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Pomfret School
Varsity Soccer
Pomfret 3 Cushing 1
Nov. 10: Pomfret took the turf under the lights moments after the JV finished their fine season and played under the lights to a 3-1 victory. It was not a pretty game, but the squad was led by Dave St. Lawrence’s’ two assists and a goal. He truly showed why he is a WNEPSSA All-Star selection. The other goals were scored by a heads-up play of Chris Alves finishing on a pass from Dave to give Pomfret a 1-0 lead. Then Cushing countered against us and some miscommunication in the back cost us. AJ was still battling the lingering effects of low blood sugar for the morning—but with the way he played in the second half—I will take low blood sugar any day. He made two saves—one off a header right in front and second off a low liner that were labeled. AJ made the saves to keep us in the game and showed once again that he a keeper to be reckoned with in the future.
After we started the second half, we were still trying to figure out the Cushing formation. They were bunching and not giving us much time to release and forced us to go quick release long ball. It was ugly but effective as we put Dave up top and tried to avoid the offside trap. We were successful most of the time. Chris Grandi, Max King—once again playing the double defense and offense role—and Brian Lawler all had some nice runs and our speed worked to our advantage as we built shots. The Cushing boys just would not back down. In the middle we had Matt Bourdeau and Jack Nicholson—playing one of his better games of the year on the outside—and then Chris Alves and Charlie Gruner. We just could not get the flow going—though each of those players gave us opportunities. We worked the outside with the wing half and Diego Briones also had a fine game. He turned the corner on several occasions, and we just missed finishing on one of his plays. He and Jack were also nailing the corners as Dave and Tim Haggerty both rang the post.
Early in the second half Dave hit a rocket on the outside from Jack and the keeper just got a hand on it and Tim Haggerty streaked in to clean up the ball by banging it decidedly home.
Then it was time for Kyle and the guys in the back to show their stuff—and they did. Kyle was totally in charge in the second half with both his voice and his feet. We banged balls out of harms way and then Cushing would come roaring back. Remy was playing a really nice game on the outside and was clearing out with both feet. He is so relaxed back there, he just scares me. Ray of course was Ray—except without as many fouls today. The turf really seemed to suit him and in the waning moments of the game—after Dave had scored the decisive goal cutting back against the grain on a nice feed from Matt who had the ball on his feet from Charlie on a nice quick release pass—Ray went on one of his runs. We were playing with just one up top at that point and Dave dropped back to cover for Ray. Ray took it down the whole field and played keep away from three guys and ended up getting us a throw in right near the offensive corner flag. It was not a goal—but the smile on Ray’s face showed that he understood he had made a nice play.
The boys have gone 5-1-2.
Cross Country
Nov. 13: New England Division III Championship
The Griffins finished 11th out of 14 teams today in the N.E.P.S.T.A Division III Championships. We had a decisive win over Canterbury, one of the teams we frequently compete with during the regular season, but lost to Kingswood Oxford, another school that we see several times throughout the regular season.
The competition was strong from start to finish with 13 of the top 15 runners breaking the 18 minute mark. In such a field it would have been easy for our runners to go out too fast, and as a result not have enough left for the final kick. Therefore, I must congratulate senior and captain TJ Deary for doing a great job setting up the first mile. His time of 18:48 is one of his best times this season. Indeed, this was a great race to end his high school cross country career: beautiful weather, strong competition and a solid performance.
The other members of the team in the varsity race were Bobby Turner (18:34), Oliver Finley (19:40), Chappy Paul (20:03), Hayden Breault (20:10), Dylan Grigg (20:36) and Josh Roemer-Ingles (20:41). These guys left the course today knowing that they put it all on the line. One had to battle illness, another a recently sprained ankle, and all had to battle the water-logged field in the first mile.
Marianapolis
Soccer
Nov. 12: Knights beat Providence. In the old days we used to say “It’s Tourney time in Thompson”. And so it was as the Wheeler School boys’ team travelled to Thompson for the second time in a week for the SENE Championship game. The Golden Knights were playing to defend last year’s league championship upset of perennial powerhouse Providence Country Day School as well as this year’s regular season SENE title. Coach Darman came up with a new game plan and switched the formation to 1-4-1-4. This meant that there would be 4 defenders as always but senior midfielder Zachary Morin would move from left inside midfield to left back and junior Hayden Yaworski would become the 1 in front of the 4 defense with the sole responsibility of marking the Wheeler striker # 11, who had caused havoc during the last game in Thompson on Nov. 5th. ( 0-0 tie). Yaworski did an unbelievable job for the entire game as the Wheeler offense was limited to very little quality scoring chances each half. Peter Boguszewski made four great saves and senior Greg Diaz swept away the dangerous through balls. Sophomore Eric Bordua showed great improvement in his marking and defending and distributed the ball very well. Trevor Ouellet, as always, was all over the field hustling to and winning almost every ball. A remarkable effort was also turned in by Isauro Figueiredo who played his heart out in the midfield alongside Ouellet and just seemed a step faster on the pitch. Ben Gustavson played the entire game as the other 1 in the formation as a solo striker and although frustrated by the fact that he had to take on 2 or 3 defenders most of the game did occupy those Wheeler defenders who could not now come forward. Gustavson, despite the defensive attention by the aggressive Wheeler defense assisted on the only goal of the game by Junior Kyle Higginbottom, who although reprimanded by Trainer Buddy Drew for not stretching properly before the game, showed everyone he was ready to play when he lofted a lovely shot over the Wheeler Goalie six minutes into the match for the only goal of the game. Senior backs Colin Duethorn and Zachary Morin (playing out of his normal middy position) both had strong games defensively as did sophomore midfielder Nick Borowski. Rafal Lachcick came off the bench to give the outside midfielders a rest and played very well. The other key to the game was the boys ability to implement a quick two touch passing scheme which Coach Darman has been drilling into their heads all season long. Coach Darman was extremely proud and pleased with the way all the players moved the ball and switched the field. The boys celebrated long and hard after the game and Coach Gustavson got a not so pleasurable but extremely gratifying Gatorade dousing. Next year it is Coach Dorman’s turn. The team and coaches would like to thank all of the fans who came out to support us for this game and all the others this season. There was even a friendly sword fight between the warriors’ mascot and our beloved Golden Knight. The boys improved their overall record to 18-1-3 the best winning percentage in Mariana polis soccer history. No rest for the weary as the boys travel Saturday to Ethel Walker School in Simsbury to play the defending Class B NEPSAC Champions South Kent. The NEPSAC Class C Tournament begins on Wed. Nov. 17th with a possible home game for the Golden Knights. The Semi Finals will be played on Nov. 20 and the Finals on Nov. 21 both at neutral sites.
Nov. 13: Knights lose to Simsbury
he Golden Knights of Thompson travelled to Coach Gustavson’s old stomping grounds in Simsbury, CT only to be soundly trounced 6 to nil by perennial class B powerhouse South Kent at the Ethel Walker School. To show you what the boys soccer team had to deal with on the Saturday afternoon game following their championship victory late Friday let me elaborate on their team roster: 5 players from Brazil (Isauro spoke with them after the game), 5 players from Bermuda (no, we were not able to get a vacation deal), 5 players from various countries (2 from Ghana, 1 from Mexico, 1 from Ecuador, and 1 from Canada) and 5 players from all over Connecticut.
The good news was that nobody was injured as we prepare for the Quarter Finals of the Class C NEPSAC Championship on Wed. Nov 17th and every player received significant playing time. All in all, it was a good reverse tune up for the tournament. The boys’ final record stands at 18-2-3 and 7-2-1 in WNEPSSA. This accomplishment stands out as one of the brightest in the history of Marianapolis boys’ soccer.
Hyde
Football
Hyde 5 Falmouth 1
Nov. 11: Thanks in large part to a dominant second half performance, the Hyde School Wolfpack climbed out of a one goal deficit to rattle off five unanswered goals to upset the 4th seeded Falmouth Academy team 5-1 in an SENE quarterfinal matchup. Mother Nature did her part over the last few days in providing plenty of rain, which helped lead to a drenched Falmouth field, which in turn led to the game moving to Hyde’s beautiful turf in Woodstock.
Just seven minutes into the match, Falmouth midfielder Mike Burchill shredded a lazy, lethargic Wolfpack defense to create an easy one-on-one opportunity against Wolfpack net minder Brian Sanz. Sanz made a brilliant sprawling save that was tipped to Falmouth striker Ahmen Tashjian for an easy tip in to take a 1-0 advantage. Little did Falmouth know that that would be the first and only time they would beat the Wolfpack defense on the day. After a back and forth next ten minutes, the striker tandem of Chesley and Killeen would strike. Senior midfielder Matan Peltier threaded a beautiful through ball down the left flank into the stride of junior Nate Chesley who found his forward counterpart Henry Killeen, who then quickly turned and ripped a shot just inside the near post to tie the game at 1.
After an inspiring halftime speech, a newly rejuvenated Wolfpack team emerged. Seven minutes into the second frame, the Wolfpack attacked. After junior midfielder Dan Weintraub retrieved a loose ball at midfield, he made a daring run down the right flank, dished it to Killeen, who paid the favor back to Chesley as he found Nate in front of net for an easy goal to take a 2-1 advantage. The Wolfpack’s relentless pressure throughout the second half paid dividends in the final five minutes as the team went on a scoring rampage. With six minutes remaining, stopper Richard Schuller bent a ball into the 18 yard box to newcomer Tim Cassidy who calmly settled the ball and volleyed it lefty into the top right corner of the net for a 3-1 advantage. Just 90 seconds later off a routine save, goal tender Brian Sanz threw an outlet pass to Matan Peltier who took it the length of the field and upped the Wolfpack lead to 4-1. To put the icing on the cake, another 90 seconds later Peltier drove a perfectly placed corner kick onto the head of Cassidy who notched his second goal on the day. Strong second half defensive performances were turned in by the dynamic team of Graham Davidson ’13, Nick Dresch ’12, and Ethan Thoms ’12, who consistently thwarted Falmouth counterattacks. This proved to be an inspired finish in what was otherwise an overall superior effort from the Wolfpack.
Varsity Soccer
Hyde 1 Marianapolis 2
Nov. 10: The SENE semi-final game was not the result Hyde boys’ soccer team was hoping for. After a season of adversities, the Wolfpack looked to take the final step towards the SENE championship. Unfortunately, the Pack ended its season with a difficult loss against SENE number one seed, Marianapolis. Matching up against the Knights for the third time this season, the coaches and players hoped that third time would in fact be the charm.
The first half was a flurry of attacks and counter attacks as both teams vied for possession. Within minutes forwards Henry Killeen ’11 and Nate Chesley ’12 received the ball and pressed to goal. Hyde had this and other early opportunities but could not best the Knight’s keeper Peter Boguszewski ’11. The play from both sides was not pretty, large kicks up and over the midfield created an initial frenzied pace. Seven minutes into the game, Marianapolis received a favorable whistle when one of Hyde’s players was called for a handball in the box. Trevor Oullet took the penalty kick to put Marianapolis into the initial lead. Hyde did not waiver however. Within seconds the Wolfpack was back on the attack. Dan Weintraub ’12 worked with Matan Peltier ’11 in the middle to feed the ball wide to the wings and up the center to the forwards. This resulted in some immediate opportunities, including one by Killeen. Breaking through the Knight’s defense, Killeen slipped through multiple players with the ball, only to be taken down in Marianapolis’ box. This provided the Pack with their own prime scoring opportunity just five minutes after going down 1-0. Chesley placed the shot left of the keeper to tie up the game. The remainder of the first half continued the fight for superiority but with neither team coming out on top.
Returning to the pitch for the second half, both teams were well aware of the do-or-die nature of the remaining 40 minutes. Working with the ball a bit more the second half was middy Christopher Wells ’11 on the left and Adam Carreau ’11 on the right. Overlapping with Peltier and Weintraub, or creating combinations with Killeen and Chesley, these two applied pressure along the sides in an effort to open the field up more. The Knight’s attack was continuous however. In the eleventh minute, Marianapolis’ Outllet found striker Isauro Figueiredo to shoot the ball past Hyde’s Brian Sanz ’11, putting the Knights ahead 2-1. This momentarily took the wind from Hyde’s sails, but with 25 minutes remaining, hope remained. Play was ferocious on both ends. Defenders Graham Davidson ’13, Nick Dresch ’12 and Ethan Thoms ’12 fought valiantly to keep the Knights away, providing a barrier almost impossible to break. Shifts in the last ten minutes put stopper Richard Schuller ’12 in the middle of the field and positioned to shoot on goal more than once. Sanz had a series of amazing saves to keep the Wolfpack viable. Ultimately however, time was not on Hyde’s side. Although this team’s spirit and physical energy were indefatigable, the game had run its course and Marianapolis managed to keep the lead to the whistle.
The 2010 season record, including play-off games, was five wins, nine losses, and three ties (5-9-3). SENE league record was 3-6-3 including play-offs.