Westminster Christian Academy News

Softball Team Headed to the District Final!!

2008-10-10T10:17:21-05:00

Thursday, the Lady Wild Cats hosted Villa Duchesne at WCA in 2nd round district play. Villa advanced into the round by defeating Clayton 13-2 on Wednesday. The ‘Cats earned a bye into the 2nd round, due to their top seeding. The ‘Cats started the offensive machine again early in the 1st inning, scoring 4 runs. They added a run in the 2nd, and 5 in the 3rd inning to go up 10-0 over the Saints from Villa. On the defensive side, Shay Weststeyn was mowing the Villa batters down to the tune of 12 strikeouts in just 5 innings! 7 different Wildcats scored runs, with Bryn McKie scoring 3 runs, and 6 different ‘Cats had at least 1 RBI, with Shay Weststeyn leading the charge with 3 RBIs. 3 ‘Cats had extra base hits, with Katie Haverstick and Shay each recording a triple, and Jocelyn Sheffield and Shay each picking up double. Today, the ‘Cats will play the Kennedy Celts at Kennedy for the district title, starting at 4:15. The ‘Cats record now stands at 15-4!

'Cats Take the Lancers - again - in three!

2008-10-10T07:43:37-05:00

The JV Volleycats had played and beaten a formidable Lutheran South team twice this season already - could they do it a third time today? In a back-and-forth first game, the girls demonstrated great fundamentals, including strong defense by Kristen O'Leary, awesome reaction at the net by Danielle Pfyl, and powerful offensive kills by Kelsey Kindbom, Marci Penning, Mari Knehans and Becky Canfield. However, they came up short at the end, losing 21-25. This first-game loss did not deter their spirits, however, and behind consistent serving by Danielle Pfyl, Kristen O'Leary, Dani Roberts and Becky "Rocket" Canfield, alert net play by Haley Bettlach and great offense by Kaylee Rosen and Kayla Gebhardt, the 'Cats rolled to a convincing Game 2 victory 25-11! In the deciding third game, Haley was smart at the net again, the kills kept 'a comin' from Kelsey Kindbom, Becky Canfield, Mari Knehans, Kayla Gebhardt and Kaylee Rosen, and Becky Canfield and Kristen O'Leary provided great serving and solid defense yet again to carry the 'Cats to victory 25-20! This brings the JV 'Cats record to an amazing 19-1 on the season! They will be road warriors for the next four matches, so come out to Lafayette High School to see a great match on Friday at 4:15!

Softball Districts Begin Today!!

2008-10-09T08:09:00-05:00

The Lady Wildcat softball team plays in the District semi-final today, Thursday October 9, at 4:15. The game will be played at Westminster against Villa Duchsene. The winner of this game will move on to the district final on Friday at Kennedy, game time 4:15pm. Come out and cheer the team on!

Another nail biter-with a happy ending!

2008-10-08T07:29:45-05:00

Despite the sloppy weather, the Cats were back in top form today against the Principia Panthers. This was the third match this season which had to be settled by penalty kicks after two scoreless overtime periods. Thanks to two great PK saves by Tim Reed, the final PK goal by Matt Baldwin and an all around great team effort, the Cats won the match.

Both Westminster and Principia came into the game ranked “on the bubble” just below the top 10 teams in the state. And both teams played like they deserved to be in the top 10. Principia has several extremely fast players in the forward and midfield positions who were clearly scoring threats. Similar to the Priory match, Coach Legters moved Michael Evetts back to defense to mark the Panthers lead scorer and Michael did a great job. The balance of the defense consisting of Caleb Olson, Matt Reilly and Matt Schwartz also did yeomen’s work as they shut down attack after attack. In the 13th minute however, Principia sent a through ball over the heads of the Cat’s defense and one of their streaking forwards timed his run perfectly to meet the ball and score. The Cats answered in the 19th minute when Seth Lillenberg sent an even prettier diagonal pass to Connor Hunsicker who finished it calmly into the Panther’s net.

During the next 30 minutes as the rain was pounding down, both teams mounted numerous offensive threats but were unable to score. At midfield Jake Grimes was dominating as he outworked everyone and his efforts finally led to a goal in the 49th minute when he headed it in off a Principia defender after a beautiful pass from midfielder Tim Miller. Ten minutes later midfielder Seth Lillenberg earned a penalty kick which Grimes blasted past the Panther’s keeper. Matt Baldwin also played great at midfield. At forward Connor Hunsicker and Jake Appelbaum both put on footskills clinics for all to watch and wonder how they did that.

Unfortunately the Panthers showed they also have the ability to come back from behind and scored two unanswered goals in the 67th and 70th minutes to tie the match at 3-3 and gave the Cats a taste of their own medicine. The regulation time ended with the score still tied at 3-3 and the rain starting to let up.

Although the Cats were starting to show signs of fatigue and Connor was out with an injury, Westminster managed to hold their own and give the Panthers all they could handle for the two overtime periods. But for the third time this season (so far) the score was still tied after the overtime periods…which means the match would be settled in a penalty kick shoot-out.

Westminster’s shooters (Tim Miller, Matt Hudnut, Jake Grimes, Caleb Olson and Jake Appelbaum) managed to score 4 times. The drama continued as Tim Reed rose to the challenge and blocked one and nearly another of Principia’s 12 yard blasts. So after the five PK’s by both teams, the PK score was tied 4-4! This means the match would be settled by additional PK’s in a sudden victory format (or sudden death depending on how you look at it). Tim Reed once again made an incredible save on the sixth Principia PK. Coach Legters sent Matt Baldwin to the line to take the Cat’s sixth PK and he buried it into the net to seal the victory! Wow, what a battle and what a shame there had to be a loser in this marathon match.

On Friday the Wildcats face the Crusaders at Lutheran North at 4:15PM as a warm-up for Wildcat Pride Night and Carnival.

Scoring summary: 13:00 Principia, 19:00 WCA goal by Connor Hunsicker assisted by Seth Lillenberg, 49:00 WCA goal by Jake Grimes assisted by Tim Miller, 58:00 WCA goal by Jake Grimes (PK earned by Seth Lillenberg), 67:00 Principia, and 70:00 Principia.

PK shoot-out goals: Tim Miller, Matt Hudnut, Jake Grimes, Caleb Olson and Matt Baldwin.

Final score WCA 4 – Principia 3.

Today's 10/7 Districts matches have been postponed

2008-10-07T15:16:38-05:00

due to weather. Please check back for makeup schedule.

Cats lose on PK's

2008-10-06T12:51:53-05:00

The Westminster Christian Academy Boys Soccer team hosted the Clayton Greyhounds in a late Friday afternoon contest last week. In a heated battle which included 80 minutes of regulation play, two 10 minute overtime periods and a terrific penalty kick shoot-out…, where there were three times the number of fouls versus shots on goal, where one referee’s whistle appeared to be on auto-pilot, where the only one not to receive a yellow card was a squirrel in the trees behind the players benches, where…
Oh, well… I suspect it’s time to go to the recap. In the first half, the Greyhounds clearly controlled the ball as a majority of play was in the Cats defensive end. Led by an aggressive Hound midfield, Clayton opened their assault 30 seconds into the game with a quick shot that caused the Cats’ Keeper, Tim Reed, to make a sliding save to his left. Two minutes later, the Cats were challenged again but, after a well placed free kick by the Hounds from the 30 yard mark, the ensuing Hound header was placed wide right of the goal.
In the 4th minute, the Cats made their initial run into Hound territory but the Cats potent but limited first half offense didn’t challenge the Hound keeper until the 17th minute when, after a Hound foul, Jake Grimes ‘ chipped a free kick from the 25 yard mark to Conner Hunsicker but the Hound goalie alertly intercepted the pass before Hunsicker had the opportunity to make a play. Less than one minute later, the Cats got on the board after a well placed cross by Caleb Olsen to Jake Appelbaum who in turn flicked a quick pass to Hunsicker allowed the Cat forward the ability to find the lower right corner of the Hound net. Unfortunately, the Cat lead was short lived as the Hounds rebounded with a 30 yard blast from the right side at the 29:30 mark that sailed over the outreached arms of Reed and found the top of the Cat net. The second half was a complete reversal for the Cats who, unlike the first 40 minutes, dominated play in the Hounds’ half of the field. Tim Miller, Forrest Hughes, Appelbaum and Grimes had scoring opportunities but could not find the net as either their shots sailed wide or the aggressive Hound keeper made saves. At the same time, the solid Cat midfield and defense allowed very few opportunities for the tired Hound forwards. Michael Evetts, Caleb Olson, Seth Lillenberg and “Matt times 4” (Hudnut, Reilly, Schwartz and Baldwin) allowed the Hounds little room to maneuver and just a mere 3 shots on goal. Curtis Stump, Nick Arnold, Anthony Pritchett and Caleb Unser played well off the bench. Regulation play ended with a 1-1 tie. Despite quality scoring opportunities in both 10 minute sudden death overtimes, the Cats were unable to find the net and a penalty kick shoot-out followed. Hudnut, Grimes and Olson successfully found the net but so did their Hound counterparts. But that’s all the Cats could produce as the Hound keeper made two solid saves of the Cats final two efforts. While Reed did stuff the fourth Hound try, the fifth shot found the upper right corner. Bottom line: The Cats played hard but fell to a solid Hound team.

Scoring summary: 17:52 WCA Huntsicker from Appelbaum 29:30 CHS

Luck of Irish Fails against Super Women

2008-10-06T12:46:48-05:00

The luck of the Irish was not with the Kennedy Celts on this occasion. Even if it was, it clearly would not have been enough to overcome the Wildcat play. No 4-leaf clover could save the Celts. Fresh off their only loss to arch-nemesis Troy, these girls were hungry and the Celts got devoured. O’Malley, O’Shaughnessy, Oh my gosh that ball went down my alley.

Highlights of this quick match include: • A 10+ serve run by Dani Roberts • Near flawless play of middles Dani Evans and Kaylee Rosen • Rocket kills by Kindbom, Canfield, Knehans and Gephardt • Scrappy defense all around especially from own Irish representative Kristin O’Leary

The ESPN highlight of the match was in Game 2. It was amazing. The Celts batted the ball back over to the Cat side of the net. As the ball nearly hits the floor, it is barely dug out and then it was hit again off balance. The ball then travels away from the players very near the net and right on the sideline, a nearly impossible spot from which to recover especially with only the third hit remaining. Out of nowhere Haley Bettlach dives toward the sideline at floor level and is able to barely get to the ball, but only with one arm. She somehow gets under the ball with enough force with a single forearm to send the ball back up toward the top of the net. Stunned at watching Super Woman hurl herself across the floor, the Celts can only watch the ball creep over the net and drop in their court for another Wildcat point. Play of the year.

Open House - November 3

2008-10-05T21:42:32-05:00

Families interested in learning more about the benefits of a Westminster education should plan to attend the Open House on Monday, November 3. Registration begins at 6:45 p.m. The program includes a self-guided tour, a presentation for parents and one for students, refreshments, and an opportunity to ask questions. To confirm your attendance please contact Peggy Johnson at 314-997-2900 or pjohnson@wcastl.org.

JV Soccer Cats defeat Lutheran South 6 - 1

2008-10-05T08:27:11-05:00

The JV Cats defeated Lutheran South 6 – 1 yesterday afternoon. Soo Heon Baik started off the scoring for the Wildcats. Andrew Beck quickly added two more goals. The Wildcat offense didn’t quit there – Soo Heon Baik was a scoring machine adding three more goals for a hat trick plus! The Wildcat defense with Luke Schroeder, Ryan Krupp and Goalie Jacob Buffa was strong holding Lutheran South to only one goal. Congratulations to the JV Wildcats for their second win in a row!

You Win Some - You Lose Some (3-4 again)

2008-10-03T18:53:41-05:00

When cutting timber, it can fall away from you or it can fall upon you. In tennis, sometimes it falls your way, and other times you get smushed. The match could have fallen either way against Ladue, but they smushed us 4-3.

And that's kind of odd because you would think that if a Wildcat was truly taking on a Ram, the Wildcat would certainly have the edge (claws, sharp teeth, etc.).

Certain Wildcats had the edge: Ashley Segrave came through with another cluth win @ #4 singles. Lauren DeRousse and Christine Schlafly won their #1 doubles match in straight sets. And Maggie Duffy paired with Mallory Alpert for a convincing doubles win as well (@ #3 doubles).

The regular season is now over. Post season, here we come! The Racket Cats begin districts on Monday @ 3:00 PM. The action heats up on Tuesday (same time), and then Wednesday, play might begin quite early around 1:00 PM - and if we have girls in the tournament at that point, Wednesday's semifinals will give those girls a chance to advance to the state tournament, should they win their match. Fun times.