Wyvern Nation Sports Wraps – October 14, 2021

ESports

After several weeks of inaccessibility due to Nintendo networking struggles, the KO Esports Splatoon 2 team went up against the Warriors of Wakefield High School in Arlington, VA. The rookie Wyvern Inklings ran into a very experienced Warrior foursome. After taking a warm-up Game 0 of Turf War during match setup, the Wyverns went 0-5 as the Warriors showed the benefit of their veteran players. A bright moment for the KO team of Aliza Sadiq ‘22, Alexa Prahl ‘24, Esther Arimoro ‘24, and Ray Chen ‘25 came in Game 4 when the Wyverns were able to bring the tower on Arowana Mall to the first Warrior checkpoint. Although the Wyverns lost the match, the team earned valuable experience and is already bringing their lessons to bear on their preparations and training in the esports room. KO Splatoon’s next match will be next Tuesday, October 12 at 4 PM, against the Mammalians of the Advanced Technology Center in Virginia Beach, VA. The match can be found next week on the KO Esports Twitch page. Thanks to everyone who checked in on our stream!

The experienced KO Esports Rocket League team hosted the Owls of Onslow Early College High School in Jacksonville, NC for their first win of the season, 3 games to 0. The experienced Wyvern drivers took an aggressive style of play onto the field. Game One – a 6 to 1 rout – featured high-flying goals from the players on Kingswood Road. Although the Owls had connection issues that led to their Game One play being short-handed, they chose not to replay the match and keep the result in KO’s favor. Game Two was another score-fest, with KO holding off a charging Owls team – 5 to 4 –  that gave the Wyverns a wake-up call on defense. The match-clinching Game Three was classic Rocket League, a 1 to 0 win, with the only goal coming around the 3’30” mark from Esports captain Will Jacobs ’23, who rode the ceiling to a goal-line fake and match-winning goal. Tight defense from the Wyverns held off the eager Owls, and KO earned their first Rocket League win of the regular season. 

Soccer 
The Varsity Women’s Soccer team earned a hard-fought 3-1 win at the Kent School on Oct. 13.  After going down by a goal in the early minutes of the game, the team responded with the efficient speed of play and capitalized on scoring opportunities.  Olivia Schaller ‘25 equalized the game in the first half off of a cross from Kaiya Deurloo ‘22. Late in the second half, Gianna Christiana ‘22 scored with a beautifully bend corner kick. Ava Leshem ‘24 sealed the game with a late goal with the assist from Sophia Radmanovich ‘24. Solid play all around and kudos to the defense who only allowed three shots.

The Varsity Boys’ Soccer team tied 1-1 against Suffield Academy on Oct. 6. Suffield jumped out early to a 1-0 lead and would carry that score to the second half. After adjustments made at halftime, KO would assert itself many times in the Suffield end only to come up short. Aidan Dillow ’22 would provide KO with a scoring opportunity after being fouled in the box. Brio Aslan ’22 would then capitalize on his PK shot and brought the score even at 1-1. Despite other opportunities late in the half, the score would remain tied at the game’s end. The KO backline of Dillow, Michael Bzowcyckj ’24, Cole Banning ’24, James Beerbower ’22, and David Shi ’22 was stellar for the Wyverns. Will Wells ’22 was outstanding in net for KO, shutting out Suffield in the second half and also stopping a Suffield PK opportunity.

The JV Boys’ Soccer team hosted Kent School on Oct. 13. Despite KO dominating the ball possession for most of the game, the game ended in a disappointing 2-2 tie. The boys took the lead about halfway through the first half with an accurate shot from the right by Alex Levin ‘24.  Kent scored an equalizer early in the second half, but with about seven minutes left, KO’s Leo Sussman ‘25 found himself alone in front of the opponent’s goal and netted a rebound. With only a few seconds left in the game, Kent was awarded a penalty shot, and even though Mac Louis ‘23 made a great save on the initial kick, Kent was able to score on a rebound. 

The Varsity Girls’ Soccer team lost 0-5 against Loomis on Oct. 6. Despite the score, the Wyverns were 2-0 at the half and played smartly and organized. Kyra Dunnirvine ‘23 made some big saves, but the team could not generate enough offensive power to overcome the deficit created by the Pelicans.

The Varsity Girls’ Soccer team was hoping to turn the tide after a loss to Loomis against Suffield Academy, however, they just couldn’t get a win against the Tigers and lost 5-0 on Oct. 9. The whole team put up a brave fight and worked hard, but just couldn’t connect offensively.

The JV Boys’ Soccer team improved their overall season record to 3-1 after an exhilarating 1-0 victory over Westminster School on Oct. 9. The team executed the game plan well, advancing deep into the opponent’s half with the speed and finesse of their wingers, quick ball distribution from the midfield, and well-positioned and physical defense. After a scoreless half, KO came close to scoring early in the second half, when Grant Pennoyer ‘22 just missed the target on two occasions and Nicolai Benz ‘24 could not convert on a break-away. On the other side of the field, in his goalie debut, Alex Levin ‘24 denied Westminster excellent chances with two leaping saves. With about eight minutes left, Benz was tripped in the box and Charlie Liu ‘22 converted on the penalty kick with an accurately placed shot to the lower left. The team was able to defend the lead until the sound of the final whistle resulting in a spontaneous burst of celebration!   

The Middle School Boys’ A Soccer team won 5-2 against Foote School on Oct. 6. The team got off to a great start, as Ethan Gingeleskie ‘25 scored at the five-minute mark to put the Wyverns up 1-0. Less than ten minutes later, Pratt Blair ‘26 put one by the Foote keeper to make it a 2-0 game. Almost immediately following this, Mason Gordon ‘26 staked KO to a 3-0 lead at the halfway point of the first half. With approximately five minutes left in the half, Charlie Levin ’26 made it a 4-0 game after taking a pass from Declan Griffiths ‘26. The Wyverns controlled play, and unlike their previous match, were able to finish their chances in the first half. The second half began much the way the first half ended, as Aleandro Garza ‘28 scored on the ultimate hustle play as he pressured the goalie and was able to control a deflection off his body and score a terrific goal. This would cap off the KO scoring for the day. The goalies did a great job, as Sawyer Burtman ‘26 and Daniel Rivera ‘27 did well to come off their lines and handle the shots that came their way. Towards the end of the game, Foote scored on a fantastic shot that Rivera had no chance on, and in the final minute, Foote scored a second goal on a PK that Connor Hudkins ‘28 nearly got his hands on.   

The JV Boys’ Soccer team registered their second win of the season defeating Wilbraham & Monson Academy with a score of 3-1 in their home debut on Oct. 6. The boys’ tenacious offense was no match for their opponent who was forced to defend most of the game. Freshman JJ Balog ‘25 registered two goals in the first half and Grant Pennoyer ‘22 sealed the victory for KO with a beautiful rising shot with 15 minutes left in the game. Coaches King and Kopecky were very pleased with how the team executed the game plan – utilizing the wingers to generate most of the team’s offense.  

The Middle School Girls’ Soccer team won its first home game of the season with a score of 14-0 against Westminster on Oct. 6. The team was led in scoring by the Stepnowski sisters with a combined five goals; they were the first five goals in the game, actually. Caroline Gauvin ’27 and Ida Chapman ’27 scored the next three and then Norah Pond ’26 and Alex Doering ’26 took over with four more. Sofia Garza ’26 scored the second goal of her career and lifelong defender  Claire O’Donnell ’27 scored the first goal of her KO career! Even though Westminster was outmatched in skill today, they never lost their positive energy and they even cheered for the KO girls team as they played great soccer until the final buzzer. 

The JV Girls’ soccer team traveled to Suffield Academy on Oct. 9 and secured a 3-2 victory in what may have been their best game of the season thus far. The Wyverns were down 1-0 at the half but felt confident after dominating the ball for much of the game. They continued to control possession and peppered the Suffield goalie with shots and finally put a few in the net. Tess Chapman ‘23 scored two for Kingswood Oxford, including a blast from about 30 yards out, and Maya Gerrits ‘25, scored as well. This was a true team effort as each player gave valuable minutes and played with such energy and enthusiasm that made the game so fun to watch. 

The JV Boys’ Soccer team defeated Canterbury 5-0 on Sept. 29. The team dominated the possession of the ball from start to finish with quick passing and aggressive tackling and scored two goals in the first half by Jackson Balog ‘25 and Leo Sussman ‘25 and added three more in the second by J.J. Kanaan ‘22, Sussman, and Balog. Behind KO’s solid defense, goalie Mac Louis ‘23 registered four saves. Coaches King and Kopecky were impressed with positive contributions from all members of the squad and with the team’s excellent focus and effort.

The JV Boys’ Soccer team lost to Loomis Chaffee 0-5 on Oct. 2.  After missing two scoring chances early, the team gave up three breakaway goals before halftime and never recovered after, giving up two more goals in the second half. The team hopes to get back on the winning side on Wednesday, October 6 when they play their home opener against Wilbraham & Monson Academy at 3 pm.  

The JV Girls’ soccer team won 4-2 against Kent on Oct. 13. Miya Scranton ‘25 started the scoring for the Wyverns with a goal off a cross from Dani Tippner ‘25 in the first half. Going into the half the score was 1-0 with KO up. Kent scored early in the second half to tie the game up but Scranton came back and scored her second goal. Maya Gerrits ‘25 then added the third and fourth Wyvern goals both off assists from Tess Chapman ‘23. Piff LaBoy ‘23 had another strong game in goal with five saves while Liv Gallup ‘25, Hannah Malkin ‘24, and Pauline Golder ‘24 all played solid defense for the Wyverns. 

Volleyball
The Varsity Volleyball team won 3-0 against Marianapolis Preparatory School on Oct. 6. The Wyverns hit the road once and added to their winning streak (5 in a row!). The set scores were 25-7, 25-17, 25-18. In the first set, the Wyverns made some key adjustments to deep hitting from the Marianapolis offense, responding with their own offensive strikes. Jillian Alexander ‘24 was a force from the right side with her execution of wide-angled hits with a razor-thin margin for error. Jill Plaut ‘23 had a tremendous service run to secure KO’s lead, taking nearly half of the points for the set under her service. In the second set, the two teams had back-and-forth scoring runs as KO took time to adjust to clever changes in Marianapolis’s offense. Allie Arcaro ‘24, in the libero position, showed masterful court coverage of open spaces, and Lindsay Bailey ‘22 was finding the lines left and right with tricky pushes and tips at the net. Naomi Wong ‘22 bailed the team out of the contentious middle of the set with deep serving. In the third set, the Wyverns began with a service run from co-captain Mackenzie Caruso ‘23, the picture of consistency on the service line, but Marianapolis eventually caught up to KO’s lead. KO was able to seal the deal with a balanced offensive-defensive effort that got us through some long and exciting points. Avi Lohr ‘24 diffused difficult serves from the opponent with high passes to start the Wyverns off on the right foot. Kata Mesterhazy ‘23 had some remarkable blocks that denied the opponent’s attempts to change the momentum of the set, and Hailey Williams ‘24 showed her resilience on the service line late in the game to ensure that the lead wouldn’t be eclipsed.

The JV Volleyball team advanced to 6-0 on Oct. 13, defeating Williston Northampton in straight sets (25-13, 25-17). The team showed tremendous poise throughout the games, as the Williston squad proved adept at sending balls over in unexpected and often difficult-to-defend ways. Diya Mistri ‘24 was clutch on the front line, at one point breaking a long volley with a strong defensive play. Alex Segal ‘25 also shined defensively, fielding low serves expertly. Additionally, Abby Baier ‘23 had an impressive game defensively. On offense, Captain Lucia Martinez-Castro ‘23 had a great day serving, going on a 9-point run in the opening set. As a team, JV excelled especially at controlling the pace of volleys, which is a reflection of their skill development and dedication in practice.