St Albans School - Albanian Yearbook (Washington, DC)

Page 74 text:

68 THE 1940 ALBANIAN the ball bounded off the back of a St. Albanas half-back past goalie Alexander, and thus caused a 1-1 tie. The next encounter, roughly and bitterly contested, saw the School team and Landon play a 0-0 deadlock. The game was evenly contested and could have been decided either way. Played on the muddiest field of the season, the game was characterized by the hard-fought play be- tween a slightly superior Blue offense and a strong Landon backfield. The excellent work of the latter's goalie was the main reason that the Blues were unable to score. The School team made the more serious threats and several shots just missed going between the goal-posts. In the third game, the Blues, playing on their own field, gained a 1-0 decision over Friends in a game which was slowed considerably by snow and mud. The St. Albans booters succeeded in beating their oppo- nents to the ball throughout the game, but the forward lines failed to capitalize on numerous scoring opportunities. The Friends team threat- ened only twice. The lone goal was made when forward Sunday scored on a penalty kick in the first twenty minutes of play. A week later, the Blues, in a return game with Landon, completely outplayeditheir opponents, and for the first time the forward line became a constant scoring threat as Sunday, Dick Myers, and Cooper each tallied a goal. Half-back Piggott's hard, persistent playing was a major factor in the Blue offense, while goalie Alexander made many spectacular saves to halt a spirited Landon rally in the last quarter. That game aided con- siderably in winning the District League championship for the Blues, for the other three contenders--Landon, Friends, and Georgetown-had now been beaten at least once. The next game, with Friends, showed a great let-up in the Blue offense which had been constantly improving. De- spite a 2-0 victory, the team appeared slow and uncoordinated, and scarcely resembled the powerful Blue machine of the week before. The goals were scored by Manger on a pass from Trible, and by Dick Myers. Determined to end the season. with a convincing victory, the team decisively outplayed Georgetown Prep before the largest gathering of the year and cap- tured a 3-0 victory as the effective com- bination of Dick Myers, Manger, and Sunday each scored a goal. The general aggressiveness and hard play of the Blue 1 eleven completely overpowered their op-

Page 73 text:

ST. ALBANS SCHOOL 67 Front row, l. to r.: Snyder, Alexander. Cousins, Ghormley. Second row, l. to r.: Cooper. Cochrane, R. Myers, V. N. Philip, Triblc, Pizgott, Manger. Third row, l. to r.: Mr. Smith, Sunday, E. .lacobsen,'J. Myers, VValker. Magruder, Morrill. Back row, l. to r.: S. Davidson, G. Smith, Fish, Borden, Ernst, Bauernschmidt, Hustvedt, Breuninzer Soccer VAN Nizss PHILIP, Capfaizz MR. SMITH ScoT'I' MORRILL, Manager HE soccer team, with its first undefeated season, emerged as the Dis- trict Private School League champions for the third consecutive year, and hence the School will have permanent possession of the plaque. In League competition, St. Albans won four games, tied two, and were scored on only once in the entire season. With two impressive victories over St. James, the team also won the Interstate Academic Conference championship. With a majority of last year's team representing the School, Mr. Smith was very slightly handicapped by any loss of material. Consequently, in the opening game with Georgetown Preparatory, the team displayed a well coordinated attack of the forward line, backed up by the stellar defensive play of the half-backs, who kept the ball in Georgetown ter- ritory for over three-quarters of the game. However, the team lacked a scoring punch and could score only once. In the last minute of play, Georgetown made the only goal scored against the Blues all season, as

Page 75 text:

ST. ALBANS SCHOOL 69 ponents and avenged the 1-1 tie of the opening game. The result was never in doubt, St. Albans tallied twice in the first ten minutes. In the other two games of the season, the Blues trounced St. James 3-0 and 4-0. Only twice in the first game did St. James make serious threats to score. The more serious occurred when a forward dribbled within three feet of the Blue goal before Alexander snatched the ball from danger. Only by the quick action of the opposing fullbacks were the Blues prevented from making several more scores in the first half. In a return game, played on their own field, the Blues again out- passed and outdribbled a decidedly weaker opponent, and despite cold weather and pouring rain, they scored four goals and shut out their rivals. All the substitutes were used, and many showed much promise. This year,s team has undoubtedly been one of the best soccer teams to represent the School. It was strong in every department, and with the exception of the second Friends game, it never stopped playing the hardest and best soccer it could. Wingmen Trible, Cooper, and Sunday passed accurately to centermen Denit, Manger, and Dick Myers. Be- hind them the strong combination of Piggott, Cochrane, and Walker kept the ball in enemy territory. Captain Philip and Cousins aided goalie Alexander in many spectacular saves. Next year, with seven veteran lettermen graduated, Mr. Smith will have to build a new team. However, during the past season, many of the substitutes showed signs of developing into good players. Although St. Albans won fairly easily this year, Landon and Friends have been im- proving and promise to give the Blues a real battle next season. Landon .... . . tied Georgetown Prep tied Sidwell Friends won, Landon ..., won, Georgetown Prep won, St. James . , . won, Sidwell Friends won, St. James . . . won,