The group on Swilken Bridge on The Old Course at St. Andrew's
Over Thanksgiving break, 13 members of the varsity boys' soccer team, led by head coach Chris Drowne '89 and The Rev. Dr. John Houghton, toured the UK as part of the team's bi-annual trip. While abroad, the team visted historic sights and played three matches against local prep schools. Below is a blog about the trip written by Braden Cordivari '14.
November 28, 2011
"Last full day in the UK, so we were off "straight away" for a tour of Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, including the Crown Jewels. A few more monuments and mini-lectures on the Great Fire of 1666 and other aspects of English history. Following lunch, we went off shopping for friends and family before heading to Covet Garden for our last dinner in the UK.
We packed and went to bed to prepare for our morning flight back to the States. Everyone's exhausted but had an amazing time fitting two weeks worth of tours and soccer into our eight days in the UK."
November 26, 2011
"Not many people can say they've done this, but we took a 12k bike tour of all the Olympic venues and the Athletes' Village just finishing construction for the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games. It was really cool and a bit racey biking in and out of buses and cars on the streets of London. From there we headed out for lunch before attending the Crystal Palace FC vs. Milwall FC match. The atmosphere was crazy for the London area Derby. An exciting and hard-fought 0-0 draw was a good result for visiting Milwall. We then joined the Doughertys at an alumni reception hosted by Judge John Price '64, a friend and classmate of Mr. Drowne's father. Three dozen turned out at Gray's Inn for the occasion and enjoyed getting to hear about our tour and The Hill.
After dropping off our bags and changing out of academic dress, Mr. Drowne took us out in London for the evening."
November 25, 2011
"After sleeping in, we boarded the Tube and train for the trip out to our friends at Charterhouse. A campus tour and good pasta lunch preceded our match. Getting to play on Charterhouse's most magnificent pitch was a real treat. The host Carthusians controlled the ball nearly the entire first half, only to be kept off their classic manual scoreboard by Michael Leasure's '13 four saves, two from point-blank. With ten minutes to go in the first half, match captain Colten Habecker '14 broke clear away only to have his jersey pulled resulting in a red card and free kick. Jamie Forrest '13 blasted the kick on frame and Wyatt Fabian '14 finished the rebound to put The Hill 1-0 up. As it was a friendly, Charterhouse was allowed to play with a full 11 for the rest of the match. Keeping our lead through halftime, we came out well in the second half being denied an insurance goal on several occasions. John Rader was robbed by a brilliant save before Charterhouse managed to level the match with 20 minutes to play. Each side had head-shaking moments to take the lead but didn't. Match vice-captain Patrick Kearon '13 cleared a Charterhouse shot off the line with his head during that flurry. The 1-1 draw seemed just and each side exchanged gifts and posed for photos.
A dinner and post-match tea sent us on our way back to London where we shopped at the super sport store, Lillywhites, before catching the crazy rock musical Rock of Ages in the theatre district."
November 24, 2011
"Tubes and trains and foot power brought us to the Queen's primary residence for a tour of Windsor Castle. England's largest castle still used as a residence didn't disappoint at all! After a few pictures we walked down hill and across the River Thames into the quaint town of Eton. A former master, or "beak" as they call them at Eton, gave us a history of Eton College from its founding by Henry VI in 1440 through Princes William and Harry's time to today. We had a lecture in the original school room, then the majestic chapel and other places of note. Following a great lunch in their cafeteria, we prepared for our second match.
Just as we were about to kick off against Eton, Mr. and Mrs. Dougherty arrived behind us travelling all the way from Hong Kong to cheer us on! The entire Forrest family came out to watch as well, giving us far more supporters than ours hosts. The dark blue of The Hill took an early lead over the Eton blue when match vice-captain Alex Evans '12 found the back of the net in the seventeenth minute after taking a through ball from Mark Forrest '15. The match remained 1-0 through half time when The Hill finally converted one of its handful of golden chances, including a missed header by Jose Rodriquez '13 and a post by John Rader. Ted Poatsy '13 finished a rebound to give The Hill a 2-0 lead that seemed justified the way we had controlled the ball much of the previous half hour. With 25 minutes to go, Michael Leasure '13 made a brilliant save on the second of Eton's three scoring opportunities. Match captain Jamie Forrest '13 nearly threaded a few through balls that would have iced the match completely. Eton managed a goal in the final two minutes, but The Hill saw the match out well.
While we visited a few houses (dorms), the Doughertys, Mr. Drowne, and Father Houghton had tea with the Eton coach in the Master's Dining Room.
It being Thanksgiving and all of us away from home, the Doughertys took us out to a proper restaurant for an amazing meal. House on the River served us game, cheese soufflés, duck, and strawberries and cream.
A train ride back to our London hotel where we all crashed for a deserved sleep in before heading to Charterhouse and a theatre show Friday. Cheers!"
November 23, 2011
"Mr. Drowne woke us up at 6 a.m. so we could catch the first high-speed train out of Edinburgh down to London. The four-and-a-half-hour ride along the east coast of the UK afforded us amazing views of the North Sea, but all of us were asleep before we crossed into England. That rest proved valuable when we arrived in London and Father Houghton took us on a very detailed tour of Westminster Abbey and then our night 'flight' on the London Eye was awesome!
Getting used to the Tube system, we went on to dinner in Covet Garden and then a walk throughout the city. Nobody needed prompting to go to bed when we finally reached our beds, especially with another early morning just ahead."
November 22, 2011
"Greetings from the High Speed Rail from Edinburgh, Scotland to London, England. We woke up early this morning to eat and catch the 8:30 train after our final full day in Scotland.
Tuesday, the team toured the Scottish Museum of Modern Art before touring spending the day with the wonderful people of Stewart's-Melville College, with more than 2,700 students, it is one of Europe's largest fee-paying schools. After a great tour and lunch with the lower school students, it was on to our first match of the trip. Due to the damp fields despite the ideal weather in Scotland, our hosts were kind enough to secure a turf field facility to ensure a safe match.
A combination of The Hill's First and Second XI had to shake off the rust from a 10-day layoff during exam period and the trans-Atlantic jet lag fairly quickly against a First XI that featured four players from Scotland's national team program. After conceding a goal off a set piece 12 minutes into the match, Jamie Forrest '13 finished a pass from his younger brother, Mark '15, to level the match where it stayed through the half. Hill keeper Michael Leasure '13 played very well throughout, picking off several crosses, stopping 7 of 9 shots and yielding no rebounds. Jamie Forrest converted a free kick to put the "Yanks" ahead only to see the Scots tie the match soon after. Colten Habecker '14 then scored twice, once assisted by Jamie Forrest and the other from Leasure to put The Hill 4-2 up before match vice-captain James Stormer '12 slotted a penalty kick earned by Andrew Rader '12 to conclude the scoring and 5-2 win. Match captain Wyatt Fabian '14 anchored a solid effort out of the backs, including converted midfielder now outside back Stormer, Rader and Patrick Kearon '13. Alex Evans '12, Teddy Poatsy '13 and John Rader (Andrew's brother) played steadily better in the midfield while Jose Rodriquez '13 and Braden Cordivari '14 rotated effectively with Habecker up top.
After we arrive in London, the group with take a guided tour of Westminster Abbey under the director of Father Houghton, followed by a 'flight' on the London Eye and walking tour of the embankment section of the River Thames.
Thanksgiving Thursday will welcome Headmaster and Mrs. Dougherty to our group for a day at Windsor Castle and famed Eton College. Cheers!"
November 21, 2011
"After surviving a six-hour plane ride, members of The Hill varsity soccer team arrived at our first stop in the UK, Edinburgh. The highlight of the city is certainly the castle, which we visited after stopping at both the Scottish Parliament building and the Royal Residence. We met Tara Eckenrode '06 and her fiance, Richard, at the Castle. The day dragged on as everyone's jet lag caught up to him. At lunch, Mr. Drowne had to keep multiple members of the team awake. We then found a pub to watch the Liverpool Reds overcome Chelsea 2-1. After the game we had dinner at the Mercure right off the Royal Mile. Finally, we were able to return to the hotel and get a good night's sleep.
On our second day of touring Scotland we visited the historic sites of St. Andrews. We took a bus for a little over an hour to arrive in the town. We saw the British Golf Museum and walked The Old Course. Everyone had pictures taken on the historic bridge and enjoyed seeing one of golf's great sights. We met current University of St. Andrews students Victoria Gerberding '10, Maggie Meagher'10, Alex Shomber '08, Caroline Shomber '10, Dinora Smith '10, and Taylor Walker '09 for a lunch of fish and chips. After lunch,they gave us a tour of the university campus, a walk on the beach of the North Sea, and a swing by Sean Connery's house. We saw sights such as the pier and the ruins of the castle and cathedral. The bus took us back into Edinburgh in time for some shopping and a fantastic dinner of chicken. Everyone is geared up for our first match against Stewart's-Melville College tomorrow."