Winter Sports Wrap-up

One theme that comes to mind as I reflect on the countless games I watched this winter is how hard our teams competed. In every sport, at every level, the teams that took the floor or pitch were prepared and gave 100 percent effort in every contest. With that in mind, I’d like to highlight a few of our achievements.

Three out of our four varsity teams qualified for the post season. The boys' basketball team finished third in a very balanced and competitive league. The girls' basketball team made it to the playoffs but lost in the first round. The team has a fine young core of players returning next season, so the future is bright for girls' basketball. The last (but not least) team to qualify for CIF was the girls' soccer team, which played inspired soccer all season long. The team made it to the third round of the playoffs when they succumbed to St. Anthony's of Long Beach–which went on to the semifinal round of the CIF-Southern Section.

Overall, our Toads showed great dedication to their athletic teams this winter, often  spending extra time on the court or the field to further hone and develop their skills. Our student-athletes excel in every sport because of their commitment to excellence. They work hard, try hard, compete hard, but most importantly of all, they care. I love watching these kids and feel proud watching them represent Thacher!

Coaches: Bob St. George, Sabina McMahon 

Captains: Krista Cabrera '16, Tyler James '16

League Record: 6-­6-­2, finished 4th in the Frontier League and qualified for the CIF­SS playoffs

Season Record: 10-­7-­3

Seniors: Krista Cabrera, Grace Callander, Lina Fry, Tyler James, Elsabet Jones, Lydia Paxton, Margaret Troast, Serena Warren

MVP: Elsabet Jones '16, Zanna Gulick­-Stutz '18

MIP: Bridget Levy '17

Other Awards:

● Sportsmanship: Tyler James '16

● Unsung Hero:

○ Margaret Troast '16

○ Krista Cabrera '16

CIF qualification:

The team won two playoff games before losing in the round of 16 to a strong St. Anthony High School of Long Beach team (last year’s CIF­SS runner up). Finished ranked 14th in division, 7th in the CIF-SS. Seniors qualified for CIF playoffs every year.

Season highlights:

● 2.5 goals per match average

● Relinquished 1.6 goals per game

● Zanna Gulick­-Stutz '18 leading scorer with 15 goals on the season and 39 points ­– 4th in Frontier League for goals and points. Tied with Krista Cabrera '16 for 5th in the league for assists

● Sarah Finch '18 was incredible in goal throughout the season with 82 percent save rate and 1.6 goals against average

● Defenders Elsabet Jones '16, Margaret Troast '16, and Serena Warren '16 were strong and tough throughout the season and will be missed next year

● 15 different goal scorers out of 21 players on the roster

○ Top three:

■ Zanna Gulick­Stutz '18 with 15 goals

■ Lexie Silverman '18 with 7 goals

■ Lina Fry '16 with 6 goals

● Players stepped up when teammates were sick or injured to play unfamiliar positions

and continue the team’s success

● 5 players who started the season on JV saw varsity action throughout the season

● 3-­2 victory over Fillmore to avenge an earlier loss

● 5­-1 drubbing of Cate at home to sweep them for the season

● Opposing coaches commented that they hated playing against Thacher because of our

team’s tenacity

● Frontier League Awards:

○ 1st Team:

■ Zanna Gulick Stutz '18

■ Lexie Silverman '18

○ Honorable Mention:

■ Lina Fry '16

■ Krista Cabrera '16

■ Sarah Finch '18

Coaches: Cam Spaulding, Ebony Murphy-­Root

Captains: Nicole Bassolino '18, Sydney de Polo '17, Olivia Edmondson '18

League Record: 2-­8-­1

Season Record: 2­-8-­1

MVP: Stefanie Lueders '19

MIP: Yosephina Peters '18

Team Spirit Award: Yosephina Peters '18, Sydney de Polo '17

Season highlights:

It was a great season for the JV girls, with dramatic improvement over the course of the few months we had together. Sydney de Polo '17 was incredible in the goal, with numerous diving saves and general penalty box dominance. Olivia Edmondson '18, Caroline DelVecchio '19, and Gaby Sierra '18 anchored a strong central defense while Nicole Bassolino '18, Emily Hildago '18, and Grace Zhang '19 were stalwart defenders on the outside. Samantha Hollins '19 made a late­-season shift into the defensive end after playing forward for much of the season and had some sensational moments in the last couple of games. Abby Romo '19 played almost every position on the field with panache, and Margaret Phipps '19 also lent her skills to all areas of the field save the goal. When our goalie opted for the ski slopes instead of the soccer pitch for a game, Georgia Driscoll '19 performed admirably in her stead, though the team missed her ferocious presence as a striker. In the middle of the field, Stef Leuders '19 and Lulu Patterson '19 were a powerful pair, but when Lulu was called up to the varsity, Willa Hancock '18, a relative neophyte, showed incredible skill and hustle. Our starting wing midfielders of May Walton '18 and Pria Koll '18 were steady, strong performers, and when they needed a break we could always count on the fiery Maddy Moore '19 and the lightning­-fast Alice Tang '19 to hold down the edges. Up front, Yosefina Peters '18 seemed to always be moving at top speed, and Maya Wendel '19, who came to the position late in the season, proved herself to be one of our most talented forwards. Emmy Daro '19 also showed some flashes of brilliance in her substitute moments on attack.

In our game against Grace Brethren, Stef Leuders '19 split open her brow in a collision, but she calmly walked to the sideline with a smile despite the blood and terrified looks from teammates and opponents alike. “A scar would be cool,” she was overheard saying. A dance party broke out after the 0-­1 loss. Yosefina Peters '18 and Stef accounted for the two goals in our vengeful victory over Cate in the last contest of the season, Yosefina on a breakaway (our first goal in 9 games) and Stef on a free­kick from 25 yards. Caroline DelVecchio '19 pulled off the “Bejeezus”­­ a flip throw-­in­­ during the same game.

Captains: Jack Pierrepont '16, Chase Van Kalsbeek '16, Toto Van Son '16

League Record: 4­-8-­0

Season Record: 5­-8-­2

Seniors: Nevin Bernet, Spencer McCune, Jack Pierrepont, Miguel Sierra, Chase Van Kalsbeek, Toto Van Son

MVP: Oscar Luna '18

Most Improved Player: Griffin O'Neill '18

Happiest Player: Jack Pierrepont '16

Best Teammate: Jack Pierrepont '16,­ Miguel Sierra '16

 

Season highlights: 

● The three games of the season (non­league) against Nordhoff, Laguna Blanca and Cate were intense and the team, with all players, played a fun type of soccer along with perseverance and heart. We tied against Nordhoff and Cate and won, in overtime, to Laguna Blanca.

 

● Being a young team (half of the team were sophomores) it was difficult to compete with larger schools and physically bigger teams. However, the coaches are excited about the talent that both the varsity and JV programs are developing for the upcoming years.

 

● It was an intense season for everyone, both physically and emotionally. Ryan Jackson, our main striker, got hurt in the first game if the league competition and that affected our goal scoring capabilities for the rest of the season. The fast paced schedule did not help with skills development and made the kids super tired to the point that we mostly work to recover the player for future games.

 

● A highlight of the season was the evolution of our sophomore goalie: Griffin O ́Neill. He worked hard at every practice and that was reflected in his improvement. The fact that Mr. Daniel Murillo, a goalie coach from Ojai, joined us halfway thru the season to help Griffin and Toto (the other goalie) improve their game made a big difference. The coaches are excited to continue seeing his evolution. One of Griffin’s most memorable highlights was when he blocked a penalty kick against Santa Clara High School. This block gave Griffin a big boost of confidence and as well as the team.

 

● Our home game against Santa Clara was a roller coaster. Emotions ran high and low in different segments of the game. We failed to capitalize on one of our many scoring opportunities. Clearly we were the better team but we just couldn’t score. We were down 2­1 nearing the end of the second half. Our starting goalkeeper, Toto Van Son, was taken out of the goal and placed in the field as a striker. Toto went on to score the tying goal to send the game into overtime. One of the players least expected to score came through for the team when most needed. Unfortunately we lost in overtime, but Toto was able to end his soccer playing career at Thacher with a goal in his senior year.

Boys' JV Soccer