Featured Story
St. Luke's Volleyball And Girls Soccer Advance To NEPSAC Semi-Finals
St. Luke’s Volleyball and Girls Soccer both advanced to the semi-finals of the New England tournament on Wednesday with wins over Miss Halls and Greens Farms Academy.
The Storm Volleyball team were the #4 seed and enjoyed a 3-1 win over the #5 Hurricanes in an intense game at SLS.
The home side opened up a 2-0 lead with some great offensive play from Bridget Dalton ‘18 and Maria Minuesa ‘18. Miss Halls would pull a set back to make it 2-1 but St. Luke’s would not be denied a place in Friday’s semi-final winning the fourth set 25-15.
Head Coach Abby Bielski said, “This game really showcased our strongest areas which are perimeter defense, outside hits and pipe plays but it also served to magnify our challenge areas - communication, pin player agility, and converting behind the service line.
The victory means they will travel to #1 seed King School for a 4.15pm game and Bielski added, “We will have to play our strongest game of the season on Friday as King are at the top of their game right now but we are looking forward to the challenge.
Girls Soccer continued their fine season with a victory over local rivals Greens Farms Academy with a 4-2 win on PK’s on the Class of 2015 field.
GVS would take a 1-0 lead early in the second half through India Otero ‘19 before a GFA double left them trailing 2-1 with under fifthteen minutes remaining.
The Storm picked themselves up and continued to press for an equalizer which came courtesy of a Seena Panagiotidis ‘17 free kick that hit the underside of the crossbar but was bundled over the line by her sister Lea Panagiotidis ‘20.
Both teams had opportunities in overtime to seal the victory but it would be St. Luke’s who would book their place in the semi-final with the shootout win. Seena, Elizabeth Labriola ‘19, Lea and Otero all held their nerve and scored their spot kicks before Brittany Barton ‘17 made a fantastic save to start the celebrations.
Head coach Dan Clarke said, “The girls just wouldn’t be denied! I thought we were fairly comfortable until they scored but what a great response to going 2-1 down. This shows the character that this team has and the PK’s were all superb.”
The shootout win was reminiscent of last year’s semi-final win against Marianapolis when Barton came up big in the shootout. Clarke added, “Brit did it for us again. She came up with a fantastic save when we needed it!”
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 40 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Leading with Humanity curriculum builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
