Wyvern Nation Sports Wraps – October 7, 2021

Field Hockey

The Varsity Field Hockey team won 3-1 against Greenwich Country Day School on Oct. 4. in what coach Yates described as “a great win in the rain.” The team connected with strong, stick-to-stick passing and blocked many free hits with the defensive press. Alyssa Pavano ‘22 scored the first goal off of a breakaway entering the circle with air dribbles putting the ball in the back of the net. Abby McLaughlin ‘22 scored the remaining two goals off of rebounds and caused many midfield turnovers earning the game ball. The team overall showed great hustle on and off the ball defeating a strong opponent. 

The Middle School Field Hockey team lost to West Hartford Youth Field Hocket 0-2 on Oct. 2. Coach Crowther said, “What a great effort for KO’s Middle School Field Hockey team on Saturday! In their home opener and the first game in two years, the team came out strong quickly connecting on passing into our offensive end. West Hartford’s team quickly adjusted and settled in and began to press us on defense consistently.” Jane Morris ’26 played her first game in goal for the Wyverns and made several incredible clears out of the circle for the team. The defensive line was led by Lily Margolis ’26. Her patience in the center of defense, and her strong transition play helped keep the game scoreless until halftime. Taylor Benavides ’27 played a strong game at the midfield, distributing the ball to the sides and up to the offensive wings. Marlee Diana ’26 and Ella Brown ’27 also had strong defensive plays to keep the game very close. West Hartford’s pressure proved to be too much and they put together two well-played sequences resulting in goals in the second half. KO’s team did not give up the fight until the last whistle. 

The Middle School Field Hockey team traveled to Foote School on Oct. 6 and came away with a 0-4 win. The Wyverns were down a couple of players but ready for the battle on their grass fields. The Foote team came out strong in the first half putting continued pressure on the defense and placing shots on the goal. Jane Morris ‘26 made several great saves but unfortunately, the opponents found the back of the cage several times to have the Wyverns head into the second half down by 4. After a short break to regroup, the Wyverns came into the second half determined to find our offensive movement. The midfield line of Sierra Wells ‘27, Taylor Benavides ‘27, and Adrianna Cicchiello ‘27 played offensive and controlled the play in the midfield helping us secure several offensive corner opportunities. While the score remained scoreless in the second half, our Wyvern offensive line led by Abigail Wildstein ‘26 had several shots on goal. The team falls to 0-2 but heads into a full week of preparation before the next game and hopes to have a full squad ready to take on Renbrook!  Great fight for the Wyverns!

Soccer

The Middle School Boys’ A Soccer team won 5-1 against Williston-Northampton on Sept. 29. On what Coach Krugman described as a “perfect weather day for soccer,” the Wyverns opened the season with a home game. Krugman said, “It is safe to say that it was wonderful to be playing a game after not being able to compete since the fall of 2019.” The team began the game about as well as one could hope, scoring in the first three minutes on a terrific combination of passes that resulted in a goal by Alejandro Garza ‘28 assisted by Brandon Delassio ‘26 and Tate Dyerson ‘28. For the remainder of the half, KO controlled play and had numerous goal-scoring opportunities. However, the Williston goalkeeper showed good hands and saved every shot on goal. At halftime, the score was still 1-0 and remained that way until midway through the second half when Williston scored on a fantastic shot, which was their first shot of the game. KO responded with urgency and Sawyer Burtman ‘26, who played in goal for the first half, scored our second goal on an assist from Pratt Blair ‘26. This goal proved to be the game-winner, but not before KO scored a flurry of three more goals in the next five minutes. Declan Griffiths ‘26, Charlie Levin ‘26, and Max Daigle ‘26 scored in quick succession to put the game out of reach. Goalkeepers Sawyer Burtman ‘26 and Daniel Rivera ‘27 played well in the net, and the backline was anchored by Ronan Culligan ‘26, Ryan Jo ‘27, and Jordan Cipriano ’26. This was a team effort, and everyone put forth the kind of effort and attitude coaches love to see. 

The Varsity Boys’ Soccer team had a solid win against St. Luke’s on Oct. 2. Fighting off injury and a shared cold amongst the team, the Wyverns came ready to play.  After falling behind early on a KO miscommunication leading to an opponent goal, KO would go on to dominate play on their way to a 4-1 victory. Sam Cote ’24 would start the scoring for KO off a direct kick from Aaron Rotter ’22 and deflection to Cote by Max-William Kanz ’22. KO would strike again early on in the 2nd half when Rotter would allude three storm defenders in the left corner and find Kanz for the goal. Later in the half, Shrinaath Narasimhan ’22 would send a leading pass up the left sideline to Brio Aslan ’22, who would make his way to the center of the field and would score on a laser shot from outside the 18-yard box to put KO up 3-1.  Aslan would score later in the 2nd half off a tip from Sean Gilland ’22 to finish the Wyvern scoring. The defensive backline of James Beerbower ’22, Cole Banning ‘24, David Shi 22, and Michael Bzowyckyj ‘24 were solid. Pierce Maddox ‘22 would earn the victory in goal.  

Volleyball

The JV Volleyball team moved to 5-0 on Oct. 2, beating Suffield Academy 2-1 (25-9, 19-25, 25-16). Sophie Glazier ’23 served impressively, going on a 13 point run in the first set. Jhanvi Daddala ‘23 also had a strong serving performance. Diya Mistri ‘24 was a solid defensive presence on the front line, while Cienna Freeman ‘24 helped secure the third set by breaking a strong Suffield Academy server with a great midcourt play. Captain Eve Repp ’23 also showed tremendous hustle on defense throughout the game. JV Volleyball is beginning to show the chemistry that comes with discipline, practice, and time on the court. 

The Varsity Girls’ Volleyball team took on the Suffield Academy Tigers in what turned out to be a spectacular victory for the Wyverns in their first 5-set match (26-24, 25-22, 23-25, 15-25, 15-6) on Oct. 2. The first set was truly a nail-biter with the score inching into extra points, but the Wyverns established a solid lead and offensive momentum in the set. Kata Mesterhazy ‘23 had aggressive tips, unshakeable blocks, and timely hits from the middle. Early on, there was an unstoppable 1-2 punch combo between Jill Plaut ‘23 setting and co-captain Keira Sullivan ‘23 and Ava Cashman ‘24 hitting from the outside, which really gave the team the confidence to stay in the game offensively. Jillian Alexander ‘24 brought sharp-angled hits from the right side, and the Wyverns ended the set with confident serving from Linsday Bailey ‘22 during some very tense moments. The second set tested the team, due to excellent serving from Suffield, and the Wyverns were forced to claw back from a deficit to take the set. Co-captain Mackenzie Caruso ‘22 made thoughtful setting choices to put the hitters in the optimal positions, and they took advantage of those opportunities to turn the tide of the set. KO ended the set with Allie Arcaro ‘22 making some clutch serves to keep the opponent out of offensive positions. The third set was full of long, tense points where each team was looking for an opening to take the lead. KO once again climbed back from a deficit with well-timed hitting from Quin Kearney ‘23 on the right side and a momentum-changing block from Mesterhazy in the middle of the set, but ultimately Suffield won out the final points to take the match into a fourth set. The fourth set was a moment for the Wyverns to regroup and work through some scrappy plays from both teams. Though we weren’t able to close the gap that Suffield established in the middle of the set, KO was ready to reverse the momentum in the fifth set. In the fifth set, some encouraging words from KO’s captains and from Coach McDonald fired up the team for a determined, non-stop offensive showcase. The offense was back in swing with hit after hit from Sullivan and Cashman on the outside, which only emboldened the rest of the team to go all out in the final stretch of points. Bailey took the helm at the net, with aggressive net decisions and a show-stopping block that sealed the deal for the match. This was the team’s biggest test against a well-matched opponent, and the Wyverns were ecstatic to prove their mettle and take their first 5-set win.