In just a blink of the eye, the first academic week of Wyoming Seminary’s 182nd school year has concluded. Alongside the return to the classrooms, most of Blue Knights athletics kicked off their seasons. Here’s a look back on how Sem’s teams fared in the opening week of competition.
Boys Soccer (3-0): Wins over Mountain View, Wyoming Valley West, Old Forge
No signs of rust for the Sem boys soccer team. The boys opened regular season play in a 4-0 home win against the Mountain View Eagles. First-year player for the Blue Knights, Louis-David Jolin netted the first goal of the season for Sem off a corner kick from Artur Zelenko. The Blue Knights put in 3 more goals in the second half, courtesy of a brace from Zelenko and one from junior Benen Griffin — his first goal in his first career varsity start.
Next, the boys started their two game roadtrip by taking on Wyoming Valley West. The Spartans were fresh off an impressive start to their season, having knocked off Lake-Lehman in a 3-2 overtime win. That fact didn’t matter to the Blue Knights as they played spoiler, dominating the Spartans for a 5-0 win. Among the goal scorers was Jolin, who scored a hat trick in the victory. Zelenko and Owen Stretanski added the two other goals for the Blue Knights.
Finishing their first week of play, the Blue Knights squared off against the Old Forge Blue Devils. New opponent, same result. Sem ran up the scoreline on Old Forge, eventually winning 5-0. Jolin notched a brace, increasing his goal total to 5 and earning him mattsportsmedia.com’s inaugural Male Athlete of the Week. Stretanski and Zelenko put in one goal each, and senior Will Sordoni scored his first of the season.
The Blue Knights are scheduled to play two games this upcoming week. First, they return back to Nesbitt Stadium to take on Wyoming Area this Tuesday, September 2, at 6:00 PM. After a day of rest, the boys are back on the road when they battle MMI on September 4 with kickoff set for 5:00 PM.
Girls Tennis (4-0): Wins over Wilkes-Barre Area, Holy Redeemer, Berwick Area, Parkland
No Illana Rosenthal? So far, that hasn’t been a problem for the Blue Knights. In fact, Sem girls tennis has been nearly flawless to start the season — winning all twenty of their games.
Sem girls tennis opened up league play on August 22, earning their first win of the season at home against Berwick Area (5-0). The Blue Knights matched up against Holy Redeemer in the second game of their short homestand. Once again, Sem defeated the Royals with ease (5-0). The Blue Knights hit the road for their first away match of the season to take on Wilkes-Barre Area. No upsets here. Another 5-0 victory for the team.
The girls put their three game winning streak on the line on the second night of a back-to-back against Parkland this past Thursday. The lack of rest didn’t faze the Blue Knights — Sem edged them 3-2.
First and second singles players, seniors Addie Priebe and Jophie Li, have set the tone early on and have rallied the Blue Knights to these early season victories.
The girls look to defend home court this Wednesday, September 3, when they host Hazleton Area at 4:00 PM. The Blue Knights finish their week by traveling to MMI on September 5 to play the Lady Preppers at 4:00 PM.
Field Hockey (1-1): Won against William Penn Charter, Lost to Wilkes-Barre Area
The Sem field hockey team has only played two games so far. Albeit a small sample size, they are already on pace to beat their win total of 5 games from last season.
The Blue Knights opened their season up at Klassner Field last Wednesday when they matched up against William Penn Charter. Although Penn Charter drew first blood in the contest, the Blue Knights were up to the challenge and showed resilience in the second half — winning the game 4-2. Senior Ohio State commit Emmy Swartz netted two goals while junior Apollonia Bruno and sophomore Anna Rolland each scored one.
Last Thursday, the girls looked to improve to 2-0 in their first road game of the season against Wilkes-Barre Area. The Blue Knights ultimately conceded a hard fought game 2-3 to the Wolfpack. Rolland and Bruno were the lone scorers for Sem in the loss.
The Blue Knights host a pair of games this week — Northwest Area on Wednesday, September 3, at 4:00 PM and Easton Area on September 6 with a 4:00 PM start time as well.
Girls Soccer (2-2): Wins against Old Forge, Lakeland; Losses to Scranton Prep, Mid Valley
Losing three key seniors — including your starting goalkeeper — is a tough challenge for any soccer team. Fortunately for the Blue Knights, proven goal scorers have stepped up to fill the void.
The girls opened up their season as they hosted Old Forge on August 22 at Nesbitt Stadium. The Blue Knights took care of business — cruising to a 6-0 win over the Lady Devils. Old Forge had no answer whatsoever for junior Ella Stambaugh, who found the back of the net 5 times. Junior Ellie Kersey added one goal of her own to add to the damage.
Following their first day of school on August 25, the Blue Knights hit the road to face Lakeland in a wild back-and-forth battle Sem eventually pulled away from the Chiefs, winning 7-5. Kersey notched her first hat trick of the season while juniors Olivia Deluca and Stambaugh slotted home two goals each. Stambaugh’s seven goals in the past week earned her the inaugural mattsportsmedia.com’s Female Athlete of the Week.
The Blue Knights returned home on the second night of a back-to-back to host the Scranton Prep Classics. Unfortunately for Sem, they were already down 0-2 in the second half before a thunder stoppage ended their evening. To conclude the week, the girls hosted a very formidable Mid Valley team who won 10-0.
Sem girls soccer plays two home games this week: Lake-Lehman this Wednesday, September 3, at 5:30 and Elk Lake on September 6 at 11:00 AM.
Golf (4-5): Wins against Nanticoke Area, Berwick Area, Hanover Area, MMI Prep; Losses to Lake-Lehman, Dallas, Hazleton Area, Tunkhannock, Wyoming Area
When two of your top golfers graduates — one of them perhaps the greatest in team history —after they led you to a perfect season, nobody expects you to compete at the same level. It’s safe to say the Blue Knights are still adjusting to life without 2x state champion Nick Werner and 2x district champion Anna Zapletalova.
Sem dropped a very close match with Wyoming Area (174-169) this past Wednesday at the Fox Hill Country Club. Juniors Ayden Wilkinson and Caleb Aponick led the Blue Knights, scoring a 40 and a 43, respectively. Sophomores Will May and Michelle Wu each had a 45 in the near win.
In fact, the last three matches that Sem has played were extremely tight. The Blue Knights have conceded matches against Hazleton Area, Tunkhannock Area, and Wyoming Area by a combined 11 strokes.
Sem is on the cusp of winning these close matches, but the Blue Knights will need to clean up their short game in order to do so.
Fortunately for Sem, there is still a lot of season to be played. The Blue Knights look to end their week strong this upcoming Friday, September 5, against Wilkes-Barre Area at the Huntsville Golf Club.
Cross Country: Participated in Cliff Robbins Invitational
Sem cross country couldn’t ask for a better start to their 2025 season. Both the boys and girls’ teams competed in the 50th annual Cliff Robbins Invitational Meet, hosted by Wyoming Valley Striders.
Fresh off a district medal last season, senior captain Grace Rushmer took home 11th place in the varsity girls race with a time of 21:26. New addition to the program, freshman Celia Ludka, earned 40th place in her first career varsity meet — crossing the finish line at 23:40.
Second-year runner, sophomore Brayden Kilduff, continued on his upward trajectory — placing 50th in the boys varsity race with his time of 19:13.
The cross country team has their first and only home regular season meet at Kirby Park this Wednesday, September 3, at 4:15 PM. The Blue Knights are grouped in Cluster 2 — along with Holy Redeemer, Nanticoke Area, and Hanover Area.
Football (0-0): First game on September 6 against St. Thomas More School
While the Blue Knights haven’t played their first game yet, they have been training hard everyday during practices at Nesbitt Stadium and in the weight room with head strength and conditioning Coach Dave Shultz.
The Sem football team is gearing up for their first game of the season against St. Thomas More School this Saturday, September 6, at 2:00 PM.
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- Matt Mascarenhas ’26
MATT SPORTS MEDIA 
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