St. Luke's Seniors Continue to Cover Fall Sports

St. Luke’s Girls Varsity Soccer has advanced to the FAA tournament final and will play Greenwich Country Day at 2pm on Friday, Nov. 12. 

St. Luke’s senior Matthew Sherter has been following the team’s play-off run and writing a blog covering the team as part of Mr. Ward’s Sports Journalism Class, an English elective for seniors.

Check out his work below:

Girls Varsity Gets Hot When it Matters: Defeats Rye Country Day 2-0 to Reach FAA Finals

By Matthew Sherter     Wednesday, November 10, 2021

On a beautiful Wednesday afternoon, St. Luke’s scored two second-half goals en route to a 2-0 victory over Rye Country Day. The first half did not go as planned for the Storm, facing a high press from an energized Wildcats squad. Both teams had promising plays but neither side could finish the job. 

Close games are won in the second half. St. Luke’s was able to capitalize on the home field advantage, and about 20 minutes into the second half, Layla Magnusen ‘22 netted the winning goal from about 25 yards out to put the Storm up 1-0. Recounting her magnificent goal, Magnusen said “I’m pretty sure one or two people shot before me and it popped back out. I just kicked it and hoped for the best and I was so excited when I watched it go in.”

Then, just five minutes later, Mackenzie Nelson ‘23 vollied the second goal in for St. Luke’s off of a corner to the excitement of an electric Storm crowd. The momentum from the two goals carried St. Luke’s to the final whistle and a 2-0 win against a quality Rye Country Day squad. 

Elli O’Meara ‘22, captain and member of the defensive line that helped preserve the clean sheet in today’s game, said, “We had a slow start in the first half but Layla’s goal completely changed the momentum and I am happy and proud of how we all played today.” With the win, St. Luke’s advances to their first FAA Championship game since 2019. They will face No. 3 Greenwich Academy, who St. Luke’s beat earlier this season 2-1 in their most highly anticipated matchup of the regular season. Be at the Lower Field on Friday at 2pm.

Girls Varsity Bounces Back Strong in FAA Quarterfinals, Beats Hamden Hall 5-1

By Matthew Sherter             Monday, November 8, 2021

Following a disappointing loss to Canterbury on Saturday, St. Luke convincingly defeated Hamden Hall 5-1 on Monday, Nov. 8. It was the first game of the FAA Playoffs for the Storm, who are the No. 1 seed and will host all their games. 

St. Luke’s got off to an electric start with four goals scored during the first half, including a hat trick by Caroline Lau ‘22 and a goal by Camdyn Nelson ‘25. While a defensive lapse by St. Luke’s allowed Hamden Hall to get on the scoreboard late in the first half, the Storm defense didn’t allow many plays to develop, intercepting long balls and possessing it for long periods of time. The second half was more of the same, with Hamden Hall unable to force St. Luke’s into bad situations. To put a cap on the performance, Mackenzie Nelson ‘23 put in the fifth and final goal for St. Luke’s to the delight of the Storm fanbase, who packed the Class of 2015 Field in swarms. 

With the victory, St. Luke’s advances to the semi-finals of the FAA Playoffs on Wednesday against No. 4 seed Rye Country Day at 2pm. Earlier this season, St. Luke’s tied Rye Country Day 1-1 in a defensive standstill at Rye. They will look to change things on Wednesday for a chance at their first FAA Championship Game appearance since 2019.

Girls Varsity Falls to Canterbury 5-4 in NEPSAC Showdown

By Matthew Sherter            Saturday, November 6, 2021

On Saturday, Nov. 6, in an epic matchup between two top-tier NEPSAC teams in St. Luke’s and Canterbury, it was the Saints who outlasted the Storm 5-4 in an offensive thriller. The two teams last met in the NEPSAC final two years earlier, when Canterbury won 1-0. The difference maker in today’s game was Canterbury’s Joy Okonye, who notched a hat trick in the nine-goal affair. 

Plagued by a key injury to defensive back Aidan Panian ‘23, St. Luke’s was forced to make some alterations to their usual starting lineup. The Storm was flat off the starting whistle, conceding two goals within the first ten minutes. However, while Coach Clarke’s team is not used to playing from behind, the girls didn’t stop fighting, following up with a goal of their own when Camdyn Nelson ‘25 vollied one into the back of the net to cut the score to 2-1. This would remain the scoreline when the halftime whistle blew.

At the start of the second half, Canterbury scored another goal to make it 3-1 right before Sarah Lau ‘24 scored an incredible header. Two more Canterbury goals put the Saints up 5-2 and in a strong position to win the match. But St. Luke’s didn’t give up, bouncing back with goals from Sarah Lau ‘24 and Nelson again to cut the differential to one. However, St. Luke’s ran out of time, falling to Canterbury by a final score of 5-4.

The loss to Canterbury ends St. Luke’s quest to a perfect season as they fall to 14-1-1. They will look to bounce back against Hamden Hall in the first round of the FAA playoffs.

Girls Varsity Beat Cheshire Academy 2-0

By Matthew Sherter                                                                          Tuesday, November 2, 2021

On a windy November afternoon, St. Luke’s Girls Varsity made the trek east to play Cheshire Academy and prevailed 2-0 despite sloppy first-half play. As soon as the first whistle blew, St. Luke’s had a difficult time possessing the ball and moving down the field. However, they improved from that point on, pushing the ball down the field with some nice crosses and shots. Unfortunately, when the whistle blew again to mark halftime, the score remained 0-0, disappointing for the dynamic squad from New Canaan. 

The halftime break provided the perfect opportunity for a change-in-pace; just two minutes into the second half, Caroline Lau ‘22 scored on a breakaway run, putting St. Luke’s up 1-0. Then, just 15 minutes later, Ali Gall ‘22 connected with Lena Olbrys ‘25 on a corner for a one-two combination, followed by a successful long shot by Gall. The scoreline did not change from that point on, with St. Luke’s winning 2-0.

While not the cleanest of games, St. Luke’s improves to 14-0-1 on the season with the win. Captain Elli O’Meara ‘22 said, “Happy to continue our undefeated streak under the lights at Cheshire with a 2-0 win. Great goals by Caroline (Lau) and Ali (Gall) but there were some chances we just couldn’t put away. Definitely have to capitalize on those for our big game on Saturday at Canterbury.” St. Luke’s will look to continue their winning ways on Saturday against Canterbury before facing Greenwich Country Day on Monday in the FAA playoffs.