The team enjoying some free time in Las Vegas (Photo: BRFC).

Northwood’s soccer team recently traveled across the country to Las Vegas to compete in the Players’ College Showcase. Both teams had four games over the weekend, competing in front of some of the best colleges in the country.

After a long day of traveling, the Huskies arrived in Nevada late Tuesday night and had a team meeting covering the goals for the trip. For both teams, the goal for the showcase was to go 4-0.

Wednesday morning kicked off the preparations for the weekend with a hike that overlooked all of Las Vegas. The players spent the morning enjoying the sun before training that evening. Training included lots of passing and possessions drills to help the players focus after a long travel day. After dinner, the team went out to get some local Mexican food and enjoyed the hotel’s outdoor heated pool, which would later be used for recovery.

Thursday marked the final day before the games began Friday morning. Players woke up early for a tactical training session. The weather was very windy, which cut the training short, but nevertheless the team was ready for the upcoming matches.

The games would be 80 minutes long and take place on grass fields in the heart of Las Vegas. College coaches from all over would attend, including Stanford and UCLA, making this a huge occasional for Northwood’s uncommitted players.

This Saturday, Northwood’s soccer team, operating under the Black Rock FC banner, organized a showcase in which teams from around the Northeast and Canada came to a BRFC-hosted showcase in Albany to compete at a high level. 

Soccer players in recent match (photo: Black Rock FC).

Coming off very good results in the Las Vegas Players’ Showcase, the U19 squad continued on the right track, drawing the first match and finding victory in the second and third contests. 

On the other hand, the young U17 Huskies had trouble finding victory and concluded the weekend with three defeats. 

Regardless of the result, both teams are once again working to achieve a good performance in the NEFC tournament in Boston and hope to conclude the event with the Black Rock FC name on top. 

On March 13, 2022, Northwood’s girls’ hockey team traveled to Union College in Schenectady, NY to take on Gilmour Academy for the league championship. Assistant captain Kennedy Wilson ’22 and captain Ella Fessette ’22, known together as the team’s glue, helped guide their team to the North American Prep Hockey Association (NAPHA) championship.

The Girls’ Hockey team after defeating Gilmour in the h American Prep Hockey Association (NAPHA) championship game (photo: Instagram).

Head Coach Trevor “Gilly” Gilligan has been coaching for 14 years. 11 of those years at Northwood steered his team to a record of 39-24-2. Gilligan is proud of the 2021-22 squad.

“We have many players that stand out in my eyes, for different reasons, but the backbone of our team and hockey program is Ella Fesette. Ella has been at Northwood and on the hockey team for five years and is directly responsible for helping create the culture we have today,” Gilligan said. “She is a natural leader and will forever be remembered for helping lay the foundation for the future of our program.”

Gilligan went on to say that this year’s team understood that they needed consistency in their work ethic, and the players were not afraid to call others out and push each other to succeed.

The team will lose Kennedy, Fessette and six other seniors to graduation, but Gilligan thinks he has a good foundation to build on the success of this year’s team.

“I am excited about next year’s group as we return with 14 players who all know the expectations from myself and what it takes to be a part of our culture. Culture fuels itself internally and although we will miss our senior leaders, we have returning upperclassman that will fill into leadership roles.”

As seniors graduate, the torch gets passed to the rising class in hopes for another successful Northwood girls’ hockey season.

The 2021-22 U19 Soccer Team in NYC in February, 2022. Photo: BRFC.

This past weekend the Northwood boys’ soccer program traveled to New York City to attend a college showcase. The tournament was put on by Manhattan Soccer Club and each game was played in Manhattan against solid opponents. The teams left on Thursday February 4th and traveled to Yonkers where they would stay the whole weekend. That Friday the team enjoyed a rest day full of healthy food and planning for the matches ahead.  

The U17s started the weekend positively with a 2-1 win against Amityville SC Cosmos. The U19s faced their first challenge, winning 3-0 over East Meadow U19s. Goals came from Kyumin Shin ‘22 and Liam Doyle ‘22. The younger Huskies were soon called back into action playing East Meadow U17s and coming out of the game with a tie at zero. The final match on Saturday was between Northwood’s U19s and Beachside FC. The Huskies finished the day with a decisive 3-0 keeping another clean sheet for the weekend. 

Sunday marked only one game for each of the Husky squads, but they were the marquee matches for both sides. The U17s would play Manhattan Soccer Clubs younger group who were highly ranked nationally. This matchup did not disappoint, as each team battled to create scoring opportunities. The match ended 2-1 in Northwood’s favor with goals from Jace Donowa ‘25 and Lakoah Paye ‘24. The U19s took on Manhattan SC’s older team, which was also unbeaten in the tournament. The first half was a deadlock with multiple chances from each team just missing their mark. It was not until Pablo Obrador ‘22 slotted the only goal in the game.  

This marked a great weekend for both teams that was celebrated with burgers and milkshakes on the way home.  

Members of the Varsity hockey team celebrate a goal on Feb 27, 2022 at the Olympic Center (Photo: Mr. Michael Aldridge)

Last weekend was eventful for each of the Huskies hockey teams, with efforts from Prep, Girls, and Varsity/High School teams. Here is a short recap of each team’s weekend. 

The Prep hockey team traveled up to Shattuck-St. Mary’s School to participate in the PHC (Prep Hockey Conference) Playoffs. In three games, the Huskies went 2-1, defeating Culver Academies 5-1, losing to Shattuck-St. Mary’s School 3-1, and beating South Kent School 3-2 in the consolation match. Defenseman Nolan Woudenberg ‘22 notched 1 goal and 5 points on the weekend to lead the team. Forwards Carson Hall ‘22, Bill Zonnon ‘24, Bryan Jones ‘22, and Billy Batten ‘23 each recorded 2 points. 

The Girls’ hockey team also had important games this weekend, traveling to Nichols School in Buffalo to compete in the NAPHA (North American Prep Hockey Association) Playoffs. The team went 3-1 on the weekend, beating A-21 Academy 3-0 and Nichols School 5-2 on Friday, losing to Shady Side Academy 4-1 on Saturday, and beating Nichols again 2-0 on Sunday. Their successful weekend earned them the opportunity to face off against Gilmour Academy next weekend to compete for champion of the NAPHA West. 

This weekend the Varsity/Highschool Teams celebrated their senior weekend with two games against the South Kent 16U team. The team’s seniors, including defenseman Liam O’Donoghue, defenseman/forward Cian Murphy, forward Chris Wandelt, forward John Dole, forward Nicholas Bennett, and goaltender Ben Norton, were celebrated on Sunday for their senior status. After a 4-0 loss on Saturday night, the team came back with a 4-3 shootout victory, with goals from Adrian Meyer ‘24, Nicholas Bennett ‘22, and Camden Abel ‘23. Bennett was also responsible for scoring the shootout winner.