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Week Of October 2-8
Varsity Football
The St. Luke’s Varsity Football team hit the road again as they traveled to Westminster on Saturday, October 7 looking to even their record at 2-2 on the season. They did not disappoint as they came home with a thrilling 22-12 come-from-behind victory.
The game started off with the Storm taking the opening kickoff and driving all the way down to the Westminster 10-yard line before the drive stalled. The defense then did their job forcing Westminster to punt and this time the Storm offense took advantage putting together a 64-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Chandler Greene ’19. Andrew Lau ’21 added the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 1:00 left in the first quarter. Key plays on the drive included a 46-yard run by Shaka Moales ’18 and a couple of tough runs by Greene and Kenny Soares ’21.
Westminster got on the board in the middle of the second quarter following a couple of big plays that cut the St. Luke’s lead to 7-6. The Storm defense was able to protect the lead as they stopped the two-point conversion attempt by Westminster.
Following the touchdown, Westminster successfully executed an onside kick and was set up with great field position at the St. Luke’s 44-yard line. Westminster finished off their drive with a short touchdown run but the Storm again came up with a stop on the two-point conversion attempt.
Suddenly the Storm found themselves down 12-7 with 2:00 left in the first half. However, the St. Luke’s attack finally got back on the field and ran their two-minute offense as Moales broke off a 38-yard run along with a 12-yard reception from Michael Hage ’19 to put the Storm on the Westminster four-yard line. However a couple of penalties derailed the drive and the Storm entered the locker room trailing 12-7 at halftime.
Both teams battled throughout a scoreless third quarter that included many key plays including an interception by Moales, a fumble recovery by Brendan Casey ’18, a fumble recovery by Soares and a booming 46-yard punt by Casey. This set up what became a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback by the Storm. Following a great open field tackle by Moales that forced a Westminster punt deep in their own end, Soares alertly picked up the rolling football following a short punt and returned it 15 yards into the end zone for a touchdown and a 13-12 lead. Moales ran in the two-point conversion and the Storm had a 15-12 lead with 7:30 left in the game.
As Westminster took possession, Soares again came up with a huge play. He came around the left end and stripped the quarterback of the ball, quickly scooped it up and dashed 37 yards to the end zone for a thrilling touchdown. Lau added the extra point and suddenly the Storm had jumped out to a 22-12 lead after scoring 15 points in just 30 seconds.
All that was left to do was for the Storm defense to continue their solid play and keep Westminster from getting back in the game. The defense did just that as they stopped Westminster on downs twice in the last seven minutes to seal the victory. As usual, the defense was led by Ben Joseph ’18 who tallied a team-leading 11 tackles. Other notable defensive performers included Noah Bailey ’19, Moales and Greene who each contributed five tackles.
On the offensive side, Moales led the team with 121 yards rushing followed by 46 yards rushing from Joseph and 38 yards rushing from Greene. Hage ended the day with 56 yards passing connecting with Seth Kim ’19, Soares, Greene and Moales.
Next up: The Storm is their fourth straight road game on Saturday, October 14 as they travel to Hopkins.
Boys Soccer
The St. Luke’s Varsity Soccer team travelled to The Masters School, NY on Wednesday, October 4 for another FAA contest.
The first half saw both teams play strong defense with Chase Zammit ‘18, Des Pratt ‘21, Bear Crystal ‘20, and C.J. Woodberry ‘19 leading a fierce Storm back line that contained a talented Masters team. Ryan Neafsey ‘18 delivered another strong performance in goal with multiple shots turned away but could do nothing to deny Masters taking a 1-0 lead into halftime.
The second half saw more aggressive offense from both sides with Masters taking a 2-0 lead on a perfectly placed free kick from just outside the box. Both teams penetrated deep into each others end of the field with crisp passing only to be turned back. Jack Halsey ‘18 expertly worked the middle of the field with Jack Neafsey ‘19 and Ajit Akole ’18 at the wings and forwards Chris Besgen ‘18, Julian Velez ‘20, and Jake Kavan ‘21 taking the ball deep into the Masters zone.
A late offensive surge by the Storm resulted in a desperate Masters foul outside the box which stopped play with only two minutes left. Crystal took the free kick and Kavan sent the rebound into the back of the net for the Storm’s only goal to make it 2-1.
The excitement wasn’t over though as, on the succeeding kickoff, the Storm intercepting a Masters pass at midfield and drove forward in search of a tying goal. With only seconds left goalkeeper Neafsey rushed downfield to add some extra offense but the surge fell short as time expired.
The Storm bounced back for its second win of the season on Friday, October 6 with a 6-2 victory at The Wooster School.
After a scoreless first half in which both teams leaned on their defense the second period turned into an offensive showcase.
Akole scored Storm's first goal with an assist from Kavan. Next it was Halsey's turn who headed a perfect corner kick from Crystal into the back of the net. With the Wooster team scrambling to get back on track Max Mitchell ‘20 scored the first of his two goals off a free kick.
Wooster gathered itself and began to attack and goalkeeper Neafsey, defending a Wooster free kick, crashed into a thicket of players in front of the goal to make the save but was injured and replaced by Kenny Lam ‘19. The home team kept up the pressure and scored two goals in a span of five minutes to make it 4-2.
The Storm defense with strong goal work from Lam stiffened and the offense again went to work with Phil Platek ‘20 going one on one with the Wooster goalie and scoring to make it 5-2 Storm. Brendan Whiteley ‘18 also got into the action taking a pass from Platek and beating the defense for the last score of the game. Final 6-2 St. Luke's.
Next up: Boys Varsity Soccer hosts Hamden Hall on Thursday, October 12
Varsity Field Hockey
The Storm remained undefeated at home with a convincing 2-0 win over Westover on Monday, October 2.
St Luke's controlled the game from the opening faceoff, and took a quick 1-0 lead when Devon Schiff ‘21 scored the first goal of her varsity career at 21:09 of the first half.
Kendall Boege ‘19 increased the lead to 2-0 by scoring on a long corner shot at 20:19 of the second half.
The win was a total team effort as Mia Mitchell ‘20, Sophia DellaRusso ‘18 and Katherine Pellegrino ‘19 helped dominate the action on both ends of the field. Tyleigh Zammitt ‘19, Alexandra Riley ‘20 and Jenna Volpitta ‘21 helped preserved the shutout with strong play down the stretch.
Goalie Emma Cropper ‘10 recorded her second shutout of the season as SLS improved their record to 2-0-2 on the hilltop.
The Storm traveled to Wilbraham and Monson Academy on Wednesday, October 4 and came out a little groggy from the long bus ride. The visitors gave up a quick goal just 1:35 into the game to fall behind 1-0.
SLS cleared the cobwebs and played their usual tough defense for the rest of the way holding their opponent scoreless for the remainder of the game. Kirsten Pastore ‘19 led the strong defensive line, with help from Pellegrino and Kathleen Ehlers ‘21 . Cropper had 11 saves.
The Storm had several scoring opportunities with several shots on goal but could not find the net as they went down by a 1-0 final score.
Girls Varsity Soccer
Girls Varsity Soccer travelled to FAA rival Rye Country Day School on Tuesday, October 3 and came away with a 1-0 win to improve to 3-3 on the season.
An outstanding goal from India Otero ‘19, off a Ryan Weil ‘21 pass, late in the first half sealed an important road victory.
The Wildcats pushed for an equalizer in the second period but terrific defensive performances from Thaise Sudano ‘18, Noelle Ruschil ‘18, Jackie Thompson ‘20 and Ali Gall ‘22 limited the scoring opportunities.
GVS then traveled to Greenwich on Friday, October 6 to challenge Sacred Heart on their home field.
The plush grass field created a challenge for our girls but they rose to it and gave it their all.
Convent took the lead but Leah Panagiotidis ‘20 scored tying the game as the girls headed to their half time rest.
SLS took shots on goal but none hit the back of the net during the second half. In the last five minutes of the game, Convent scored two goals. One was the result of a PK which turned the momentum of the game in those final minutes.
Final score a loss for SLS 1-3
Girls Varsity Volleyball:
This week was an action packed week for Girls Varsity Volleyball. The team started their week off with a speedy 3-0 win at Canterbury on Monday, October 2.
The Storm defense, led by senior libero Ali Ferris ‘18, was able to cover the back row and allow very few kills from The Saints.
Ripley Goodwyn ‘18 continued her power blocking up front while hitters Courteney Newman ‘18, Emma Castiglione ‘18, and Bridget Dalton ‘18 all conquered at the net with several well placed kills throughout all three sets.
Junior Sydney Cummings continued her hard, short kills as middle hitter and Castiglione stood out with nine straight service points in the first set.
On Wednesday, October 4 the team traveled to Holy Child and fell 1-3. After giving up an uneventful first set, senior Co-Captains Dalton and Maria Minuesa demonstrated strong leadership and rallied the Storm to fight hard in the second set.
Minuesa provided well placed sets and Dalton completed the plays with several critical kills. Newman, Castiglione and Cummings delivered additional hits helpful to win the set.
The team dropped the third set, and attempted to win the fourth. SLS gave an electric performance in the hard-fought fourth set with Riley Page ‘19 and Cummings as noteworthy players giving 100% to their various plays.
It was an intense back and fourth point play going well beyond the usual 25 point end game. Minuesa remained a bedrock for the team as she scrambled court wide for her steady sets. Minuesa and Castiglione continued their powerful serves, Ferris contributed with her consistent and quick defense and helped to keep the ball alive. The team lost the fourth set 29-31, handing Holy Child the victory.
On Thursday, October 5 the entire volleyball program had it’s third Annual Maroon & White Tournament. The event was a huge success and led by seniors Hope Jackson, Ferris and Newman.
The program leaders created six teams, each consisting of middle school, junior varsity and varsity players. After a round robin tournament, the Orange Team, led by Minuesa, Cummings, Emilia von Lilien-Brockmeyer ‘22, Annalise Correia ‘22, Sammy Stevelman ‘23, Katie Holmes ‘23 and Slyvia Samardzija ‘24 were crowned the 2017 champions.
On Friday, October 6 the varsity girls were back in action against Greenwich Academy. The girls were able to beat the Gators in a quick three-set win. Up and coming freshman Elyse Kim provided a diving save that was the noteworthy play of the game.
Our defensive specialist Ferris was spot on with her passing, receiving and ball control earning multiple perfect sets as libero. Goodwyn was quick at the net with blocks while Newman continued with opposition attacks that the Gators couldn’t return.
Some of the best offense yet from Castiglione and Dalton with their devastating kills was made possible by our amazing athletic setter Minuesa.
To end the week, the entire volleyball program made a trip to Fairfield University on Saturday, October 7 to watch a college match. The event was organized by Goodwyn and Gabby Mitchell ‘18 and served as the kick-off program for the Big/Lil Sister volleyball initiative. This was a great opportunity to watch some high level volleyball and celebrate sisterhood!
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 35 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 Center for Leadership builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
