Cluster Soccer comes to the end of its second week with high hopes for the season to come. Every team has played each other at least once, and yet no dominant team has emerged. Abbot and Pine Knoll remain tied atop the league at 4-1, followed by a strong West Quad North team in third, and a Flagstaff team that is coming off two tough losses to PKN and WQN. Quad South and TNT, the lower squad, are still is the hunt, although with WQS still looking for its first goal despite strong play by goalie Luke Cahill ’06, and midfielder Sam Cartmell ’06, and the lowers faltering after an impossibly hot start, both team will need to dig deep to climb from the hole they already appear to be in. Abbot, led by forward Dan Wagman ’06, appear to be one of the strongest teams in cluster. While it remains to be seen if their defense can stand up to an offensive attack in a close game, their offense is second to none and has kept them on top consistently. Pine Knoll appeared to find themselves during the second week. After several shaky starts experimenting with different line-ups, Matt Kahn ’06 and goalie Simon Keyes ’06 were in full form by week’s end, chalking up a tough win against FLG in perhaps the most exciting game yet. Quad North continued its march towards an unprecedented three-peat this season. Lead by seasoned vets Jeff Bakkenson ’06 and Ford Anderson ’06, North logged a strong week, defeating FLG in a tough game, highlighted by a ridiculous goal by Anderson off a corner kick. Flagstaff, lead by the cacophonous Peter Kalamakis ’06, and Justin Lee ’06, who is quickly becoming the most feared player in cluster, ends a disappointing week, following close losses to PKN and WQN. TNT, the team name of the lower squad, finally cooled off this week, after a start that had many thinking: “could this be the year for a scrub team?” After opening the season with a 5-0 win over South, and a ties against North and FLG, many were wondering if the team lead by Dan Pouliot ’08, and Zach Johnson ’08, could possibly be the real deal. Yet, while the season is still young, it spears that the 08ers have come back down to earth after more, “scrub-like” losses to PKN and Abbot. West Quad South ends the second week still looking for a glimpse of daylight in the offensive department. Despite outstanding performances by goalie Luke Cahill, the South offense led by Trevor Sanders ’07 and Ben Levenback ’06, haven’t been able to net one yet, a tough challenge to overcome for a team desperately looking for its first win. But the South squad, and superstar Sam Cartmell ’06, are still hopeful for a revival before the season, or the next weeks, are over. Cluster is one of Andover’s most beloved sports. Everyone who plays cluster can appreciate how much fun it is. Whether you play Cluster to avoid “real” sports, are simple hiding from Coach Godfrey and the F.I.T. program, or are just eagerly awaiting the moment at the end of the game to scream, “We are hot, you are not,” Cluster is the best sport on the hill, and come Cluster Championship night, you’ll see why.
