WMA's Moran commits to Fairfield, football scores first win

Oct. 22, 2012


Molly Moran Reminder Publications submitted photo

WILBRAHAM — Molly Moran '13, a model player for the Wilbraham & Monson Academy (WMA) girls' soccer program for four seasons, has verbally committed to attend Division I Fairfield University on a partial athletic scholarship.

"I loved the coach," Moran said, referring to Jim O'Brien. "When he talked to me I truly believed him. I watched one of their games and I loved their style of play. I can see myself fitting in there nicely."

WMA's Coach Don Nicholson said, "Molly is one of the most dependable players I've ever had. She's tremendously hard-nosed, physical, has a great attitude and is tremendously coachable at the same time. She has a quick smile on her face and she'll do whatever it takes to help the team. She's non-stop."

An assistant coach at Fairfield also serves as an assistant coach for Moran's club team, and she has also played with three of Fairfield's players at the club level. That combination served as a big draw for the center midfielder to the school.

"Fairfield has a great coaching staff and strong tradition," Nicholson said. "Molly's content and happy with the school and everything it offers for her. She'll have a great career at Fairfield after four great years for us and one of the great players we've had in the Wilbraham & Monson program."

Moran was also attracted to the suburban setting of Fairfield, saying, "It was a beautiful campus: one of the best I had seen. When touring I fell in love with the campus.

"I'm really excited for the upcoming season. I can't wait," she continued.

Fairfield plays in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Nicholson's team remained undefeated at 7-0-2 despite playing upper-level competition.

On Oct. 9, the Titans controlled the play in a 5-2 road victory under the lights against the Springfield College JV. WMA was without injured starters Moran and Alex Baltazar, and also lost goalie Brielle Robinson and starter Riley Marini during the game.

Still, WMA was too much for the Pride, with East Longmeadow's Christina Wakefield leading the way with three goals. Longmeadow's Brie Kenney and Belchertown's Julie Beech also scored.

The Titans earned a hard-fought 1-1 tie at defending Class A champion Worcester Academy. Baltazar scored from Beech midway through the second half to knot the game and help keep WMA unbeaten.

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After showing some promise but having little to show for it in its first three games, the WMA football team earned its first win of the season with a 41-20 triumph at Westminster School on Oct. 13.

Korey Kajko rushed for four touchdowns and WMA held a high-powered Westminster offense scoreless over the final 18 minutes.

"They went right down the field to score in the second half, we did the same, and from there we were able to shut them out the rest of the game," WMA Coach Jeff Vartabedian said. "We were able to keep their offense off the field, which was crucial because they do have a lot of big play potential with their offense. We came up with some stops on defense, and they couldn't stop our offense. We ran the ball and punched it right at them."

The Titans scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, while the defensive unit stopped Westminster twice on downs and also forced a turnover.

Kajko scored on runs of 32 and 18, and twice from 2 yards out. He finished with 107 yards on nine carries. Shacor Privott ran 23 times for 157 yards, including a 13 yard touchdown run.

Matt Grospitch was key for the Titans in the fourth quarter. He caught an 18 yard touchdown pass from Kenny Goodnow before intercepting a Westminster pass.

Privott led the WMA defense with seven tackles, including two for a loss. Kajko had four tackles for a loss, and Springfield's Kamali Bey had a sack and forced the Westminster quarterback into an interception. Brendan Butcher added six tackles.

Offensive lineman Cam Bouchard and receivers Alex Caldwell and Wilbraham's Jack Viens came off the bench and did a great job filling in for injured starters.

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The Titans boys' soccer team continued to take a step in the right direction, going 1-1-2 over their last four games. The only loss during that stretch came against reigning Class C champion Millbrook School.

Against Millbrook, on Oct. 10, Adolph Kawuba and Jahkeem Hunt scored, with East Longmeadow's Nick Martinelli earning an assist. The game was 3-2 before Millbrook scored with five minutes to play.

The Titans played their best game of the season on Oct. 13 at Tabor Academy en route to a 1-0 victory. Hunt scored early from Kawuba for the game's lone goal. Hadley's Drew Bemben stopped eight shots, including some tough ones during a Tabor flurry in the second half.

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