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Choate Rosemary Hall Boys Varsity Water Polo
2006 Season
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Choate Rosemary Hall Boys J.V. Water Polo
2006 Season

9/16/06:  Loomis Chaffee @ CRH; Choate 7, Loomis 16
                  A new schedule for the whole league pitted perennial New England contenders Choate and Loomis Chaffee against each other at the start of the season.  The game, the first of four on the day, say the two rivals adapt to the new rules and see who could get their game back first.  Unfortunately for the boys in blue, Loomis was the stronger team on the day.  Loomis scored 30 seconds into the game.  After Choate drew an ejection, Loomis foiled a disorganized man-up by the Boars and scored again.  Choate finally got on the board on the next possession with a goal by Ray Li ‘08 to bring the score to 1-2 but that was as close as they would get.  Loomis added two more to take a 4-1 lead into the first period break.  Choate looked better when co-captain Aleks Oumarbaev ‘07 tallied early in the second but then Choate allowed three unanswered goals in the next two minutes and trailed 7-2.   The home team saw an great shot by Gabe Kelley ’07 from the outside but the effect was quickly reversed when Ray Li was ejected on the next play and Loomis capitalized.   Choate did get back in the game with another goal by Kelley and a score from Dan Fallahi ’09, but they trailed 5-8 at the half.  Kelley marked a hat trick at the start of the third to bring Choate to within two but the defense went away and wayward passing fed Loomis’ strong counter attack.  The result was five unanswered goals and Choate was behind 6-13 at the end of the third.  The fourth period didn’t look much better; Choate’s sloppy play and uncontrolled passing allowed Loomis to control the game and add three more.  Choate did mark one more time when Ray Li drew and then converted a penalty shot but ineffective play had already taken its toll.  J.J. Braddock ’09 worked the cage for Choate and learned and developed.   He had 6 saves on the day.  Choate looked out of sorts and a strong Loomis squad exploited the weaknesses nicely.  The teams will face off again near the end of the season and both team are sure to be tighter and more on target.  It should be a better game.  Choate was off for a game then before facing Worcester Academy in the inaugural meeting of the two teams. 

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9/16/06:  Worcester Academy @ CRH; Choate 15, Worcester 6
                  Choate had lost its earlier game to Loomis Chaffee and Worcester had just lost to Hotchkiss when the two squads met at the Hart Pool, each looking for the first win of the season.  Additionally, Worcester found themselves short a strong player for this first meeting of the two teams.  Choate got things off to a strong start with co-captain Jay Li ’07 hit the canvas with a nice shot.  That was followed by a goal by co-captain Aleks Oumarbaev ’07 to give Choate a 2-0 lead half way through the first period.  Worcester responded later in the period to get on the board but Choate’s Gabe Kelley ‘07 was able to convert a man-up opportunity late in the period to give Choate a 3-1 lead at the end of the first period.  Ray Li ’08 was ejected early in the second and Worcester converted to pull within one.  The teams each worked with little advantage when Jay Li misplayed a pass back to the goalie after a nice steal and scored on his own goal to tie things up.  More than a bit embarrassed, the Boars roared back and retook the lead 10 seconds later with a goal by Aleks Oumarbaev.  Choate next capitalized on a man-up when Gabe Kelley added another.  Another ejection on Choate’s next possession led to another opportunity that was converted by Ray Li.  Then Ray scored two more times in the next 45 seconds and Choate led 8-3 at the half.  Jay Li was aught early in the third and Worcester converted the penalty shot before Dan Fallahi ’09 responded to Choate.  Choate drew two more ejections before Fallahi found the net again, pressing an errant ball to the back of the net.  Worcester took a time-out and regained composure and scored almost immediately but Ray Li scored two more (five on the day) to give the home team a 12-5 lead at the end of the third.   Worcester scored early in the fourth but Fallahi made his hat trick.  Oumarbaev and Aasheesh Paliwal ’08 each added a goal in the final minute to make the final score 15-6.  J.J. Braddock made an improved showing over three periods and Lenny Futterman ’10 had a nice debut on goal in the final quarter.    Choate will head to Suffield to face a strong squad on Wednesday.  They are looking to build on the improvements that they made today to get back on their game.

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9/20/06:  Suffield  Academy @ SA;  Choate 11, Suffield 19
                  Choate was prepared for a tough game when they headed up to face Suffield, a consistently strong program with a solid core of returning players.  They were not prepared, however, for just how well the Tigers would be able to capitalize on their weaknesses.   Things got off to a promising start for the Boars; they opened the scoring n on a well-placed goal by co-captain Aleks Oumarbaev ’07.  Ray Li ’08 got in the act 20 seconds later and Choate was off to a 2-0 lead.   Suffield would capitalize on a Choate ejection to get on the board but the Boars answered back with the next possession when Oumarbaev returned the lead to 2.  In a game that saw little defense overall, it only took 10 seconds for Suffield to respond.  It was a minute and a half later (an eternity in this game) before Choate scored again on a fine outside shot by Gabe Kelley ’07.  Suffield took a time out and got their ducks in a row, however, adding three more before the end of the period and taking their first lead (5-4) with 2 seconds remaining in the first period.  In the second period, Choate’s sloppy play began to dog them.  Suffield scored first and then converted a man-up opportunity and added another goal in the first part of the second period to move ahead 8-4.  Choate was struggling to mount a good offense and too many passes went awry to feed the good Suffield counterattack.  Aleks Oumarbaev marked his just before the half to put the score at 5-8.  The teams came out motivated to press the offensive attack after the break and traded goals in the first 40 seconds; Ray Li scored Choate’s goal.  Then Choate fell back into a pattern of lazy and sloppy play and Suffield, crisp and together, added 5 unanswered goals to take control of the game for good.  Choate hadn’t given up, Aasheesh Paliwal ’08 scored and Suffield answered in the final minute, but an inept offense and slow response on defense had cost the team dearly.  Choate trailed 15-7 at the end of the third.  Suffield scored to start the final quarter and Kelley answered back.  Suffield scored two more times and Choate missed its second penalty shot of the game over the next several minutes.  Dan Fallahi ’09 would add two in the final minutes but Suffield kept answering.  In the end, Suffield’s commanding inside play had allowed them to control the game, which they won 19-11.  J.J. Braddock had 7 saves in goal and improved on his last outing in all aspects of his play.  Choate has some work to do before heading to Deerfield for a game against its traditional rival and another against defending NE champs, Exeter, on Saturday.

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9/20/06:  Suffield Academy JV @ SA; Choate JV 2, Suffield JV 23
                  After the Varsity’s disappointing outing in the first game of the day, an eager but fairly inexperienced Choate JV squad took the pool against a strong lower side (including some swing players from a strong Varsity side) at Suffield.  From the first minute, Suffield showed that superior speed and experience and skill in the game would make all of the difference.  Choate’s boys, many of them in their first game, were well overmatched.  Suffield scored 6 times in the first five minutes and proved that they could regularly take the ball on steals and intercepted passes.  Choate trailed 0-6 at the end of the first period.  Little changed in the second; Suffield added 6 more in the first half of the next period to lead 12-0 before Choate got in the board just over three minutes into the second.  Jose Rivera ’08 tallied a nice one to give the boars something to celebrate.  Suffield responded with two more to clarify that they weren’t backing down and led 14-1 at the half.  At the start of the third, the Tigers added three more before Joon Lee ’08 found the back of the Suffield goal and make the score 17-2.  Again, Suffield responded with two more in the final minute of the period and held a 20-2 lead heading into the final period.  Choate, even though tired, did play a little better in the final period and Suffield only scored three, including one with 1 second on the clock, to make the final score 23-2.  Newcomer to the game Lenny Futterman ’10 played three quarters in cage and improved his play.  Max Mullen ’08 filled out the game.  Each of the boys had four saves.  The young Boars made a good effort and hopefully learned some lessons that will allow them to build for the future.

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9/23/06:  Deerfield Academy @ DA; Choate  4, Deerfield 13
                  It was a grey day when the Boars headed up the highway to face traditional rival Deerfield at home in the first game of a doubleheader.  Things didn’t lighten up for a long time for the visitors from Wallingford.  After the two teams each spent a couple of possessions getting the feel of the other team, Deerfield’s intensity and focus took over as they scored three times in just over a minute to get out to a commanding lead that they would never relinquish.  Choate finally got on the board at five minutes into the game on a goal by co-captain Jay Li ’07 but Deerfield responded by drawing and converting a penalty shot with 26 seconds left.  The home team carried a 4-1 lead at the period.  Deerfield added another just before the midpoint of the second period.   Choate wasn’t docile all the while but when the Boars did get a shot, they had an uncanny tendency to shoot directly at the goalkeeper; Deerfield was showing no such weakness.  Choate did draw, and Johnny Whitney ’08 converted, a penalty shot with 2:10 left in the half.  Deerfield answered back on the next possession, however, and took a 6-2 lead into the half.  Choate was completely out of sorts and was being outplayed at every turn, but they still had a chance.  However, they did not seize the opportunity.  Unable to effectively defend or attack, the Boars gave up two goals in the third before Whitney added another and trailed 3-8 by the middle of the third period.   Deerfield added a goal and Whitney tallied another with a second remaining to put the score at 3-9 going into the final period.  Deerfield scored on their first possession of the fourth and was awarded a penalty shoot a minute later, but they were unable to convert.  Choate was unable to respond however, as its anemic shooting effort kept offering up poorly placed shots and even those that were close invariably bounced out rather than into the goal.  Deerfield was playing well and added three more while Choate offered no attack of its own.  J.J. Braddock ‘09made a sound effort in goal for the Boars and had four saves.  The disappointing loss was a challenge to the Choate team who will need to be better when they face the Deerfield squad again in November.

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9/23/06:  Exeter @ DA; Choate  6, Exeter 17
Coming off thoroughly disappointing play against Deerfield only 15 minutes before, Choate had a tough row to hoe in facing the Defending New England champions Exeter.   The team had a gut check during the break and looked to avoid the traps that had held them back so far this season.  Things got off to a good start for Choate.  Just 30 seconds into the game, the Boars converted a man-up opportunity when co-captain Aleks Oumarbaev ’07 hit the canvas for the first time in the game.  Only 30 seconds after that Johnny Whitney ’08 put in a backhand from hole and Choate led by 2.  Exeter got on the board just before the middle of the period and then converted on the man-up opportunity when Ray Li ’08 was kicked and the game was tied at 1:23 left in the first.  Exeter would tally two more in the period, one on a man-up and one on a penalty shot; Choate helped Exeter take a 4-2 lead.  Whitney got things back on track for Choate with a goal on the first possession and converted a penalty shot to tie the game.  Exeter was finding their legs, though, and responded by scoring four unanswered goals and defending three man-up opportunities to hold an 8-4 lead at the half.  Exeter scored again at the start of the third but Whitney converted another penalty shot.  Exeter’s superior speed and experience took hold though.  The bears added three more before the end of the third and then added another three at the start of the fourth.  Choate had three starters relegated to the bench by this time and had little to answer back.  The one highlight of the fourth was a picture-perfect outside shot by David Lim ’09.  Exeter would add two more in the final minute, though, to make the final score 6-17.  J.J. Braddock ’09 had 5 saves in cage.  Choate looks forward to heading down to Hopkins next to see if they can get their game back in order.  Tune in and see how it goes.

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9/27/06:  Hopkins@ Hopkins; Choate 19, Hopkins 5

                  Things were looking up as Wild Board water polo got upgraded to a coach bus for the short trip down to New Haven to face swimming power Hopkins.  The boys in blue got there in time to see most of the game against Canterbury that Hopkins had to play right before facing the Boars.   Hopkins played consistently well in facing Canterbury so Choate got a look at what they were in for.   After a quick warm up, Choate took the pool with a plan to make a better showing than they had the previous weekend.  Co-captain Jay Li ’07 won the opening swim off but the Choate team looked a bit shaky at the start and made some sloppy passes that turned the ball over.  Hopkins’ Alex Strittmatter ’08 took advantage of the slip and scored a beautifully executed goal to start the scoring only seconds into the game.  Choate misfired again on the next possession but made a better defensive showing and stopped the Hilltoppers short of the canvas.  That was when the Boars hit a groove.  Johnny Whitney ’08 got going on his All-Time list day with two goals roughly 30 seconds apart followed by a net from Jay Li.  Hopkins was suddenly down by 2 but Dan Paltiel ’09 cut that margin to one on a nice offensive sequence.  Choate went to work, though.  Whitney scored a hat trick over the next two minutes (5 goals in the period) to give Choate a 6-2 lead at the end of the first.  Choate won the swim off again in the second and Ray Li ’08 converted that possession into a score 8 seconds later.  Whitney then kept up his inside pressure with 4 more goals, the only other scoring in the period, before coming out early for a break.   Choate led 11-2 at the half.  Choate looked to play a more controlled offense in the third period and used a lot of rotation of players to try to keep a balance.  Whitney was the man who kept getting open water, though, and added another tally early in the third.  Ray Li scored a minute later and Gabe Kelley ’07 marked an outside shot just before the middle of the period.  Hopkins’ Peter Smith ’08 (younger brother of Choate’s Aaron Smith ’02) moved from cage into the field and put a nice shot into the net when he slipped smoothly away from coverage.  Johnny Whitney added two more as the period wound down, accounting for 12 of Choate’s 16 goals in the first three periods.  With seconds left in the third, Hopkins got a chance when David Lim ’09 was ejected after getting tangled up with a Hopkins player, the only ejection of a clean and well-played contest.   Choate was able to cover the man-down, though, and carried a 16-3 lead into the period break.  The fourth period saw more effective team play out of he set offense from Choate with co-captain Aleks Oumarbaev ’07 adding two.   Hopkins kept pressing the ball down the pool, though and converted some errant passes for two more goals by Strittmatter in the second half of the final period.  Choate’s Dan Fallahi ’09 would add one of this own.  Choate closed out the contest 19-5 and was pleased with some better fundamental play than they had shown in a while.  J.J. Braddock ’09 had a good first three periods in cage with 8 saves.  Lenny Futterman ’10 added two of his own in the fourth.  Whitney’s performance leaves him second on the list for single-game scoring.  Choate will take the tank again next Wednesday when both the V and JV will face the talented Suffield squad that already has a win against the varsity squad.

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10/4/06:  Suffield Academy @ CRH;  Choate 9, Suffield 17
                  Wednesday was a day with few highlights for the boys’ water polo team.  The team continues to struggle to find a groove; mistakes in fundamental play plague the team and override some nicely executed efforts.  Choate had been convincingly beaten by Suffield earlier in the season and the team talked of better outcomes while they prepared for this game.  Unfortunately, though, the Boars did not follow through on their plans.  Suffield’s dominant 2-m set player, Kurt Murphy ’07, announced that Suffield was in control with a nice goal from hole after Choate lost the ball on a poorly placed effort after winning the swim off.  Choate rushed the next possession as well and, in foreshadowing of a long day to come, Suffield capitalized to take a 2-0 lead within the first minute.  Choate drivers could draw ejections on the Tiger defenders but drives didn’t come often enough and the man-up opportunities were not well executed.  Choate finally got on the board at just over 2 minutes into the game when Ray Li ’08 found the back of the net and it looked like, for all the misfiring early, Choate might be awake again.  Choate was able to kill two ejections before Suffield would respond.   Then, with just over 2 minutes remaining, Johnny Whitney ’08 tallied one.  Again, Suffield responded and then added two more as Choate’s defense ran around in circles.  Choate trailed 2-6 at the end of the first period.   A renewed defensive effort but continued ineffective offense by Choate meant no scoring in the first half of the second period.  When Gabe Kelley ’07 scored for Choate it looked like Choate might be getting back in it as Suffield’s offense struggled more in the shallow end.  Choate killed another man-up (subtext here: the personal fouls are piling up for the Boars) and even survived a penalty shot but the team let down and allowed two goals in the final 40 seconds to trail 3-8 at the half.   The third didn’t start off much better.   Suffield converted a man-up and then scored a natural goal before Whitney led dogged persistence on a mess of a man-up and tallied another for Choate.  Suffield responded with an extra-man goal of their own before Whitney converted a penalty shoot with authority and then scored again to make the score 6-11.  Suffield scored on the next three possessions, though, clearly demonstrating superior speed and conditioning.  Whitney would mark one more with 24 seconds left but Suffield was well in command with a 14-7 lead at the end of the third.  Suffield continued to command the game in the fourth with an early goal before Kelley and co-captain Jay Li ’07 each contributed one for Choate.   Suffield would add two more in the final minute and a half to take the game 17-9.   Choate’s Whitney had five of the team’s goals before fouling out in the fourth period.   J.J. Braddock had 7 saves in goal.   Overall, the team effort was disappointing, though, and Choate will need to regroup before facing a very strong Andover squad in addition to Hopkins on Saturday.

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10/4/06:  Suffield Academy JV @ CRH;  Choate 0, Suffield JV 13
                  After watching a disappointing varsity game, the Choate JV sought to do better and was especially keen to improve on the drubbing that they received at the hands of the Suffield JV in their only other game so far this season.  Suffield, however, is larger, faster and more experienced and had not intention of letting Choate’s less experienced players get into the game.  Suffield’s squad, pushing to control the game completely, pulled three personal fouls in the first period but Choate could not capitalize on any of the man-up opportunities.  Poor passing throughout the game meant that the Boars were constantly giving he ball over to the Tiger JV.  And they were only too happy to take advantage of the gift.  Suffield led 6-0 at the end of the first, 8-0 at the half, 11-0 at the end of the third and finished the game with a 13-0 shutout.  Choate’s JV, struggling under a strong press, would only manage 4 shots in the game.   Choate did draw two penalty shots but failed to convert either one of them.  It was a long day for the boys in blue caps.   One highlight was Lenny Futterman’s 6 saves in the second period; he had 8 on the day.  The Choate JV will spend some time back at the drawing board this week before facing a talented Andover JV on Saturday. 

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10/7/06:  Hopkins @ CRH;  Choate 14, Hopkins 8
                  Choate traveled to Hopkins about a week and a half ago and today was the chance for the Hilltoppers to return the favor.  Hopkins came to Choate to finish out the home and away for the season and also to face Andover in the only meeting between the two schools.   Choate had had success the last time the two teams met but Hopkins is a young and developing team with no intention of rolling over.  Nevertheless, The Boars came to play and set a strong tempo by scoring once in each of the first four minutes of the game; the goals came, in order, from Johnny Whitney ’08, co-captain Jay Li ’07, co-captain Aleks Oumarbaev and Ray Li ’08.  Choate may have been a bit too comfortable, though.  Hopkins was able to kill two man-down situations before scoring their first goal of the game with 30 seconds left in the period.  At the start of the second, trailing 1-4, Hopkins continued to defend against a discombobulated Choate offense effectively, killing two more man-downs and converting a Choate ejection into their second goal.  Oumarbaev tried to stem the tide with a goal on the next possession but Choate was still out of sorts.  Hopkins answered with a goal, and then converted a penalty shot and then scored again.   At the half Choate looked tired and confused and found themselves in a tied game, 5-5.   The third period saw a lot of sloppy play at both ends with Choate entirely unable to take advantage of three Hopkins ejections.  Then, a long shot just a little too early fed a perfect, full-pool keeper shot buzzer-beater by Hopkins that put them ahead for the first time in the game, 6-5.   Going into the final period, the momentum was all with Hopkins and Choate needed a gut-check before coming out for the final period.  Choate scored on the first possession with a great effort by Aasheesh Paliwal ’08 in converting a man-up 20 seconds into the period.  Hopkins answered back to regain the lead before and extra effort by Dan Fallahi ’09 tied the game at 7.  This was followed by another goal by Whitney and then quickly after than a man-up goal by Fallahi.  Choate led 9-7 midway through the fourth.  Then over the next minute and a half, Oumarbaev, Whitney and Ray Li pushed in three more to take control.  Hopkins scored once more with a minute left but Whitney wasn’t done.  Johnny added two more in the final 35 seconds and Choate took the game 14-8.  Perhaps the highlight of the game was J.J. Braddock ’09 making his best performance of the season in goal; he had 11 saves and really took control of his position.  Choate awaited Andover.

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10/7/06:  Andover JV @ CRH;  Choate JV 4, Andover JV 20
                  Choate’s large JV squad looked to continue to improve their level of play against a strong Andover JV and hoped for their first win.  The two teams got the game started off by trying to get a sense of each other.  Two minutes into the first period, Choate successfully fended off an Andover man-up but a minute later Andover got on the board to take the lead.  Choate answered back a minute later, however, on a nice extra-effort goal by Jose Rivera ’08. Andover scored again and then took advantage of a 5 on 5 situation to take a 3-1 lead at the end of the period.  In the second, Andover demonstrated the power of superior speed and experience as they ran in seven unanswered goals before Miles Cozart ’09 netted Choate’s second.  Andover scored again with 7 seconds left to lead 11-2 at the half.  The third period was much the same with two early Andover goals before Choate converted a man-up with a goal by Peter Hong ’08.  Andover tallied two more in the final minutes and led 14-3 at the end of the third.  Lenny Futterman ’10 did a fine job in cage in the first three periods; he had 12 saves and a steal.  In the final period, Andover continued to roll.  They added one before Mac Carr ’07 placed a great high corner.  Andover would add four more goals to take the game 20-4.  Jeremy Davidson ’10 saw his first play in cage of the season and made a save.  Choate showed some improvement but also came out with things to work on for the future.  The JV will need to regroup before heading off for a long trip up to NMH on Wednesday.

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10/7/06:  Andover @ CRH;  Choate 5, Andover13
                  Andover came into the day ranked second in the league and the developing Boar squad knew that they had their work cut out for them to make a run at the team but they were willing to give it a go.  Things got off to an auspicious start for Choate when, only 1:17 into the game, Ray Li ’08 netted a goal for the Boars.   Andover answered back on the next possession with a strong inside play.  Choate killed an ejection but Andover took the lead half way through the first.  The teams were laying even for most of the game so far until Choate completely fell apart in the final minute of the first when, initially man-down, they gave up four goals including two in the last four seconds and Choate trailed 1-6 at the period break.  Andover continued to control things as they scored two more times in the first minute of the second.  Co-captain Jay Li ’07 tallied one and Max Mullen ‘08kept the pressure on the keeper for another and Choate trailed 3-8 at the half.  Choate was trying to get their offense running while the defense tried to keep up with Andover’s effective play in the third.  Andover would score twice early in the second half and led 10-3 at the end of the third.  Jay Li won the swim off to keep Choate up by a man at the start of the fourth and Dan Fallahi’s ’09 extra effort put in the goal.  Choate killed two man-up opportunities before Andover scored again, and again and again.  With 39 seconds left, Aasheesh Paliwal ’08 drove to the goal and netted the final score of the long day to bring the score to 5-13 in favor of Andover.  J.J. Braddock ’09 continued his breakthrough day with 9 saves (some of them spectacular) and an impressive all-round effort.  This was probably the best game so far for the developing Wild Boar squad.  They will look to continue to improve on the road at NMH on Wednesday. 

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10/11/06:  Northfield Mount Hermon @ NMH;  Choate 22, NMH 6
                  It was a long Wednesday of travel up the highway to NMH but Choate Polo was traveling in unaccustomed comfort in a brand spanking new coach bus for the ride.  They made decent time up the highway and got to the pool on time.  Unfortunately, he official didn’t do the same.  After a long warm-up the NMH assistant coach and Coach Currie agreed to work the game together to get the kids a chance to play.  NMH has some talented players and the Boars certainly knew that the Hoggers would like to get a win at Choate’s expense.   Choate was looking to improve their own season, though, and had no intention of backing down.   Choate scored early on a goal by co-captain Jay Li ’07.  Choate killed a penalty but NMH came back shortly thereafter to tie things at 1 all.  Choate answered back, however, with another goal by Li followed in quick succession by co-captain Aleks Oumarbaev ’07, Dan Fallahi ’09 and Johnny Whitney ’08.  Choate led 5-1 at the end of the first.  Early in the second Choate continued to extend its lead with spot on shooting from Gabe Kelley ’07, Li and Whitney.  The Boars were well in control when NMH tallied another one.  In the second part of the period, Choate continued to play aggressive defense that fed a solid transition game and Choate added goals from Li (again), and David Lim on the extra man opportunity. NMH would find a mismatch in speed and use one of the faster sprinters in New England to convert twice in the final 1:30 to close to  4-10 at the half.  Choate was not letting down, though, and Coach Velez fired the team up to come back strong.  The young Boar team played stifling defense while continuing to drive down pool.   Two goals each by Kelley and Fallahi came in the first half f the third.  Whitney then scored and was followed by Oumarbaev, and a third goal for each of Fallahi and Kelley before Whitney netted one more with seconds left.  NMH was almost out of time in the period when Choate dropped back and the ball slipped through everyone to magically find the back of the cage.  Choate still led 19-5 at the end of the period but the shot at the buzzer had energized the Hogger squad.  Choate used the final period to slow down the tempo and work for control.  Goals did come, though, from Li and twice from Oumarbaev before NMH netted the final score of the game.  J.J. Braddock did a fine job again in cage with 6 saves on few shots in the first three periods.  Max Mullen ’08 stepped into cage and made 5 saves in the final quarter.  The win (22-6) was a good team effort for the Boars who are just looking to improve each game along the way.  Choate will see the Hoggers again in the “Battle of the Pigs” on Parents’ Weekend and next faces Williston Northampton on the road on Saturday.

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10/11/06:  Northfield Mount Hermon JV @ NMH;  Choate JV 15, NMH JV 5
                  The Choate JV side entered today’s game looking for their first win and coming off of defeats at the hands of powerful second squads from Suffield and Andover.  They had a late start on a Wednesday but, having watched a good showing by the Varsity side, were ready to do their part. It took a couple of minutes for each side to take the measure of the other but it was clearly Choate that got on track first.  Jose Rivera ’08 started the scoring and was quickly followed by Peter Hong ’08, Brian Wysolmerski ’10, Hong again ad Joon Lee ’08 in a flurry of scoring that gave Choate a 5-0 lead at the end of the first.  The second period saw Choate’s offense stifled by more aggressive play by NMH but the defense clamped down and allowed only one goal.  Choate led 5-1 at the half.  Choate got back on track in the third period when Patrick Li ’10 converted a man-up opportunity and opened things up for an aggressive Choate offense to feed goals to Hong, Miles Cozart ’09 and Hong again.  NMH would score before Alex Yeh ’09 would net one for Choate.  NMH tallied one more with a minute left but Choate held a 10-3 lead going into the final period.  Early in the final period Li scored another as did Hong and goalkeeper Jeremy Davidson ‘10 stopped a penalty shot before NMH would take advantage of strong play to net two more.  The game would end, however, on Choate goals by Rivera, Li and Yeh.  With a final score of 15-5, the Choate JV had found that elusive first win.  In addition to solid field play at both ends of the pool by the whole squad, Choate enjoyed a great showing by Lenny Futterman ’10 in cage with 14 saves over three periods and Jeremy Davidson ’10 who had two saves in the final quarter.  The JV returns home to prepare for a tough game with Williston’s JV side on the road on Saturday.

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10/14/06: Williston Northampton @ WNS; Choate 11, Williston 9
                  A look at the standings would have made it clear that when Choate traveled to Williston today the game would likely be close.  The teams are very similar; both are young and perhaps a bit inexperienced and looking to improve.  With that background, spectators on both sides were eager to see how the day would play out.  Choate got off to a good start with a perfectly placed hole shot by Johnny Whitney ’08.  On the next possession, things got hairy when, while defending a man-down, Choate had two players ejected.   Not surprisingly, Choate gave up the goal while playing at only half strength.  Choate responded by playing up their inside strength and setting up play that Fed Whitney for two more in quick succession.  Williston regrouped in a time out and then scored on the next possession to close the margin to one; Choate led 3-2 at the period break.  Things settled down a bit in the second.  Williston scored but co-captain Aleks Oumarbaev ’07 responded.  Choate could not manage a functioning man-up offense but their defense worked reasonably well and allowed only one goal to Williston’s substantial inside player.  At the half we were back where we started with the game knotted at 4.  Choate felt good about their opportunities shooting deep and came out for the third looking to take charge.  Nicely executed goals by Dan Fallahi ’09 (man-up) and Ray Li ’08 on back-to-back possessions re-established momentum.  Whitney scored again from the outside and Li added another to stretch the lead to 4 with a minute left.  Choate appeared too comfortable, however, and Williston pressed the ball hard and was able to steal and score twice to get back in the game.  Heading into the final period Choate led 8-6.  Choate was concerned about the momentum shift but resolved to keep the fundamentals the same.  Unfortunately, Williston scored first in the period to close to within one.  Choate drew the ejection a possession later, though, and Aasheesh Paliwal ’08 converted a nice feed from Ray Li to get Choate going again.  This was followed by another outside goal by Whitney and another from Oumarbaev to stretch the lead back to 4 with less than 2:30 remaining.  Williston would push the ball well down pool and Choate would make some mental errors to give up two goals in the waning minutes but the result would not change; Choate took the close game 11-9.  J.J. Braddock continued his strong play, despite a couple of wildly wayward passes (welcome back to 6 lanes), and had 15 saves.  Choate will head off to Greenwich High School on Wednesday to play this perennial powerhouse in a non-league game.

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10/14/06: Williston Northampton JV @ WNS; Choate JV 3, Williston JV 8
                  Even a casual observer of the game would notice that Williston’s JV squad was dramatically larger than Choate’s team but they would prove to be faster and more skilled as well.  However, Choate’s JV Boars had not intention of backing down.  Even after Williston scored early, Choate came battling back and Peter Hong ’08 tied the game up.   Unfortunately, Williston would continue to use their superior speed and experience to score two more times.  Williston led 3-1 at the end of the period.  In the second period, Choate’s offensive miscues cost the Boars; they barely got a shot off and constantly turned over the ball on inaccurate passes.  The defense worked hard and generally well but they gave up three goals during the period.  Choate trailed 6-1 at the half.  The third period brought more of the same.  Choate struggled to mount an offense but the defense fared a little better including killing two ejections.  Williston scored once and led 7-1 at the period break. The fourth period saw two more goals by Hong, who scored all of Choate’s goals on the day.  Williston scored once more as the game wore down as they continued to press the ball down pool.  Williston won with a final of 8-3.  Lenny Futterman ’10 had another nice three periods in cage with 11 saves and Jeremy Davidson ’10 made three in the final period.  Choate’s JV will head off to what all expect to be a learning experience with the Greenwich HS B side on Wednesday.

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10/18/06:  Greenwich HS @ GHS; Choate 7, GHS 17
                  The Boars headed to the southwest corner of the state to face perennial Eastern League powerhouse Greenwich High School.   The Cardinals always sport a magnificent squad that usually features several returning all-Americans.  This year was no different.   The hosts were gracious, though, and adjusted their game to better match the skill and experience level if the Choate squad.  Even with those accommodations, Greenwich was in complete control from the start.   Choate worked to improve their play throughout the game and took advantage of the learning experience.  In the first period, it was co-captain Jay Li ’07 who got Choate on the board with an extra-effort drive on a foul in hole that led to a well-placed shot. Choate’s other goal in the period came from Ray Li ’08 taking good advantage of an opportunity as well.  Choate trailed 7-2 at the end of the period.  Greenwich continued to move effectively off ball in the second and used their superior experience to anticipate Choate’s play effectively.   Choate did get goals from Johnny Whitney ’08 and Dan Fallahi ’09 (we are glad that they, along with Connor Murphy ’09 made the bus) in the second but trailed 10-4 at the half.  The third period was all Greenwich at they were able to steal the ball at will and scored four more to extend the lead to 14-4 with one period remaining.   In the final period, Choate was able to make some more progress on offensive basics and tallied three more; one each from Fallahi, Jay Li and co-captain Aleks Oumarbaev ‘07.  The game ended with a final score of 17-7 in favor of Greenwich.  J.J. Braddock ’09 played well in goal in the face of a tremendously talented squad and made seven saves.  Choate’s next game is the last of the long road stretch and will be at Hotchkiss on Saturday.  The Bearcats are the one league team Choate hasn’t faced yet and they are always a challenge; the last four meetings between Choate and Hotchkiss have been decided in overtime.

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10/18/06:  Greenwich HS “B” @ GHS; Choate 5, GHS “B” 18
                  The less experienced Boars got a taste of water polo at a whole new level in facing a Greenwich High School “B” squad that could challenge any varsity team in New England.  Greenwich played a controlled game and controlled things from the get-go.   The Cardinals ran off 7 unanswered goals and left Lenny Futterman’s (’10) three saves and Jose Rivera’s (’08) steal as the most notable Choate highlights.  Choate didn’t even get a shot off by the end of the first period and trailed 7-0.  In the second period, Greenwich continued to dominate but it was Miles Cozart ’09 who got Choate on the board for the first time.  The score was 11-1 at the half. Again in the third, Choate struggled to defend deep and shoot shallow as they had in the first.  Greenwich scored 6 to lead the game 17-1 going into the final period.  In the fourth, Choate livened up and Greenwich slowed down a bit.  Choate saw two goals from Peter Hong ‘08 and one each from Alex Yeh ’09 and Patrick Li ’10.  Overall, Futterman had 9 saves in cage.  Though Choate was on the short end of a drubbing (18-5), the experience was a valuable one.  Choate will go up to face a talented JV at Hotchkiss on Saturday.

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10/21/06:  Hotchkiss JV @ HS; Choate JV 2, Hotchkiss JV 15
                  It was a beautiful Saturday when Choate traveled up to the Northwest corner of the state to face Hotchkiss on their Parents’ Weekend.  The Wild Boar JV went first on the day but the Bearcat JV was in charge from the start.  Choate was outpaced at both ends of the pool, beaten back down pool on defense and taking only one poorly chosen shot on offense.  Hotchkiss was in command with an 8-0 lead going into the second period.  The second period saw a better defensive showing by the Boars, killing two ejections and allowing only two goals.  Choate got a few more looks but poor shot placement continued to hold them scoreless.  Hotchkiss led 10-0 at the half.  The third period saw a continued defensive effort by Choate, killing another man-down and allowing two scores before a Bearcat committed a foul egregious enough to earn the kick and Choate converted the man-up with a goal by Joon Lee ’08.  Hotchkiss responded on the next possession but a revitalized Choate squad answered back with a goal from Peter Hong ’08.  Hotchkiss added one more in the final second of the period and held a 14-2 lead after three.  Hotchkiss capitalized on a man-up early in the period but most of the period saw little effective play.  Choate did put some in with goals by Miles Cozart ’09 and Alex Yeh ’09 in the final 30 seconds.  Hotchkiss won 15-2.  Choate’s Lenny Futterman ’10 had 7 saves and two steals in goal.  Choate next sees Williston at home on Wednesday.

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10/21/06:  Hotchkiss @ HS; Choate 3, Hotchkiss 8
                  After a disappointing game for the Choate JV, the Wild Boar varsity hoped to take the pool and make a more effective showing in the second game of the day.  While the defense was sound, Choate could not find an offense anywhere.  Choate took only two shots in the first period (neither of them well placed) but earned and killed three ejections.  Choate trailed 0-2 at the end of the first.  They were still very much in the game but they needed to run the offense they had practiced.  They continued to defend reasonably well in the second but continued a dismal shooting display.   They gave up two goals from hole and trailed 0-4 at the half.  Choate clearly didn’t have the officiating figured out and drew a double ejection at the start of the third.  They gave up that goal.  They then let in another goal and earned another ejection leading to a second man-down goal.  By now, the defense was falling behind a step and the offense continued to flail.  Choate trailed 0-7 at the end of the third.  One more goal early in the fourth was all Hotchkiss needed to feel comfortable.  Choate continued to struggle but did find some opportunities and goals finally came.  Carter Hatton ’09, Ray Li ’08 and Gabe Kelley on the man-up contributed Choate’s three at the end.  J.J. Braddock ’09 had 7 saves in cage and 4 steals.  The Boars will look to regroup for a rematch against Williston, their closest game yet this season. 

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10/25/06:  Williston @ CRH; Choate 12, Williston 3
                  Choate was serious after a disappointing loss on the weekend and heading into a rematch of their closest game this season against Williston Northampton.  Both squads hit the water on a crisp fall day looking for some redemption.  Choate’s co-captain Jay Li ’07 got things off right, as he has so often this season, by winning the sprint.   It was Johnny Whitney ’08, however, who took advantage and tallied the first goal of the game on that opening drive.  Things settled down a bit after that and good play at both ends allowed the squads to get reacquainted.  Midway through the first, though, Ray Li ’08 was caught with his feet on the bottom and his ejection gave Williston an opportunity that they capitalized on, tying the game at 1-1.  On the next possession, Jay Li answered back to retake the lead and, as it would turn out, finish the scoring for the period.  Choate held a tenuous 2-1 lead at the end of the first.  Co-captain Aleks Oumarbaev ’07 would get things going in the second with a goal to extend the lead but Williston was able to capitalize on John Adams’ ejection and narrow the gap back to one.  Later in the period, another goal by Whitney moved the margin back to two.  Despite good efforts from both squads, that’s the way it went in the half, Choate ahead 4-2.  It was the third period where Choate really looked to get a hold of things.  Despite blowing an early man-up, Choate missed few opportunities and a strong defense continued to balance some sloppy play that put them in too many man-down situations.  Whitney’s goal about two minutes into the third and his conversion of a penalty shot a minute and a half later gave Choate some breathing room.  Then, the decisive moves were made.  Choate was able to take control on solid team play and better communication; their defense made necessary steals and the offense ran more effectively.  It was Oumarbaev that netted two in thirty seconds and Aasheesh Paliwal ’08 with one more only 40 seconds after that took control of things offensively.  The flurry of goals extended the lead to 9-2 at the end of the third.  Early in the final period, it was Paliwal again, driving beautifully off ball to score on Williston’s strong shallow-end keeper.  Just over a minute later it was Jay Li’s ejection that gave Williston the opportunity for their third goal.  Johnny Whitney answered back on the next possession, however.  As the game wound down, both squads continued to make an effort at playing both ends effectively.  When Choate drew an ejection late in the game, it was Whitney who found himself on the outside with a good look at the cage and sealed the deal.  Choate’s 12-3 win was sound but still showed some areas for improvement.  J.J. Braddock did another nice job with 8 saves in cage.  Unfortunately, Choate is looking a little more like a football team than a polo squad these days.  With one player recovering from a concussion that resulted from a hit in Saturday’s game and another nursing a pretty bad shiner in addition to the player still on the mend from shoulder surgery, two players were off to the infirmary after this game.  Hopefully all will be well and the boys will be working well together soon.  Choate will face Northfield Mount Hermon next, on Saturday as a part of Parents’ Weekend celebrations.

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10/25/06:  Williston JV @ CRH; Choate JV 4, Williston JV 8
                  The Choate JV had faced the Williston JV squad about two weeks before and was hoping that improved intensity and the home pool might help them to a win.  It was Patrick Li ’10 that going things off to a good start with a goal just over a minute into the contest.  Williston would quickly take advantage of superior speed and perimeter pressure that the Boars just couldn’t handle, though.  The visitors scored three and killed an ejection to take control early.  Unfortunately, Choate’s counter attack suffered too many wayward passes that brought the ball right back against them.  Choate’s Lenny Futterman ’10 came alive in cage and, along with some nice defensive play in the field, held off an aggressive Williston attack.  One notable play was Brian Wysolmerski’s (’10) deflection of a strong shot when Futterman found was ejected.  The Wildcats did score one early before Kidon Seo ’09 converted a man-up and narrowed the score to 2-4 at the half.  The third period was all Williston; they scored three unanswered and led 7-2.  Choate made a run in the third, with two goals by Peter Hong ’08 but Williston got one back.  Futterman’s strong play (15 saves) kept the Boars alive on many plays when they were being out swum.  The Choate JV will look to get back on the winning side against Northfield Mount Hermon on Saturday at 2:00.

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10/28/06:  Northfield Mount Hermon JV @ CRH PW; Choate JV 10, NMH JV 2
                  It really was a dark and stormy day at the end of Choate’s Parents’ Weekend festivities when Choate’s JV took the water to face the Hogger JV from NMH for the second time this season.  Only indoor games couple be played but a little water never slowed a water polo game.  Choate’s Patrick Li ‘10 won the swim off but the home team had some mis-cues to work through before they would get things going.  The co-ed squad from up north got the scoring going about 2 minutes into the game with an effective outside shot.  Choate’s JV didn’t like being shown up in front of the Moms and Dads, though and worked to exploit their speed edge.  Choate’s Peter Hong ’08 responded on the next possession with a goal.   That was followed 15 seconds later when Tim Kutt ’08 scored.   Patrick Li got in on the act and Hong added one more to end the first period with a 4-1 lead.  In the second, Choate was able to kill an ejection early and worked the ball back down pool to allow Peter Hong tally one more time.  This was followed, again by 15 seconds, by another goal, this time by Miles Cozart ’09.   The ejections came after that, on both sides, but to little avail until Choate goalkeeper Lenny Futterman ’10 earned a kick and NMH capitalized.   Unwilling to let that stand, it took the Boar offense only 9 seconds to find Hong and Choate held a 7-2 lead at the half.  The third period saw teams working for control.  Cozart and Li each tallied for Choate before Kutt found the canvas again and Choate led 10-2 at the end of the third.  Choate’s defensive effort redoubled in the final period and, despite a renewed offensive effort by NMH, neither team found the canvas.   Choate was pleased with the 10-2 win.  Futterman made up for his kick with 14 saves in cage.  Patrick Li did a fine job with at least 5 steals.  Choate has some time off before heading into the final week of the season with games against Loomis Chaffee and rival Deerfield.

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10/28/06:  Northfield Mount Hermon @ CRH PW; Choate 20, NMH 3
                  With only volleyball being played on the Choate campus and outdoor sports being canceled due to the extreme weather, Choate hoped to host a big crowd for their Parents Weekend game and they did.  It was a re-match of a game just over two weeks earlier when the Hoggers made the long bus ride down to Choate on the rainy and windy day.  It only took 10 seconds for Choate to announce their presence with authority, as they say in “Bull Durham.”  A drive off the sprint put co-captain Jay Li ’07 in position for a nice lot shot on the shallow cage he knows so well.  Choate took the ball back on the next possession and this time it was Jay’s brother Ray Li ’08 who found the canvas.  NMH, who has struggled through a tough season and was without their most effective player from the previous meeting between the teams, was not giving up.  The Hoggers answered back on the next possession.   Choate didn’t want to be shown up at home and stepped up the tempo.  Goals by Ray Li (2), Dan Fallahi ’09 (2), Johnny Whitney ‘08 (2) and Aasheesh Paliwal ’08 moved the tally to 9-1 late in the first.  In the second period, it was a kick-out drawn against NMH 8 seconds into the period that set up another score by Paliwal.  Jay Li would score two more that were 15 seconds apart, a demonstration of the fast pace of the game.  Co-captain Aleks Oumarbaev ’07 added another and Max Mullen ’08 converted the man-up before Connor Murphy completed the scoring for the period.  Choate led 15-1 at the half.  Most of the third saw neither team able to complete the plays.  Late in the period, Fallahi added another and Paliwal tallied two more time.  It was an ejection on Max Mullen that set up the NMH shot with 5 seconds left and the period ended 18-2 in favor of Choate.   The final period saw more controlled play by Choate.  There were goals by Fallahi and Paliwal, but a perfectly shot ball with 6 seconds left made the long arc into the cage behind J.J. Braddock ’09 to give NMH one more.  The game ended 20-3 in favor of Choate and to the pleasure of the biased crowd.  Braddock had a fine day with 12 saves.  Choate will host a powerful Loomis Chaffee team on Wednesday after the long weekend.

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11/1/06:  Loomis Chaffee @ CRH; Choate 15, Loomis 18
                  It was a beautiful Wednesday after the long weekend when Choate welcomed the strong Pelican squad from Loomis Chaffee to the Larry Hart Pool.  While Loomis showed speed and quickness, it was Choate’s feeble passing as much as anything that cost the Boars the game and their hopes of making it into the championship tournament this year.   In a game that saw two teams scoring effectively, it was Loomis that got things started off with a nice pass and shoot.  It would take almost two minutes before either team could find the canvas again and this time it was Choate’s Johnny Whitney ’08 who got the home team on the board.  This opened the floodgates, though.  Loomis’ DeConinck twins each scored two in rapid succession to move Loomis to a commanding 5-1 lead.  Several of the goals came on transition from poorly played passes by Choate’s offense.   Aasheesh Paliwal ’08 pressed the ball inside and tallied Choate’s second; Choate trailed 2-5 at the end of the first.  The second period got off to a better start with another goal by Whitney.   Ray Li ’08 was kicked on the next play, though and the talented Loomis squad converted the opportunity.  The Pelicans would add two more over the next minute or so, again taking advantage of Choate’s willingness to throw the ball to the visiting team.  Near the midpoint of the period, co-captain Aleks Oumarbaev ’07 found the good side of the cage but it only took Loomis 16 seconds to get that one back.   Next it was Choate that drew the ejection and Whitney converted.  On the ensuing possession, Loomis drew a kick on co-captain Ray Li ’07 but Choate was able to kill the opportunity and on the ensuing possession drew a penalty shot, which Whitney converted for his third in the period.   Choate had narrowed the gap back down to three goals but would let in one more and trailed 6-10 at the half.   Loomis’ aggressive offense came out and continued to show fine team play in the face of Choate’s miscues in the third; they ran in two nice goals.   Whitney found the cage again to keep things from getting out of hand.  Choate killed an ejection and then ran in goals on the next two possessions with nice efforts by Dan Fallahi ’09 and Ray Li.  Each squad weathered ejections as the game got a bit sloppy but Choate’s cost them the services of Ray Li for the rest of the game as he gave up his third.  Loomis capitalized on Choate’s second ejection in as many possessions but Gabe Kelley ’07 responded and Johnny Whitney tallied one more as the clock wound down.  In the final seconds it was Jay Li that was caught being bad and the Pelicans responded at with seconds remaining t make the score 14-11 at the end of the third.  Kelley would narrow the gap to two early in the final period with a nicely timed and nicely placed outside shot.  This seemed to rile the Pelicans who would tally the next two goals, one on a man-up after Fallahi’s ejection.  By then it was Choate’s chance to draw and convert when Whitney made the outside shot.  This was followed by a good defensive stand and extra effort by Paliwal who caught the deflection f his own shot and sent it past a surprised Loomis keeper.  Choate had pulled to within 2 goals with half a period left.  It was desire and adrenaline that allowed the Boars to defend a man-down situation stopping three point blank shots in seconds to regain possession.  The old bugaboo arose, though, and the team gave up the ball on a bad pass and Loomis moved down pool and converted effectively.  Another goal by Kelley moved Choate back to within two but it was Loomis that would get the last goal and end the game at 15-18.  Despite high score, J.J. Braddock ’09 did a fine job in cage with 11 saves.  Jay Li had 7 saves to lead Choate.  Johnny Whitney’s 7 goals earn him another spot on our All-time list.  On Saturday, Choate will head to Deerfield for the second time this year in hopes of avenging an early season loss.

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11/1/06:  Loomis Chaffee JV @ CRH; Choate JV 4, Loomis JV 14
                  With Choate’s JV down three starters and facing a good Loomis squad, it was clear that it would take some gritty performances to keep the Boars in the game.  Unfortunately, Loomis was able to use its superior speed and quickness to take charge from the get go, running off three goals n the first two minutes.  Choate finally got on the board with a fine, extra effort goal by Tim Kutt ’08.  Loomis continued to press and take advantage of Choate’s timid ball-handling to run in three more goals before the first period break.  More of the same followed in the second as the Pelicans ran in three more.  Choate drew and ejection just past the halfway point in the period, though, and Alex Yeh ’09 converted.  Choate trailed 2-9 at the half.  The third period was all Loomis; a man-up goal was followed by three natural goals.  Choate trailed 2-13 going into the final period.  Loomis added one more at the start of the fourth but it was two fine goals for Choate as the game clock wound down that put a smile on the home fans faces.  Miles Cozart ’09 and Patrick Li ’10 each found the canvas to make the final 4-14.   Lenny Futterman ’10 did a nice job in cage with 9 saves.  The Choate JV will close out their season on Saturday with a trip up to rival Deerfield.   Wish ‘em luck!

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11/4/06:  Deerfield @ DA; Choate 11, Deerfield 12
                  Choate traveled to Deerfield for the second time this season and looked for a better showing for the final game of the regular season.  Things got off to a good start when co-captain Jay Li ’07 won the sprint and set up the play that allowed co-captain Aleks Oumarbaev ’07 to place a laser shot from the outside past the Deerfield keeper.  The teams would work hard against each other over the next couple of minutes but it would be only on 2 ejections drawn against Li that would allow opportunities and Deerfield capitalized on one.  Choate, however, seemed unable to convince the officials that the play was physical both ways and didn’t stop a run by Deerfield that scored 3 goals in about a minute.  Ray Li ’08 broke the streak with a minute and a half left as he persistently pressed the keeper and forced the ball into the cage.   Deerfield would respond on the next possession.  When Choate finally did draw an ejection with about 35 seconds left, it was Johnny Whitney ’08 who converted it.  The score at the end of the first was 6-3.  Early in the second, Deerfield would add anther to extend the margin to 4 goals.  Choate would successfully defend another goal before earning an ejection, but the injury sustained by Jay Li forced him out for the rest of the period.  Aasheesh Paliwal ’08 converted the opportunity so at least Choate got something for Jay’s sacrifice.  Whitney would add another before Ray Li’s ejection would give Deerfield a chance to get the goal back, and they did.  Not giving up, Choate drove down and Whitney added another to close the gap but Choate still trailed 6-8 at the half.   Early in the third, Jay Li was ejected for the third time and had to sit out the rest of the game.  Choate fired up a defensive effort and came back with Whitney adding another goal to move back to within one.  Deerfield took a time-out and organized a play that worked well to add another goal.  The teams worked back and forth with little sustained success until the final minute. Paliwal scored with 54 seconds left in the third but Deerfield bounced back and scored with 19 seconds later.  Choate took a time out and organized a play that didn’t go exactly as planned but did draw the ejection, which Paliwal converted to make the score 9-10 going into the final period.  The fourth period was clearly going to be hard fought and Deerfield got the upper hand when they won the sprint and converted the possession to return to a 2-goal lead.  With Whitney playing center forward, Choate came back and Johnny scored on the next possession to keep the game close.  Choate stopped the next Deerfield possession and drove back down pool and it was, again, Whitney who scored to tie the game with five and a half minutes left.  Choate would slip once about a minute and half later to trail again.  While the Boars fought valiantly in the face of a hostile crowd, they were unable to find the canvas, though their defense held.  The game ended with Choate having a final opportunity but unable to convert.  Deerfield beat Choate 12-11, the first time Choate has lost both regular season games to their rival since 1996.  J.J. Braddock ’09 played well in cage with 11 saves.  It looks like the teams will face off once more in the lower bracket of the tournament at Choate next Saturday.  Please come down and support the boys!

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11/4/06:  Deerfield JV @ DA; Choate JV 2, Deerfield JV 11
                  Choate’s JV took to the water shortly after the disappointing varsity loss with a hope of putting a positive end to a sometimes frustrating season.  Unfortunately, they were again giving away a lot in terms of size, experience and speed.  Deerfield would do a good job of pressing those advantages from the outset.  Choate would only manage one shot but Jeremy Davidson ‘10, pushed into cage without warm-up, would do a nice job with three saves.  Still, Choate trailed 3-0 at the end of the first and 7-0 at the half.  The defense was doing well but the offense was struggling and turned the ball over too frequently to expect all the opportunities to be stopped, especially when they were on the short side of the speed differential.  Choate struggled through the third but the defense did a better job of stopping the Deerfield counter-attack.  Patrick Li ’10 showed fine instincts for catching a stopping a breaking shooter and Lenny Futterman ’10 had three saves.  Deerfield led 8-0 going into the final period.   Choate didn’t back down, even when Deerfield added two more goals.  With about two minutes left, Choate’s offense and forced the Deerfield keeper to commit a penalty foul and Peter Hong ’08 converted the penalty shot and got Choate on the board, ending Deerfield’s hopes of a shutout.  On the next possession it was Jose Rivera ’08 that would get what would eventually be the final JV goal of the season.  Deerfield, ahead 10-2, would press in one more time and score with 34 seconds left to make the final 2-11.  Choate ended a season that had too many disappointing results with a sense that they had improved over the season and built great team spirit.  Isn’t that what it’s all about?  Good job, Choate!

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11/11/06:  Deerfield @ CRH; Choate 4, Deerfield 6
                  For the third time this season and the second time in a week, Choate faced off against Deerfield but this time it was at Choate and it was Deerfield Day.  The boars were ready to play but perhaps they were a bit too ready.  It was an overeager Boar squad that would squander six of seven man-up opportunities and try to force shots that required more luck than skill all day.  Choate was also sloppy at the defensive end of the pool, despite an overall strong effort, and would allow Deerfield to score 5 of its six goals on man-up opportunity.  Two of those came in the first period and Choate trailed 0-2 heading into the second.  Again early in the third period, a Choate defender was caught in a foul and Deerfield converted again.   Choate trailed 3-0.  Near the middle of the period, though, Choate finally drew an ejection and Johnny Whitney ’08 converted.  Choate would draw two more ejections in the period but let each opportunity slip away; the team trailed 1-3 at the half.  The third period saw both defenses try to clamp down and ejections started to come.  It was only Deerfield that would capitalize, though and Choate trailed 1-4 going in to the final period.  Deerfield would add another goal before Whitney tallied our second goal.  This would be followed another Choate ejection and another Deerfield score.  In the last minute goals by Gabe Kelley ’07 and co-captain Jay Li ’07 pulled Choate to within two but that was as close as the Boars would get.  Choate lost to Deerfield 4-6.   J.J. Braddock ’09 did a fine job in cage with 8 saves.   The loss moved Choate into the next game with Williston after a short rest.  The Boars looked to finish the season on a stronger note in that game.

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11/11/06:  Williston Northampton @ CRH; Choate 14, Williston 5
                  Choate had to bounce back from a disappointing loss to turn around and play a good Williston squad in the next game.  Although Choate had come out on top in the two previous meetings between the teams this year, one of them had been among the team’s closest games of the season.  It looked at the start like this might be another close one.  Choate tallied first with a goal by Dan Fallahi ’09 about midway through the first period.  Williston answered back, though and tied the game up.  Choate continued to press its offense and speed.  Two goals in the next minute, one by co-captain Jay Li ’07 and one by Gabe Kelley ’07, moved Choate to a lead it would never relinquish.  Carrying a 3-1 lead from the first, Choate powered into the second period with early goals by Ray Li ’08 and Johnny Whitney ’08.  The Boars would need to kill two ejections, which they did, and Kelley and Whitney each added another goal in the later part of the period to take a 7-1 lead into the half.  It was Williston that would effectively kill man-up opportunities early in the third but first goals of the season by Jack Lo ’07 and Michael Wysolmerski ’08 kept up Choate’s attack.  Ray Li would convert a man-up opportunity and Fallahi would add another score before Williston tallied in the final minute.  Choate led 11-2 at the end of the third.   Williston killed an early man-up and then drove down to score.  This was followed by en ejection, though, and Whitney converted for Choate.  The favor was returned, though, as a Choate ejection allowed Williston to respond and then add another goal.  Choate would add two more, though, an extra-man goal by Jay Li in his final game as a Boar and a last goal by Whitney.  Choate won 14-5.   J.J. Braddock ’09 had seven saves in cage and the team went out on a high note.  The Choate squad will now start preparing for the future without the small but important class of 2007.  We will have a lot of work to do to replace captains Jay Li and Aleks  Oumarbaev and other seniors John Adams, Jack Lo, Gabe Kelley and Mac Carr.

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