Cougars' Soccer hold off Lexington, win 5-4

The Martin Luther School Cougars’ soccer team (5-2 overall, 4-1 in PSAA Div. II) was able to hold onto a close victory by the final score of 5-4 against Lexington at the Metropolitan Oval, Wednesday.

This match truly represented the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Cougars’ soccer team in terms of the halves they played.

The Cougars came out strong early in the game, putting pressure on the Lexington defense, which resulted in success.

Junior Jay Kim definitely ate his Wheaties this morning, putting through two goals early in the contest on assists from both Alex Ortiz and Franco Libano.

Despite having the early lead, the Cougars would not back down in a sport where within a couple of minutes, the whole game can change. Soccer demands teams to keep their foot on the pedal at all times.

In the 31^st minute, Ortiz was able to get behind the defense off of a free kick from Libano and the rest was history. He handled it cleanly, getting past the goalkeeper and knocking it through.

In the 34^th minute, Kim was able to accomplish the feat known as the hat trick as he received a chip pass from Ortiz. Kim simply popped it over the goalkeeper’s head for this third goal of the contest.

Four minutes into the second half and the Cougars were back at again as Senior Jacob Park was able to get in on the action. He knocked in a goal off the assists from whom else, Jay Kim.

Remember what I said about keeping your foot on the pedal in soccer? This is why.

Lexington was able to put through four goals within a twenty minute span as the clock was winding down; most coming as a result of mental errors.

The Cougars had a few missed opportunities as well throughout the second half but sure knew how to make this one interesting. Being able to put the ball over the top and run onside plays a big part in their offensive attack. There were a few very close offside calls that could’ve went either way but were called against Martin Luther.

Martin Luther Coach Matt Moran had a few things he thinks the team could improve on.

“Working together. Stop worrying about things we can’t control like the referee and who we have on the field,” said Coach Moran.

The Cougars next home match will be October 18 at 4 p.m. against Kew Forest at the Metropolitan Oval.

By: Frank Stampfl

Lady Cougars drop tennis match to Solomon Schecter 4-1

The Lady Cougars tennis team took on Solomon Schecter on Tuesday at Juniper Valley Park.

Highlights can be viewed here.

The Lady Cougars showed improvement, but still fell to Schecter 4-1.

The lone win for the Lady Cougars came in the third singles match that saw Vicky Yang win the match 8:4. It was a back and forth match that saw some great serves and back and forth rallies. Yang was able to take advantage of her strong serving and outlast Mariella from Schecter.

“She [Yang] won and that’s very impressive,” said Head Coach Leslie Aguirre. “She was doing great.”

The second doubles match was a nail bitter as Alain Goulbourne and Melva Toasa gave Schecter’s team all they could handle. It was a back and forth match and serving was key. Both teams had trouble handling the serves, but ultimately the Lady Cougars had all they could handle and dropped the match by a score of 6:8.

“In our second doubles they had good rallying and serving,” said Aguirre.

Dominique Bratton battled hard and had some of the most impressive rallies of the day in the first singles match. Despite the strong rallying Bratton dropped the match 1:8.

“I did notice that she wasn’t playing to the best of her effort,” said Aguirre.

The other matches saw Lauren Coyle fall in the second singles match by a score of 2:8. Toya Brown and Mia Gonzalez dropped the first doubles match by a score of 0:8.

Aguirre was pleased with her teams performance, but believes there is plenty of room for improvement.

 

“Serving is the number one thing we need to improve on,” she said.

The Lady Cougars will be back in action next Monday when they take on Long Island Lutheran at Juniper Valley Park at 4 p.m.

By: Michael Florio

Lady Cougars Defeat Heschell School

The Lady Cougars took on the girls from Abraham Joshua Heschel School and handled them in two sets of 25-14 and 25-19.

CHECK OUT HIGHLIGHTS HERE

In the first set, Heschel jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, but that was as far as they got from Martin Luther. Senior, Franchon Martinez helped tie the score at 5 and then the two teams went back and forth for a while.

Later in the set, Junior, Katelyn Velez went on a strong run with her serves helping the Lady Cougars build their own lead.

Senior, Xena Anderson continues to lead the girls and keep them focused on the court. Her four years of experience will be key going forward.

Junior, Leslly Marmolejo was one girl who looked as if the long weekend hadn’t phased her. Throughout both sets, she displayed great hustle making strong serves and some diving plays to save a rally.

They started off the day a bit slow, trailing in the start of both sets. Some of the serves were not strong and going into the playoffs it was important that the girls overcame that and pulled out strong victories.

The girls did pull it together and showed good resolve with unbelievable rallies throughout the afternoon.

Head Coach, Ann Boyle commented after the game, “We were a little sluggish today because of the fact that we had the holiday weekend, so we had the couple of days we weren’t touching the ball so it was a little apparent today.”

Martin Luther plays their next game on Thursday at home at 4:00 against Kew Forest. It will be their final home game of the season.

By: Aaron Maldonado

Lady Cougars volleyball claw out a victory against Lexington in three sets

Martin Luther School lady cougar’s volleyball team was looking for victories in back-to-back days and they managed to do just that. The Lady Cougars won against Lexington in three sets, 19-25, 25-13, and 25-23.

This match – that was held in the Martin Luther School’s gymnasium – represented the tale of three sets. Throughout each set, it seemed like a different lady cougar’s team was on the floor.

The team got off to a hot start in the opening set as they led early by the score of 5-1 behind multiple superb serves by senior Franchon Martinez. From there on out, however, the team struggled mightily in serving as well as returning serves.

Coach Boyle’s words must have encouraged the team between sets because they looked much more attentive in the second set.

All of the Lady Cougars contributed in the second set, showing poise in their ability to bump, set, spike, and most importantly, serve. Service was the key to victory in this set as Martinez and Junior Leslly Marmolejo put together a few lengthy runs due to their execution.

The third and final set was one where the team showed some of their strengths as well as weaknesses from earlier in the match.

Martin Luther jumped out to an early 8-3 lead against Lexington in the final set although it would get much closer.

Lexington fought back, tying the final set multiple times at 14, 16, 17, 22, and 23.

The Lady Cougars actually trailed 23-22 in the closing stretch, but went on to defeat the opposition with three straight points.

Senior Xena Andersen flashed her athleticism multiple times throughout the last set, burying Lexington with her spikes.

The team as a whole showed their will to win. Even though the coughed up the lead late, they were able to maintain composure and battle back.

By: Frank Stampfl

Lady Cougars Volleyball takes out Our Savior

The Lady Cougars wasted no time in their non league match up against Our Savior Lutheran, winning the match in two sets by a score of 25-9 and 25-13.

In the first game, OSL started out serving. They would not be able to take advantage of this, as that was a weakness for them all game. With Martin Luther holding a slim 4-3 lead, junior, Kiara Ashby, stepped up to serve.

Ashby led the Lady Cougars on a 17-0 run and the next time OSL served the game was out of hand with the score sitting at 20-4. OSL went on a small run of their own, but the game was never in question with the Lady Cougars taking in 25-9.

"A couple people served very well today," said Lady Cougars head coach Ann Boyle.

In the second game, OSL was able to jump out to a 4-2 lead. Boyle rallied the troops and the teams continued to exchange points and the Lady Cougars regained a slim 7-5 lead.

Junior, Dominique Genise took the ball to serve. Behind her strong serving and good team communication the Lady Cougars went on a 9-0 run, taking a 16-5 lead.

The teams then traded points back and forth, with the Lady Cougars leading 23-10. OSL had one last run in them and brought the score to 23-13 before serving it out of bounds and bringing Martin Luther just one point away from victory.

Genise was serving again and sent one over that OSL had trouble handling, sealing the match for Martin Luther by a score of 25-13.

Despite the win, Boyle still sees room for improvement. "I expect the serves to go over the net and stay in bounds and in some cases that didn't happen. So we need to work on our consistency," she said.

"Our focus is on the playoffs."

By: Michael Florio

Cougars' soccer handles Staten Island Academy, 2-1

The Martin Luther Cougars’ soccer team defeated Staten Island Academy by the final score of 2-1 at the Metropolitan Oval Tuesday.

According to coach Matt Moran, this is only the third time Martin Luther has defeated SIA in the past 25 years.

The first 25-30 minutes of the contest illustrated the competitiveness of both teams as they put together some really sound play. Mistakes were seldom made as Martin Luther and SIA displayed defensive technique and decent ball control.

Once the opening 30 minutes passed, however, the Cougars stepped up their offensive pursuit, putting pressure on the SIA defense time and time again. Junior Jay Kim nearly got his head on one in the 34^th minute but the goalkeeper collided with him. The referee deemed it fair as both players were going for the ball.

The Cougars came right back in the 35^th minute as Alex Ortiz blasted a goal into the top right corner of the net off of Kim’s assist.

The first half defensive unit, which manned the shutout consisted of Steven Fonseca, Kyle Morrissey, Jacob Park, freshman Joseph Gannon, and goalkeeper Jose Cabrera.

Coach Moran noticed Gannon’s effort early in the match.

“He’s not afraid to win the ball in the air,” said Coach Moran. “When they [SIA] got physical, he got physical right back.”

Staten Island Academy would get a few chances early in the second half but proved to be nothing the Cougars couldn’t handle.

The Cougars kept their foot on the pedal, as they were able to put through another goal in the 63^rd minute. This time the roles were reversed as Kim knocked in a superb cross following some fancy footwork by Ortiz out of the corner.

Slightly after that, Fonseca put a ball on goal off a free kick from about 40 yards out, which in most cases sounds absurd. This ball just cleared the top right part of the post – a play that would undoubtedly land on ESPN’s top ten plays of the night.

With just a few minutes remaining, Martin Luther saw two important pieces of the team in Alex Ortiz and Carlos Mosquera carried off the field by Coach Moran following minor lower leg injuries.

As a result, SIA was able to capitalize and put in a goal, ruining the Cougars’ chance at shutout. The goal would prove to come too little too late.

This match leaves Martin Luther at an overall record of 4-1 as they chase a consecutive PSAA championship.

By: Frank Stampfl

Rain postpones Lady Cougars tennis

Martin Luther Lady Cougars tennis team was all set to take on Kew Forest, today at Juniper Park. Unfortunately the weather was not on their side as rain began to fall just before the scheduled game time of 4 p.m. The game was postponed due to the rain.

The Lady Cougars tennis team will be back at it tomorrow afternoon as they take on Staten Island Academy at Juniper Park at 4 p.m. Hopefully the weather will be on their side.

Tomorrow is a busy day for all of Martin Luther sports as the Lady Cougar volleyball team has a home match against Our Savior at 4 p.m. The Cougars soccer team will also be in action as they host Staten Island Academy at the Metropolitan Oval at 4 p.m.

Wednesday the Cross Country team has an IPPSAL race at 4:15 p.m. The Lady Cougars volleyball team will once again be hosting a game in Martin Luther gym, this time taking on Lexington at 3:45 p.m.

The last action for the sports teams this week takes place Thursday as the Lady Cougars tennis team gets out on the road for a showdown with Long Island Lutheran. The Lady Cougars volleyball team will be hitting the road as well to take on Kew Forest. The Cougars soccer team will host Kew Forest at 4 p.m.

By: Michael Florio