The 2013 Fall season that was . . . Martin Luther Soccer

There was no shortage of entertainment throughout the fall season of sports at Martin Luther, which included the varsity soccer team, coached by Matt Moran.

The Cougars entered the 2013 season with a bull’s eye on their back as they won the PSAA Div. II championship the year before in the 2012 season. Any time a team wins it all, the next season other teams are willing to give their full effort and then some in an attempt to defeat the champs. Martin Luther knew the challenges they faced and would try to make another run at it in 2013.

As the Cougars battled this season, they picked up pivotal victories along the way, none bigger than against Staten Island Academy by the final score of 2-1 on their home field, the Metropolitan Oval, according to Coach Moran.

“Beating Staten Island Academy was our biggest victory this season because it was the first time we beat them in over a decade,” said Coach Moran.

Despite having some tough matchups and carrying that bulls eye on their back, the Cougars managed to put together a fine regular season, finishing with a record of 7 wins – 3 losses.

Moving into the postseason, the No. 2 seeded Martin Luther Cougars were faced with the challenge of Lexington in the PSAA semi-finals in the most eventful game of the year.

Defense and goalkeepers were oft missed in the bout as the teams combined for 11 total goals in the match. The Cougars looked as though they would cruise past the semi’s as they grabbed an early lead in the match with two goals in the first ten minutes. Lexington proved to be much tougher than anticipated though as they tied the game up just minutes later. Each team would add another goal even before the first half commenced.

With the score tied 3-3, Lexington pushed ahead with two unanswered goals in the second half. With just eight minutes remaining, the Cougars put together one of the most memorable comebacks in school history. They tied the game up and took the lead in the final minute off a free kick by senior Steven Fonseca. Martin Luther went on to win 6-5 and advanced to the PSAA finals where they faced Kew Forest.

The PSAA finals took place on a neutral field at Portledge on October 24. This game would prove to be much more defense based as only three goals combined were scored. Unfortunately, the Cougars fought hard but fell in the end by the final score 2-1 to Kew Forest.

Although the PSAA season had come and gone, a few select Cougars still had work to do. Seniors Steven Fonseca and Alex Ortiz were selected to play in the 2013 Mayor’s Cup All-Star event. This event lasted two days where the best senior soccer players all throughout New York City were chosen to play in a few all-star matches. Ortiz and Fonseca represented the Cougars on the Independent School’s team.

“I’m very happy for Steven and Alex,” said Coach Moran. “Being chosen as one of the best high school soccer players in the city of all cities is something special,” he added.

The 2013 Martin Luther soccer team proved to be an extremely talented one. Coach Moran is still ‘very excited’ about the future soccer program. Underclassmen Tyler Fayconsolo, Joseph Gannon, and Andres Buitrago will have a larger role moving forward. Coach Moran also has his leading goal scorer in Jay Kim returning along with Franco Libano.

This Martin Luther Cougars’ team will be saying goodbye to nine seniors who will be graduating come spring, including Alex Ortiz, Steven Fonseca, Sal DiPrisco, Marcos Freire, John Lawrence, Kyle Morrissey, Carlos Mosquera, Jerry Pico, and Nick Williams.

By: Frank Stampfl

Coach Gast looks to better Cougars on and off the court

Randal Gast will look to right the ship for the Martin Luther School Cougars varsity basketball team, which has not won a championship since 2005 nor made the playoffs since 2009.

While the team’s new head has not coached a high school basketball game since 1989, Gast, who also serves as the school’s executive director, holds a breadth of experience. He coached for nine years in Baltimore in the 1980s and was the head coach of the Division II Concordia Clippers – the basketball team at Concordia College in Westchester – from 1990 to 1994.

While Gast has been on a coaching hiatus for the past 20 years, he doesn’t foresee today’s world of basketball to be terribly different from the one he left two decades ago. As he launches his game plan, Gast expects to run an up-tempo offense.

“I told the kids the other day games are 32 minutes long; I’d love to see us with 65 to 70 possessions,” he said. “Which means we would have ball in our hands three to four times a minute, which means we are not going to be eating time off the clock.”

In order for this to happen, the Cougars will have to not only play sound defense but they will need to force the other team to make mistakes and turn the ball over.

“We are looking to create a lot of our offense off of pressure defense,” Gast said. “We are going to be only as good as the defense we play and the turnovers we create allows us to be.”

In order to play at such a quick pace and press so much, the coach will have to rely heavily on his bench. He plans to have an eight or nine man rotation.

Gast is looking to rebuild a program that saw its varsity team go 2-18 last year, while its junior varsity game went 1-12. The main thing he looks to improve on this team is their confidence. If, the coach stressed, his players believe in themselves and the team, and they give it their all, the victories will come.

“I think the wins come if the desire is there, if the willingness to work together is there, and if the attitude is there,” he said.

Gast knows that coming into the season there are low expectations for himself and his squad. While he does not have a goal for the number of games he expects to win this season, he does foresee improvement.

“We are going to be competitive,” he said. “I think we are going to sneak up on teams and they will be surprised by where these kids are and where they can go.”

While the coach is not talking about playoffs, he is hopeful that his team could find their way in. In order to do this he will rely on a lot of underclassmen, as the team only has three returning varsity players. He can count on last year’s leading scorer, sophomore, Devin Berrios. Berrios will start at the two guard spot, but will play some point guard as well. Perhaps the player he will rely on the most is the team’s starting point guard, Cameron Thompson, who is only in eighth grade.

“The kid can play; he has a chance to special,” he said. “Physical maturity is the only thing that can hold him back.”

Gast will have the benefit of having Ken Johnson, the last coach to win a championship for the Cougars, as his assistant coach.

Gast is hoping to not only teach the kids the game of basketball, but to teach them to be good students, leaders, and, most of all, good people.

By: Michael Florio

Nate the Great

Nathaniel Glosson is a student-athlete at Martin Luther School. He is a junior while also participating on the cross-country team, the wrestling team, and the track and field team.

Glosson originally from the Bronx, attended the Knowledge and Power Preparatory Academy IV. KAPPA IV, as it is referred, is a distinguished middle school located in Central Harlem.

Glosson found his way to Martin Luther through a chance meeting with Mr. James Regan, the Athletic Director of the school and former wrestling coach.

Glosson had been interested in wrestling since he was a kid and had been highly encouraged by his then math teacher, Mr. Constantino, to compete in wrestling tournaments throughout the city. Glosson became involved with something called ‘Beat the Streets’, which is a program aimed at developing athletic potential and strengthening the culture of New York City wrestling.

It was at one of those wrestling tournaments where he first met Mr. Regan.

Regan spoke to him about the academics of the school as well as the wrestling team. He told Glosson how he could step up his training and improve his skills. He invited him to come to a tournament at Martin Luther.

Glosson may have come to Martin Luther with a passion for wrestling, but once he ran the mile for the fitness test in gym class and finished with a 6:40, his gym teacher prompted him to join cross-country.

“That first week of practice was crazy! Every muscle in my body was so sore, but I stuck with it and I’m happy I did,” commented Glosson.

Mr. Ken Johnson, head coach of both cross-country and track and field, loves to see an athlete realize his talent. He dedicates so much of his time to developing his runners to reach their full potential.

“Mr. J is another great guy in my life that I look up to, another role model; he’s been through this so many times and he gives tons of advice…he forms us into tremendous runners,” commented Glosson.

“He’s like the old wise man you refer to in your time of need,” Glosson joked.

This year Nate helped bring the IPPSAL Championship back to Martin Luther. It was the first time in four years the Cougars were victorious. Glosson finished fourth, beating out another runner by leaning into the finish line at the very end.

Nate recalled that race: “That was a day to remember! The week prior to that day I was hurt; And after missing six days of practice I ran, finishing fourth…I fought to the death for that place!”

“Nate is a great kid, I trust him, he always goes out there and tries his hardest, he’s always on time, and causes no trouble at all,” commented Mr. Johnson.

To say that he is making the most of his high school years would be an understatement. Glosson takes two trains and a bus to Martin Luther, while also being a three-sport athlete. He served as the Secretary for his class on the Student Government and received the Coach’s Award for Track and Field last year.

Outside of school, He is involved with a media arts program at The Renaissance University of Community Education. TRUCE, as it is called, is part of a bigger organization called the Harlem Children Zone. At TRUCE, there is currently a development called The Spike Lee Project. In this project, Glosson serves as the director of photography.

“This position has introduced me to another field of art that I have much strength in. At the Harlem Children Zone, I am opened up to countless opportunities that can benefit me in the future.”

Glosson recalls many role models in his life that helped guide him down the right path in life.

“My father is a big sports fanatic; he supported me in wrestling and he traveled with me to all my tournaments.”

“Mr. Constantino wanted the best for me; he wanted me to go to the best school, not just a regular school.”

With about ten to fifteen hours a week of practice, finding time to keep up with his schoolwork can be easier said than done.

“It’s stressful, but it is a choice as to how you deal with it that matters. My goal is to do well in both school and sports.”

Glosson is a proud student-athlete at Martin Luther School and has a bright future ahead of him. He has hopes to study architecture in college and an athletic scholarship could very well be in his future. 

By: Aaron Maldonado

Cougars cross-country have big plans going forward

The Martin Luther School Cougars’ cross-country team, lead by head coach Ken Johnson, dominated the 2013 Independent Private and Parochial School Athletic League (IPPSAL) championship.

The Cougars had seven of the first nine runners to cross the finish line, lead by senior Thomas McLoughlin who came in first place.

“This team stayed together,” said Johnson. “Our game plan was to not let another schools runner get in between you and your teammates. You want your teammates to beat you, not the other schools.”

Scoring in cross-country differs than in other sports. “Unlike basketball or hockey where the most points win, in cross country the least amount of points wins. You add up the places of the teams top five runners and the least amount wins,” said Johnson.

The title snaps a four-year drought for Johnson and the program, which became accustom to winning championships after triumphing from 2005 to 2009.

This may not be the most talented team Johnson has coached, but they worked hard, followed his game plan and stuck together all year. Johnson knew early on that this would be the team to end the title drought.

“I don’t want to say I knew from the first day, but I knew,” Johnson said. “First meet we finished one, two, four, five, six, seven.”

The Cougars had four runners finish in the top five at the IPPSAL championship race.

“Each time we ran in IPPSAL we were just focused on beating the other team,” Johnson said.

The team was by their captain McLoughlin, the only senior in their top five.

Freshman Tyler FayConsolo finished right behind McLoughlin in the final meet and even draws comparisons to Johnson’s most talented runners.

Juniors Devin Berrious and Nate Gosling along with sophomore Grant Terdoslabich rounded out the top five for the Cougars.

“I think we did good overall as a team,” said McLoughlin. “We improved overall which is the most important part. All of our times went down, we had a lot of kids step up when we needed them, to win the championship.”

The Cougars also finished third in the Private School Athletic Association (PSAA). The Cougars cross-country program has not won the PSAA league since 2008, after winning it three years in a row. Johnson is hopeful to snap that streak next season.

“We have three underclassmen that run under a six minute mile, one is only in eighth grade,” he said. 

“We can slot them in and the other guys will get better.”

Johnson expects to not only be competitive next season, but he expects to repeat.

“With our young guys we shouldn’t be losing anything. We should repeat,” he said.

His soon to be former captain agrees.

“I’m proud and hopefully they can do the same thing next year and bring it back to how it used to be,” said McLoughlin.  “I think they have a bright future.”