Weekly Recap: 9/12-9/17

Monday, September 12
Varsity Badminton vs. Hamden High: W 5-2
Recap: The match got off to a tight start as Hamden won two out of the three singles matches. The Hamden lead was short-lived, however, as Porter's roared back to sweep all four doubles matches. Leading the team was Roanna Zou '19, who won her singles competition and then teamed up with freshman Nitya Shah '20 to claim a convincing win in doubles. At second doubles, freshman Simrat Khalsa '20 bounced back nicely from her singles loss, under the steadying influence of doubles partner and co-captain Ariane Cheng '17. Shushu Fang '18, the other co-captain, joined forces with veteran player Damia Rizwan '18, and veteran Joyce Huang '19 teamed up with freshman Annika Philomin '20 to round out the victory with wins at 3rd and 4th doubles.

Wednesday, September 14
Varsity Field Hockey vs. Northfield Mt. Hermon: L 1-3
Recap: Porter's varsity field hockey team suffered its first lost of the season against KO. That being said, the girls battled tough throughout the entirity of the game, and scored a last-minute goal to push it to 3 - 1. Elizabeth Muller '19 was a rock star today back in net, commanding the defense. Her consistency from practice to gameday has been on point, as demonstrated today. Today she had 7 saves. Olivia Luppino '19 was a threat all over the field. Playing every position on the field, she had confidence, dilgence, and good ball control. She brought it to the game, and had such a great work ethic.

Saturday, September 17
Varsity Field Hockey vs. Wilbraham & Monson: L 0-1
Recap: Porter's field hockey played an amazing game against Wilbraham & Monson. Annie Buenaventura '17 was an unstoppable force back on defense. Talking command both physically and verbally, she was a great leader for the team. Backing up the goalie, Buenaventura eally stepped up. Also on defense, Julia Harrell '17 stepped up in key moments on the field. She had many awesome block tackles and jabs that helped mess up the opponents. Additionally, she had great field sense and helped carry the ball into space.

Varsity Soccer vs. Williston Northampton: W 2-0
Recap: The tempo from the first whistle was high and Porter's varsity soccer moved the ball with speed and purpose, Williston worked hard and sat very deep inviting us deep into their half. The low pressure of Williston meant that it became difficult for the forwards to find space in behind. Fifteen minutes into the game co-captain Emily Wogelius '17 swung in a corner that Gabby Owens '19 headed into the net to put Porter's 1-0. The back four did a fantastic job of circulating the ball and the energy from the entire squad was fun to watch. During the second half the young Williston team pressed a little higher which allowed a little more space in and around the back four. Some impressive pressing from Laura Gouvin '20 allowed Kayla Gallagher '20 to drive a fantastic finish into the bottom corner from 18 yards. Both keepers preserved another shutout and Jenna Hall '20 made sure of that with a fingertip save late in the game. Claire Beath '17 had another impressive game, Sam Houle '17 and Emily Wogelius '17 continued to lead their team and Bryn Mathews '18 and Katie Konin '19 both showed a lot of composure in possession and rarely gave the ball away.

Varsity Volleyball vs. Deerfield: W 3-0
Recap: After beating Milton 3-0 in the first match of the day, Porter's stepped aside to let Deerfield and Milton play the mid-match. Deerfield won in three and was therefore warm going into the final match against Porter's, while the home team was cold after sitting for over an hour. Porter's came out with excellent hustle, sharp passing (led by Sofia Barth '19 at 1.9 and Maddie Koval '17 at 1.87), and therefore very good offensive output (20 kills and 9 errors). Along with the aggressive defense (25 digs) helped by the tall and solid blocking front line, Porter's customary serving performance was on display: a 2-1 ratio of aces to errors (14-7). The game almost turned in the third set (right around 6:00 p.m.), when Porter's (whose day of volleyball began at 12:45 p.m.) started to fatigue. Defense, serve receive, and offense all took a major hit as Porter's hit the wall. It was the defiant leadership of Belle Patalino '17 and Maddie Koval '17 refusing to be beat by "tired" that brought Porter's back from a five-point deficit and to the thrilling 25-23 victory. Freshman right side Callie Godfrey led all hitters with a .667 hitting percentage (4 kills and no errors on 6 attempts), while Diane Lin '17 led all hitters with 6 kills in the middle.

Varsity Volleyball vs. Milton: W 3-0
Recap: Porter's successfully defends their home court in the opener against Milton: 25-6, 26-24, 25-5. After a week to re-tool from the season opener at NMH, Porter's came out with a more familiar look: controlling the rally, keeping their error rate low, and serving hard. Boasting 15 Aces to just 9 missed serves (5 in the very close second set), Porter's kept the pressure on Milton with a strong block and aggressive (but controlled) serving. After the 60+ error debacle in their first match, Porter's gave away only 22 points in this one. With the team playing so cleanly, it opened the door for the servers to get more aggressive. Defensively, Porter's showcased their trademark speed, with 22 digs and allowing only 13 earned points for Milton.