Soccer (Varsity)
vs. Newton Country Day School

On Wednesday afternoon, The Ethel Walker School’s varsity soccer team traveled to Newton Country Day School for a NEPSAC Class C Tournament quarterfinal. The Wildcats entered the tournament as the #5 seed while the hosts earned the home game as the #4 seed. On the day, Walker’s outshot their opponents 16-8 en route to a 3-0 win.

Gigi Peña ’26 scored the first goal of the game in the 15th minute. It was the fourth shot they had taken in the contest as they controlled the run of the play from the opening whistle. Esther Asamoah ’28 recorded her third assist of the season on the goal as she found Peña on a through ball for the breakaway.

Walker’s only gave up three shots in the first half, but they could not find a second goal on their many attempts, and the game entered halftime at 1-0 on the scoreboard.

In the second half, the teams were pretty even for the first 10-15 minutes, but Walker’s turned on the pressure and Peña scored her second of the game and 18th of the season after a great assist by Allison Hayes ’25. Seven minutes later, Hayes put the game out of reach with under 12 minutes remaining. Jani Weber ’26 and Hayes combined on the right wing and Hayes broke near the end line. Hayes ripped a cross into the box that sliced directly into the top left corner.

Jenna Hamel ’25 recorded her third shutout of the season making four saves in the net for Walker’s. Marlo Meador ’25, Caroline Hayes ’27, Emily Sanchez ’26, Lily Devine ’27, Kayla Whalen ’25, Liv O’Donnell ’26 and Asamoah all played along the backline throughout the game to secure the win. The Wildcats will travel to Brewster Academy on Saturday for the semifinal matchup. Brewster earned a win over St. Luke’s in Wednesday’s quarterfinal. Timing or Saturday is still to be determined.