Featured Story
Week of October 23-29
Varsity Volleyball
GVV took on The Masters School on Thursday, October 26 inside the Carey Gymnasium. The team swept the match and kept Masters to under 14 points in each set in a 25-10, 25-13, 25-12 victory.
Senior setter Maria Minuesa controlled the flow on offense with her quick decision making and ball delivery. Outside hitters Bridget Dalton ‘18 and Emma Castiglione ‘18 dominated at the net with a total match count of eight kills each.
Sydney Cummings 19’ contributed in the middle hitting slot with a block and four kills, while another junior Riley Page had a block and a kill.
In the second and third sets our defensive specialist Ali Ferris 18’ showed her offensive skills with two kills and two aces.
Other match highlights were Courteney Newman 19’ with an ace and three kills, and junior Susanna Montgomery with two kills in the third set.
The Storm moment of the match was in the third set when Ripley Goodwyn ‘18 aced a serve to complete the trifecta of one kill, a block and ace in one set.
On Saturday, October 28 the team traveled to Hamden Hall and again won the match in style 25-17, 25-11, 25-14. The 3-0 victory improved the team’s record 12-3 overall, 5-2 in league. The match was a quick defeat and allowed Minuesa 18’ to set players Page (3 kills) and freshman Elyse Kim (2 kills). Castiglione shined with six kills, Dalton had two blocks and two kills, Cummings had two kills, and Minuesa served seven straight service points in the first set.
Next Up: Varsity Volleyball is back in action on Tuesday, October 31 against Sacred Heart at home. This will also serve as Senior Day for Emma Castiglione, Bridget Dalton, Ali Ferris, Ripley Goodwin, Hope Jackson, Maria Minuesa, Gabby Mitchell and Courteney Newman.
Varsity Field hockey
The Storm took on Greens Farms Academy at home on Friday, October 27 in front of a large crowd on Senior Night.
St. Luke's senior Co-Captains, Sophia DellaRusso, Sophia Feldman and Hannah Haden provided critical leadership throughout the game.
In the first half, St. Luke’s vaunted defensive line, led by center back Feldman with help from Kirsten Pastore ‘19 and Kathleen Ehlers ‘21 held GFA scoreless.
Meanwhile on the other end of the field, forward Haden provided offensive pressure with her speed and stick skills, and Lucy Ehlers ‘21 scored on a Abbey O'Meara ‘20 assist at 14:27 to put the Storm up 1-0 going into halftime.
In the 2nd half, GFA began to pressure SLS and kept the ball deep into St Luke's territory for most of the period despite DellaRusso's efforts to continually move the ball up field.
Goalie Emma Cropper saved 10 shots on goal, but finally GFA tied the score at 16:55, and took a 2-1 lead at 14:12 of the 2nd half.
Try as they might, St Luke's could not score again, and fell to GFA by a final score of 2-1, in an exciting, well-played game.
Varsity Football
The Storm football team hosted Rye Country Day on Saturday, October 28 looking to extend its winning streak. The game featured many thrilling plays from the home team and they battled right up to the end but fell just short in a 35-28 defeat.
The first quarter featured a lot of offense as Rye got on the scoreboard first taking their opening possession down the field for a 7-0 lead with 9:12 left in the quarter.
The Storm quickly answered as they put together a 72-yard drive that was ignited by a 53-yard run by Shaka Moales ‘18 that put the Storm in Rye territory. A couple of plays later on 3rd and 11, quarterback Michael Hage ‘19 found wide receiver Seth Kim ‘19 in the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown. Andrew Lau ‘21 converted the extra point and the game was tied at 7-7 with 7:55 left in the first.
Rye then regained the lead as they were able to convert a fourth and 10 on the St Luke’s 30 with a 30-yard touchdown pass and a 14-7 lead.
The Storm offense then went back to work and drove the ball all the way down to the Rye 20-yard line before being stopped on fourth down by inches near the end of the first quarter.
Rye was able to extend their lead to 21-7 with an 80-yard drive culminating in a three-yard touchdown run midway through the second period.
However, the Storm offense came right back and answered. Following a 15-yard run by Ben Joseph ‘18, Hage beat the blitz and threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Moales, who avoided a couple of defenders to get into the end zone. Lau once again knocked through the extra point and it was a 21-14 game at halftime.
Moales appeared to tie the game on the second-half kickoff as he electrified the crowd with a 96-yard return for a touchdown. However, it was unfortunately called back due to a penalty flag. Shortly thereafter, Rye returned an interception for a touchdown and suddenly instead of a tie game it was a 28-14. Rye then extended their lead to 35-14 midway through the third quarter with a four-yard touchdown run.
Following some strong runs from Kenny Soares ‘21 and Joseph, the first possession of the fourth quarter saw Moales fight through the line and bust it outside for a 40-yard touchdown run that cut the Rye lead to 35-21.
After the the Storm defense stopped Rye on the following possession, the offense took over on their own 25 and got the passing game going again. Hage completed a 34-yard pass down the middle to Soares that set the Storm up in Rye territory. A couple plays later, Hage found Kim streaking down the sideline for a 40-yard touchdown pass that suddenly cut the lead to 7 after Lau converted his fourth extra point of the day.
However, the comeback fell just short as Rye was able to run out the last four minutes on the clock for a 35-28 final score.
For the game, Moales led the Storm with 112 yards rushing, 50 yards receiving, two TD’s and four tackles on defense. Joseph also contributed on both sides of the ball with 31 yards rushing and four tackles. Hage finished the day with 10 completions for 209 yards and 3 TD’s. Kim led all receivers with six catches for 98 yards and two TD’s. Soares added three catches for 61 yards along with 15 yards rushing.
Defensively, Brendan Casey ‘18 led the Storm with five tackles on the day while also dominating as a tackle on the left side of the offensive line.
Next Up: St. Luke’s is back in action on Saturday, November 4 at home vs Kingswood Oxford School. This is also Senior Day for Brendan Casey, Ben Joseph, Jamie Krill & Shaka Moales. Please come out and join us as we celebrate the contributions and accomplishments of these four special seniors as they take the field at Pedrick Stadium for the final time as members of the Storm football family.
Girls Varsity Soccer
GVS hosted Greenwich Academy on a beautiful Autumn afternoon on Saturday, October 28.
It was a nail biter of a game from kickoff to that roar of the final whistle.
A hallmark of the SLS GVS team— chemistry and camaraderie were exhibited in each moment. They talked to each other, encouraged each other and hustled.
GA is a strong team and the Storm was down key players. True to the versatility of Lea Panagiotidis ‘20, she stepped into a defense position and excelled above and beyond, contributing to keep GA away from reaching the back of the net.
It was zero - zero at the half with constant offensive pressure by GA.
The heart of SLS players was on exhibit as they gave 100%. India Otero ‘19 continued to impress SLS fans with her gymnastics skill on the pitch. Being hit from behind, the side, sandwiched between three GA players and continuing to play strong.
With less than five minutes left in the second half, Ali Gall ‘22 crossed the ball towards the goal and Elizabeth Laub ‘18 used her head to get the ball into the back of the net.
Final score 1-0.
Next Up: Girls Varsity Soccer travels to Cheshire Academy on Wednesday, October 1 before another road trip to The Canterbury School on Saturday, November 4.
Boys Varsity Soccer
St. Luke’s Boys Varsity soccer team had an away game at the Harvey School on Wednesday October 27th.
St. Luke’s Boys Varsity soccer team had an away game at the Harvey School on Wednesday October 27th.
On a fall afternoon these perpetual rivals met for a match in which Harvey appeared overmatched in every facet of the game except the score.
This was a game that the Storm controlled but could not catch a break. Hard shots on goal just high or wide, well-placed corner and free kicks—but no one could take advantage.
The first half saw no scoring at all. Both squads were at full strength with Ryan
Neafsey ‘18 moving to forward and Kenny Lam ‘19 in goal.
Neafsey ‘18 moving to forward and Kenny Lam ‘19 in goal.
The second half was much the same story as the first. The Storm offense was still in command and seemed to move the ball into Harvey’s end of the field almost at will. But again, the Storm was unable to convert their many opportunities.
These missed opportunities caught up with SLS when a penalty kick midway through the period
gave Harvey an improbable 1-0 lead.
gave Harvey an improbable 1-0 lead.
The Storm continued attacking, leading in shots on goal by a wide margin. It was a corner kick by Jake Kavan ‘21 late in the game, however, that turned the things around. Jack Neafsey ‘19 was well positioned in front of the goal and headed the ball in for the score to tie the game.
After playing so well but, in the end, unproductively, the St Luke’s squad was happy to be on the bus with a tie. Final score 1-1.
BVS then traveled to Trumbull on Saturday, October 28 with temperatures hovering in the 50’s to play a tough Christian Heritage School team.
CHS came out fast pressuring St Luke’s from the opening whistle. Chase Zammit ‘18 , anchored the Storm defense, along with CJ Woodberry ‘19, Bear Crystal ‘20, and Jack Neafsey ‘19 supporting Ryan Neafsey ‘18 in goal.
The Storm withstood a tactic meant to throw them off balance early, repeatedly fending off the CHS onslaught.
The St.Luke’s offense, led by forwards Julian Velez ‘20, Max Mitchell ‘20 and Robbie Smock ‘18 with midfielders Landon Bachman ‘20 and Ajit Akole ‘18 pushed back wherever they could find a weak spot in the CHS defense. There were several strong shots on goal by both sides but the defenses were calling the tune as the first half ended with the score tied at 0-0.
If the first half was all about defense the second was surely offense. This time it was the Storm that took advantage of corners and freekicks to get the offense moving. It was one free kick in particular that Crystal arched just under the crossbar and just beyond the reach of the CHS
goalie that gave the Storm its only lead at 10 minutes in to make it 1-0.
If the first half was all about defense the second was surely offense. This time it was the Storm that took advantage of corners and freekicks to get the offense moving. It was one free kick in particular that Crystal arched just under the crossbar and just beyond the reach of the CHS
goalie that gave the Storm its only lead at 10 minutes in to make it 1-0.
CHS came right back, however, scoring almost immediately after the ensuing kickoff.
With the score tied 1-1 the two teams continued to play a seesaw battle until CHS scored on a breakaway goal just past the outstretched hands of Neafsey to make it 1-2.
With the score tied 1-1 the two teams continued to play a seesaw battle until CHS scored on a breakaway goal just past the outstretched hands of Neafsey to make it 1-2.
As happens in the late stages of a close game, things got frantic. As the clock ran down down it looked like a last minute rush by the Storm was too little too late. But almost miraculously, as time evaporated to less than 5 seconds, Jack Halsey ‘18 drew a foul just outside the box. The clock wound down to zero and the CHS fans began to cheer for an apparent victory but the refs had stopped time with only four seconds remaining. The crowd went silent as Crystal lined up his shot. The whistle came and Crystal lofted a soft kick over the wall and into a scrum of players. Phil Patek ‘20 got free to put the ball into the net as time expired and turn what looked like a sure loss into a tie.
As the SLS players joyfully swarmed each other and fans erupted into a cheer, the home team crowd fell silent. Final score 2-2.
Next Up: Boys Varsity Soccer is at home on Wednesday, November 1 against Cheshire Academy. This game will also serve as Senior Day for Ajit Akole, Christopher Besgen, Dominic DeMarco, Jack Halsey, Jack Megrue, Ryan Neafsey, Robbie Smock, Brenden Whiteley and Chase Zammit.
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.
