Westminster would host Williston on an unusually hot October day. Both teams started off a bit slow and would knock the ball around and play possession to start off. Westminster would have a great chance midway through the first half as Aly Tolba '18 would steal a ball and head in all alone, but the Williston keeper would come up with a huge save. Riley Wood '19 would get the home team on the board first converting a cross from Paul McNamara '18 off a nice pass from John Clofine '21. In the second half the visitors came out strong and had multiple pointblank chances which Westminster goalie Peyton Knauf '19 would have to turn away. Williston would even the score about 15 minutes into the second half on a cross and back post finish. Westminster would push late and have a number of good crosses. With nine minutes to go, Nate Pane '19 would finish a hard driven ball low to the corner that would be the game winner from just inside the 18-yard box. Chanler Miller '18 and Gabe Grimeh '19 would run hard and play great defense against Williston's 6' 5’’ target guy up top. The game ball would go to Knauf who finished with seven saves.

 

Westminster would host Kingswood on an off-day game. The visitors would open the scoring midway through the first half off a free kick that would take an awkward bound in the box. Westminster would take halftime to regroup and adjust to the high press of KO. Riley Wood '19 would even the score at one as he converted a slotted ball from Nate Pane '19. With under 15 minutes left in the game Paul McNamara '18 would flick a loss ball over his should and tuck it under the cross bar for the game winner. The game winner would come off a great corner kick from Juan Jo Garibay '20 and knocked in by Ryan Messina '20. Peyton Knauf '19 would finish the game with eight saves.

The girls suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of a tough Porter's squad. The host put the Martlets under pressure early and often, but the defense held and even initiated some potent counterattacks. Susie Mahoney '20 got behind the Daisies' defense several times before finally burying a goal in the 27th minute, converting a nice through ball sent in by Becca Gavel '18. The 1-0 score held until midway into the second half, when a mistake breaking out of the back produced a golden opportunity that the hosts did not squander. Energized by the momentum shift, the hosts upped the pressure, and while both teams would generate several good chances in the last 15 minutes, it would be Porter's who would find the net (twice) with quick shots from outside of the box. Shout-outs today go to Lizzy McCoy '20 for poise under pressure in the back; to Maddie Dwyer '18 for tireless work in midfield; and to Laura Velez '20 for strong effort off the bench at outside midfield.

 

The girls suffered their second consecutive 3-1 defeat against another strong opponent. Loomis seized control of the game early, dominating possession and attacking relentlessly to produce good scoring chances. The Martlets had to settle for the occasional counterattack, which penetrated deep a few times, but without threatening the goal. By midway through the first half, the visitors had already put two in the net and seemed poised to run away with the game. However, in the 25th minute Susie Mahoney '20 took a nice through pass and hit a quick high shot from outside the box that cut the lead in half and gave the home side a surge of belief. The 2-1 score held through the end of the first half and well into the second. In the second frame, the hosts claimed a more equal share of the possession, creating as much pressure as they faced. Unfortunately, the Pelicans extended their lead in the 66th minute, converting a quick counter into a great shot. The girls would continue to battle, but the 3-1 score would hold. Encouragement can be derived from the fact that the girls made some positive adjustments, improving their marking and making quicker passes and decisions.

 

SK Lee '18 hit Henry Mitrano '19 with a well-placed through ball in the eighth minute and Mitrano laid it in the net to start the scoring for the Martlets. In the 21st minute, Tucker Wieber '18 played a ball over the top from his post as center back and found Sal Iaria '18, who outran his defender and pushed it past the keeper for the second Westminster goal. In the second half, midfielder Jake Monroe '20 played it to Lee in heavy traffic just inside the penalty area. Lee laced a powerful shot toward the far post to put Westminster up 3-0. Williston later added an unfortunate own goal resulting from a combination from Lee to Iaria, and the score remained 4-0. Staunch defending from co-captain Zach Tarazi '18, Peter Hall '18, Elton Paintsil '18, co-captain Alex Biedron '18, James Plumb '18, and Darion Benchich '20 cleared every threat and allowed the midfield and wing backs to provide constant pressure on the Williston defense. Overall, it was a decisive win with skillful play and tactics by the Martlets.

 

Co-captain Alex Biedron '18 started the scoring in the seventh minute with a well-placed hit from far out on the perimeter that sailed over the keeper and into the net. Twelve minutes later, Henry Mitrano '19 dribbled in from the right corner along the end line and chipped a 12-yard pass in the air to Linc Dines '21, who volleyed it in for what may have been the prettiest Martlet goal of the young season. The score stood at 2-0 at the break, but just two minutes into the second half Jake Monroe '20 received a pass in traffic just outside the top of the penalty area. He cut left past one defender and took another touch to get separation from another before hitting a hard drive to the near post over the keeper's right shoulder. In the 72nd minute, SK Lee '18 received a pass on the 18-yard line with his back toward goal and flipped the ball over his head to beat his defender and then drove a low shot to the side net of the far post. Four minutes later, Walker Stevens '19 laid in a perfect cross on a corner kick and found Monroe streaking in for the header to put Westminster up 5-0. For the third straight game, the Martlet defense held its opponent scoreless and contributed to the continuous attack on the Kingswood net.

 

Third Girls’ Soccer did not fare well heading over to K-O. Down 4-0 a quarter of the way through the first half took the steam right out of the team. In the second half, K-O was relentless, dominating time of possession and pounding away at the Westminster defense and net. There were some individual great efforts though, with solid games from Cecily Carter '21, Isabel von Bargen-Burke '19 and Ondine Finley '19. Alex Wolf '19 scored the lone Westminster goal with a great assist from Mairead DeFronzo '20.

 

Loomis and Westminster went toe-to-toe for 70 hard minutes with a 1-1 result. Both teams played extraordinary soccer. Midway through the first half a Loomis penalty allowed Elisabeth Knauf '20 to step to the PK line, where she put it in the net. Though the Westminster defense allowed a goal only four minutes into the second half, the team bent but did not break. Every person played hard throughout and even though there were a few opportunities to scores, they just couldn't quite get the deciding goal in the net. This was a very good effort for the half waypoint of the season.

 

 

 

Fourth Boys’ Soccer played a close game against Taft on Oct. 4. Goalie William Mell '21 was solid. The tying goal, by Samuel Pagon '21, was nullified by an off sides penalty.

 

Fourth Boys’ Soccer lost 1-3 to Deerfield in a closely played match. Westminster's goal came on a long goal kick by William Mell '21 that was turned into a breakaway by Charlie von Stade '21. von Stade’s shot created a rebound that was put into the corner by Peter Sanger '21. Mell was strong in goal, again.