Cougar wrestling dominates in home opener

The Martin Luther Cougars’ wrestling team defeated Trinity Prep School in their home opener by the final score of 48-21 as they rallied up a total of six pins on the day.

There was no shortage of action throughout the match and that would become evident after just the first match when freshman Tyler Fayconsolo wrestled in the 160 lb. weight class. Fayconsolo was able to display his potential as he battled back numerous times, using techniques from both the floor and the neutral position. His duel would be the only one that would end in a decision. Youth may have played a part in the outcome but he fell in an 11-9 decision.

“The best thing is that he never stopped wrestling. This year he has developed a shot and has learned how to get in on the legs,” said head coach Matt Moran of Fayconsolo’s performance.

As mentioned, six Cougars ended their bouts with a pin, including David-Paul Schulze, Kyle Morrissey, Justin Tabala, Efrain Del Carpio, Alex Ortiz and the captain himself Thomas McLoughlin.

Senior captain McLoughlin (145 lb.) methodically picked apart his opponent, ending the match in a mere 1:39. Fellow senior Alex Ortiz (182 lb.) put together the quickest bout of the night, taking control early on and getting the pin just 1:09 into it.

Many of the cougars wrestled in higher weight classes than usual, which builds experience but will also put forth much more strain than usual. One cougar who had this challenge was Efrein Del Carpio who had his hands full throughout. As he neared defeat multiple times, he often used nifty techniques to escape and even reverse his fortune. With just 24 seconds left, Del Carpio was able to work his magic just once more and pick up the impressive win via pinfall.

Both teams had to forfeit some bouts due to missing wrestlers in certain weight classes. Trinity picked up 18 of their 21 total points off of forfeits in the 106 lb., 113 lb., and 195 lb. weight classes. Nick Urzia and Nate Glosson of Martin Luther picked up a forfeit in the 120 lb. and 170 lb. weight class, respectively. ML and Trinity double forfeited the 220 and 285 lb. classes.

The Cougars current record stands at 3-4 as they have a chance to push their record over .500 tomorrow as they host both Queens Complex and Maspeth High School tomorrow.

By: Frank Stampfl

Cougars run wild

The Martin Luther boys varsity basketball team defeated St. Demetrios by a final score of 63-50 on Tuesday.

The Cougars strongest weapon was their press defense, which allowed them to use their speed in transition.

The game of runs started off early with the Cougars jumping to a 7-0 lead. St. Demetrios had no answers for the Cougars full court press. St. Demetrios turned the ball over on consecutive possessions which lead to easy fast break points for the Cougars. After pushing the lead to 19-7, the Cougars allowed an 8-0 to bring the score to 19-15 after one.

This was certainly a part of the game plan. "We gotta run, we just gotta run," said Head Coach Randal Gast. "We are not a half court team."

The Cougars struggled in the second quarter after St. Demetrios' point guard Thanasis Malis caught fire. His ball handling allowed St. Demetrius to advance the ball and his sharp shooting was too much for the Cougars to handle. A big struggle for the Cougars was also staying out of foul trouble. They had 10 fouls with 4:38 left in the half, putting them in the double bonus. The Cougars took a slim 33-32 lead into halftime.

The game of runs continued as the Cougars opened up on a 13-5 run. The Cougars also focused their defense on denying Malis the ball in the second half, which really stalled St. Demetrius' offense. The Cougars started to pull ahead at the end of the third, leading 47-40.

Senior, forward, Steven Fonseca stepped up in the fourth quarter hitting three consecutive three-pointers. He totaled 13 total points in the quarter alone and was a driving force as the Cougars pulled away. St. Demetrios refused to go away and kept fighting, but ultimately fell, 63-50.

Gast, hinted that Fonseca could find his way to the starting lineup.

Keith Miller, who had missed time due to a heart condition, returned in a big way. The big man made his presence felt instantly, grabbing rebounds and contesting shots. Both areas that the Cougars have struggled with in the past.

"He certainly helped us inside," said Gast.

Point guard, Cameron Thompson certainly looked anything but a first year player. When the team struggled he showed great poise and let the Cougars offense set and spread the ball, often finding an open Fonseca.

"We showed some great poise in the second half," said Gast.

Junior, shooting guard, Devin Berrios proved to be reliable on the offensive end and hit some key free throws down the stretch.

While Gast see's room for improvement he is certainly happy with the result. "A win is a win," he said.

By: Michael Florio

Lady Cougars varsity basketball fights hard but falls to Columbia Prep

ML girl’s varsity basketball team fought hard against Columbia Prep but ultimately fell by the final score of 56-44.

Junior Leslly Marmolejo continued to be the most consistent force for the lady cougars in this contest and she scored a team-high 15 points in the contest. Senior Xena Andersen also did her part as she poured in 12 points for the team.

Columbia Prep made life difficult the whole game against the lady cougars as they applied full court pressure throughout. The pressure plagued Martin Luther early as they were down 8-0 to start the game. A constant theme as the game played on was the effort the fight back. After falling down 13-2 early, the lady cougars fought back with an 11-1 run to end the quarter.

After seeing what Columbia Prep was offering, Martin Luther was able to break the full court pressure a few times in the second quarter but was unable to capitalize by missing a few layups that would’ve cut the deficit even more.

“We had opportunities, we had chances. We missed a lot of layups, Mikan shots, and free throws that might have made the difference in the game. Ultimately, it’s a big improvement from where we played the other games. They played hard,” said head coach Ann Boyle.

The lady cougars played their most complete ball in the third quarter as they outscored the opponent 10-8. They played with a different level of intensity in confidence and were able to cut it down it down to a three-point deficit at one point.

“They were getting a little more confident with regard to driving to the basket, trying to hit the open person in give-and-go plays so I’m happy with that,” added Boyle on the team’s effort.

The Lady Cougars are now 0-5 on the young season but will have a few chances away next week to get back on track.

By: Frank Stampfl

ML lady cougars varsity basketball falls in Invitational opener

Martin Luther School’s girl’s varsity basketball team opened up their tournament with a loss against St. Agnes, 51-34.

The first half started quite slow as the lady cougars trailed 12-19 at the intermission. Both teams came out stiff, lacking continuity on the offensive end.

The intensity for both teams did manage to pick up in the third quarter as the lady cougars tried to claw their way back. They poured in more points in the third quarter alone then they did in the entire first half (14 points) but the St. Agnes post offense was too much to handle.

Scoring for the lady cougars was handled entirely by three players. Junior Leslly Marmolejo led the team with 14 points of her own. Seniors Xena Andersen and Dominique Bratton added 10 points each using their outside shooting prowess.

The team fell short in this one but had the opportunity to bounce back with consolation game Sunday, December 8. Their record to this point in the season stands at 0-3 but it is still early.

By: Frank Stampfl

ML boy's varsity basketball handles St. George Academy in first leg of tourney

Martin Luther School boy’s varsity basketball team opened up their leg of the 46^th annual basketball tournament by beating St. George Academy, 74-32.

The game started slowly as the first quarter concluded with the score 11-7 with the Cougars leading. This would prove to be the closest quarter throughout the entire game.

The Cougars came out fired up on both ends of the floor in the second quarter, executing the game plan head coach Randy Gast set out for. They kept up half court pressure on St. George Academy, which led to turnovers and easy buckets for Martin Luther. The team went on a 15-1 run that lasted over the first four minutes of the quarter. The opposition did not score a field goal until there was just 3:30 left in the half.

“I told them, ‘Hey we got to turn up the pressure, you got to get the steal, everybody has to be running the floor and you have to be hungry,’” said Gast.

It’s safe to say the Cougars responded well to Gast’s words, not only for the second quarter but the remainder of the game. After the first quarter, the Cougars outscored the St. George Academy 63-25 over the final three quarters.

Junior Devin Berrios led all scorers in the contest with 26 points while adding four assists and four steals. Point guard Cameron Thompson also contributed with 15 points, seven steals and four assists. The bench did their part as well with Coach Gast going 12 players deep in this game.

Coach Gast also reiterated how important executing frontcourt pressure is to his team.

“We’re in trouble against any team if we get into a half court game,” said Gast. “Playing defense 94 feet rather than 40 feet puts us in a much better position.”

The victory leaves the team’s overall record at 2-2 so far this season.

The team is plays for the Martin Luther Invitational championship Sunday, December 8.

By: Frank Stampfl

Cougars drop home opener vs. LFNY

Martin Luther's boys varsity basketball team dropped their home opener to LFNY, by a final score of 64-53.

Both teams got off to a slow start as the score sat at 9-8 after the first quarter. Point guard, Cameron Thompson was lighting up the first half, as he hit four three's, scoring 12 straight points for the Cougars, giving them a 17-12 lead. LFNY out scored the Cougars 12-4 the rest of the quarter to take a 24-21 lead into the half.

LFNY carried that momentum into the second half, as they went on a 23-2 run that put the Cougars in a 47-23 hole that they just couldn't overcome. LFNY's big men proved too much trouble for the Cougars to handle. Rebounding was an issue for the Cougars in the first half, but their good shooting from deep kept them in the game. They came out cold in the second half and could not match LFNY's production.

"On the boards we just have to be better or it's going to be an interesting season," said Cougars head coach Randy Gast. "[If] We get a couple key rebounds where they got a couple of put backs, and it's likely a different game at the end."

LFNY took advantage of their second chance opportunities. Their bigs were also able to slow down the Cougars offense, as they constantly blocked or altered the Cougar's shot attempts in the paint. This forced the Cougars to rely on the three ball. LFNY also took advantage of their big men by playing inside-out, as they would feed their bigs the ball down low and when the Cougars would collapse on the ball, the big man would kick it out for an open three.

"We were doubling down and not getting back out," said Gast. "We were going for the steal, which is a big thing that we do, but we just didn't get out on the shooters quickly enough."

The Cougars fought hard and started to press in the fourth, which caused turnovers and easy fast break points, that ignited a 15-2 run of their own to cut the score to 51-40. But once again second chance opportunities killed the Cougars. One of LFNY's big men was fouled while scoring on a put back. He missed the free throw, but another player was able to grab the board and quickly score for LFNY, giving them a 58-42 lead. The Cougars responded by hitting two quick threes to cut the deficit to 10, but they would never get closer as the dropped the game, 64-53.

The Cougars were lead by junior Devin Berrios and Thompson, who scored 19 and 14 respectively.

Despite the loss, their coach sees plenty of room for improvement.

"It's partially experience, we are young, part of it is just seeing how much some folks will dig deep and play," said Gast. "It's early."

By: Michael Florio

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