The below is a recap of the November 16-17 weekend, the recap of the rest of the Season 1 teams can be found in previous posts.
HS GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: White: The KISJ White team returned to the final for the 3rd straight year, and for the 3rd straight year BIFS took them to 5 sets. However, this time BIFS came out on top, breaking the KISAC win streak at 32 games. Despite the loss, the girls had an exceptional season, finishing 3rd at AISA, the best placing of any KISJ team in school history. The loss will be a valuable learning experience and serve as continued motivation for the 2019-20 season. Thank you to long time players Aleum Chung and Yaeji Youn for the all the years of unwavering commitment and dedication to the team. Blue: KISJ entered two teams into the Varsity division for the first time. The girls placed second in their pool after defeating BHA 3-1. In an exhausting Saturday, the girls went the distance beating BIS in 5 sets, pushing KISJ White to 4 sets in the semi-finals before they were defeated in extra sets by BHA in the bronze medal match. A special congratulations to our middles, Karam and Inwoo and our captain Carrol who played every point on Saturday. An additional thank you to long time players Flora Lee and Jenny Hong for their commitment to the program and willingness to play whichever role needed to help the team be successful. Junior Varsity: The KISJ Junior Varsity team dominated round robin play during the first day of the KISAC tournament this year and went into the second day feeling confident. Though challenged by BHA in the Championship game, KISJ-JV came out on top in 3 sets, coming in first place in their division. The team had a lot of fun on court as their hard work paid off and they celebrate 2 team birthdays, pairing their gold medal celebration with cake. Erin Song and Jessica Lee proved themselves to be our most improved players this season, while Natalie Kim took charge as team Captain. With the majority of the team in 9th grade this year, the future of Girls Volleyball at KISJ looks bright with this KISAC Championship team. HS BOYS VOLLEYBALL BLUE (A1): For the second year in a row the KISJ Boys A team went undefeated in the KISAC tournament, taking home the gold medal. Despite losing significant physicality and athleticism last year, the team refined their individual skills while maintaining strong bonds between the athletes on the team. Alex Kim (G10) represented the team on the All Tournament team for his consistently solid defensive presence on the court and flexibility to play various roles. This season was the last for seniors Eric Kim and Sol Lee aka. Hallasan. The whole volleyball program thanks them for their leadership and commitment to the team. GOLD (A2): This was the first year in which KISJ entered two teams into the boys A division of the KISAC tournament. In the quarter finals against BIFS, we lost the first set of a best 2 of 3 set match. The team found themselves down 24-16 in the second set when Paul “Wootak Clan” Chung took control from behind the serving line (in all, he served a total of 10 serves - 5 of which were aces) to lead the team to a dramatic 24-26 win. Libero Philip Shin represented our Gold team on the All-Tournament team for his leadership and defensive presence. After claiming victory against last year’s 2nd place team, BIS, in the semis, the Gold team faced the Blue team in the finals and ultimately walked away from the tournament with silver medals in hand. This season was the last for Peter Jiwoong Yang who played an important leadership role this year. WHITE (B): The KISJ “White” entered the KISAC tournament with both a sense of nervous excitement and trepidation as they took the floor against their mainland rival Busan International Foreign School. Despite the defeat, the team pulled together, learned from their errors, and most importantly, watched the other matches in order to absorb the “atmosphere” of the tournament and support our other KISJ teams. The highlight of the tournament for the “Whites” was playing against the KISJ premier team the “Blues” in a in a very close match, that eventually saw us go down to defeat 25-20. The players expressed their gratitude at being able to participate in the tournament, seeing that most of them were freshmen. The support of all their teammates and the sportsmanship shown during the matches have instilled a sense in the players, that they can achieve the same results in the tournament as the Blue and Gold teams if they continue to show dedication and hard work to improving their volleyball skills. MS/HS SWIMMING: Students traveled to Seoul this past weekend to compete in the Winter Chadwick Meet. All of the students who participated put forth an amazing effort and were positive representatives of KISJ Dragons. Many seasoned swimmers placed in their events with others improving on their personal best time. Ho Youn S. came first in the 50 metres backstroke (15 years and over), whilst Jonathan K. placed second in the 100 metres freestyle (15 years and over), with Justin H. third in the same event. Jonathan K. also placed second in the 50 metres freestyle (15 years and over), with Evan A. in fourth place. In the 100 metre Individual Medley (IM), for 11-12 years, Hoseong N. at 1:38.93 took over 2 seconds off his best time, with Jason H. also making a personal best time at 1:31.97 in the 100 metres IM (13-14 years). A first time competitor in the 50 metres breaststroke saw Been A. come 6th place with a time of 44.63. Special mention to Kevin C. who gave up his place in the 50 metre breaststroke to enable his teammate, Been, to swim the event. A final congratulations to the 200 metre medley team (15 years and over) who came first place; the team consisted of Justin H., Jason H. Jonathan K. and Hoseong N., who stepped out of his age group to join the older students in the relay. Great work from all the swimmers and coaches.
0 Comments
MS GIRLS SOCCER:
Team Moseulpo entered KISAC with high expectations and a winning streak that helped buoyed their confidence. The girls were focused, and they had a real opportunity at the ultimate take-away from this two-day tournament. On the first day, the girls cruised through their matches to walk away undefeated and top the A division bracket. This put them in a favourable position against last-seeded Branksome Hall on Saturday morning. Though Branksome finished bottom of the pool, they were also last year’s champions, so our side did not count them out. Conditions were a lot windier on Saturday, which led to play being contained in one half for most of the match. Both sides failed to capitalize on goal opportunities throughout regulation and overtime. This led to dreaded penalty kicks. Both teams were able to pot shots into the back of the net, but Branksome’s outstanding keeper stopped a rocket from Ashley Seungjoo Lee in the second round to send them on to the championship final. Our girls bowed out with dignity and grace. They went on to dominate the last game and finish third in the A division and third overall. Team Moseulpo walked away unbeaten in all regulation games and secured their best finish in the program’s history! The team found success from all members, with stout goalkeeping from our keeper tandem of Helen Jeong and Grace Park, to new sensational rookies Minwoo Kim and Ashley Lee, and of course the veteran leadership of Katie Park, Spany Noh, and Amy Yeon. Seogwipo: KISAC was not only Seogwipo’s first tournament as a team, but it was a first for most of our players as well. A few of the girls had the opportunity to experience the Songdo tournament, and their experience was helpful to the team both on the field and during our team huddles. We started the tournament knowing that throughout the course of our season, we had both won and lost to all the teams in the tournament (except for BIFS). This added to the nerves of many of our girls, but we were able to quickly refocus and play with confidence and great energy, thanks to the encouragement and excitement of the girls who have shown leadership over the course of the season. We started the first day off with a tie (1-1) against BHA. The girls were very proud of themselves coming off the field, and that confidence shone during our next game, where we won (1-0) against BIFS. We ended the first day with a loss against SJA, but the girls spirits were still positive and even though they were tired, they were excited for the next day. During our last team huddle the girls identified things they did well and should continue to do, as well as things they needed to work on for the next day. Our first game the second day of the tournament was a difficult for one, making it to through overtime with no goals for either team. The girls were all very nervous for the shootout, especially since it’s a scenario that we didn’t formally work on very much during practices. Despite our strongest efforts and positivity, we lost in the final shootout. The coaches were once again impressed with the girls support and encouragement of each other through a very difficult loss. They were able to compose themselves and play the last game with strength and good energy. We came back strong and were able to end the tournament with a 3-1 win against SJA. This tournament gave the girls a great chance to identify their own areas of growth and immediately work on them. All members of our team showed their grit, their development, and their eagerness to push through to victories. Go DRAGONS! MS BOYS SOCCER KISJ A: After a strong outing resulting in a quarterfinal exit from the Songo 7’s invitational a few weeks prior, KISJ A was prepared to make the necessary adjustments to take the KISAC South tournament by storm. On Friday morning, we started with a strong showing against NLCS A, despite ultimately losing that match 3-2. Next, we played to a 5-5 draw in a gripping match of back-and-forth with SJA A. Our boys learned very quickly that if they were to succeed through the rest of the tournament, they would have to play with focus and determination through the duration of every single match. In a display of force, KISJ A illustrated their ability to do just that with a decisive 4-0 victory against NLCS B to wrap up our first day. It was clear that they were prepared to give it their all for a chance to reach the final on day two and possibly see themselves face a rematch with NLCS A. With a 3-0 sportsmanlike victory against their teammates, KISJ B, and resounding 5-0 win against Fayston, KISJ A booked their rematch against NLCS A in the final. After each goal on our second day, KISJ A developed a new mantra that they would promote amongst each other in order to maintain focus: “What’s the score now?” “0-0!” In spite of their nerves, KISJ A put their resolve in action by going up 1-0 against NLCS A. With gritty play, NLCS A worked back to tie the match 1-1. Our players remained unshaken. To them, the score was still 0-0. Then, we received our opportunity; an indirect free kick not 15 feet from the opposition’s goal. Our captain, Jack Yang, teed the ball off for our tournament MVP, Minjun Shin, who struck the ball low and with force, finding the back of the net. The score was 2-1; we were in the driver’s seat, but it was not time for celebration yet. NLCS A responded with intensity, requiring a robust response from our defence. The minutes ticked away, and finally, the referee’s whistle sounded. KISJ A had their victory, taking the tournament by storm just as they had intended. Our players demonstrated that their character, resolve, and teamwork were the sharpened tools necessary for success. Well done, gentlemen. KISJ B: The KISJ B team entered the A-division tournament as underdogs with the goal to finish in the top three of the six teams. The team struggled in the group stages suffering losses to KISJ-A, NLCS-A, and losing by the narrow margin of one goal to SJA-A. However, the team did manage to draw with NLCS-B and beat Fayston Preparatory school by a significant margin of 8-2. The one win and one draw were not enough to advance to the 3rd place match, and the team went on to play Fayson for the 5th place match, where KISJ-B settled with a convincing win of 5-1. Jun Soo “Kevin” Kim earned a spot on the tournament all-star team, and Hyundo “Harold” Jung finished as the teams top scorer netting in six goals in the tournament. KISJ C: The KISJ C team entered into the B-division tournament of the KISAC Tournament. The young men almost exclusively faced opponents of greater size, and age, but they never lacked resolve. In our first game, Derrick Park scored two goals off set pieces, and Eric Bae made several miraculous saves in goal to keep us fighting until the end, but the team succumbed to SJA-B with a loss of 3-2. The following two games against NLCS-C and BIFS both resulted in losses for the squad. However, the second day of tournament action brought new opportunity in the Plate Bracket. After an early loss to NLCS-E, the them rebounded with a win against SJA-C to land themselves in the Plate Bracket final. They faced NLCS-D in the final match, a team we knew well from regular season play. KISJ C jumped to an early lead, and commanded the pace of play for much of the first half. Ultimately, NLCS-D overpowered our squad, and won the match with a score of 5-2. KISJ C finished the tournament in 6th place of the B-division. These young men displayed brilliant skill on the pitch and great strength of character in defeat. They demonstrated what it means to be KISJ Dragons. MS GIRLS BADMINTON The MS Girls' Badminton team has come a long way this season! With just 2 returning team members, we've really improved in our collective understanding of the rules of the game; best strategies to use; developing our skills; and most importantly, learning how to be a supportive team member. For KISAC, hosted by Branksome Hall Asia, we went into the singles tournament confident and ready to take on our opponents. Our singles competitors where very strong and won several matches, but eventually were defeated by BHA. In the second half of the day, our doubles partners played well, demonstrating sportsmanship and team spirit. A final double partnership, Joanne and Jina, went all the way to the finals, coming out with second place, making our team proud. Although the day was long and tiring, our girls really exhibited what it is to be a KISJ DRAGON and we're proud of all the team's accomplishments. Go DRAGONS! MS BOYS BADMINTON MS boys badminton went to NLCS to participate in the MS Boys Badminton KISAC on Friday, November 16th. We knew that it would be a struggle because many of our strong 8th grader players from last year had moved up to the high school. However, we have seen tremendous growth in our 6th and 7th graders this year. I anticipate an extremely strong team next year and the next. When it comes to our KISAC performance, we had an uphill battle but were able to take the gold medal in boys, B division doubles with partners Jun Lee and Jerome Kim. KIS took bronze in the same division with partners Alex Hong & Andy Oh. We also received bronze for B division singles when 6th grader Daniel Han performed well. We are proud of the large amount of growth and great sportsmanship of our boys team this year. We anticipate many victories in the next couple years ahead. MS/HS SWIMMING: Students traveled to Seoul this past weekend to compete in the Winter Chadwick Meet. All of the students who participated put forth an amazing effort and were positive representatives of KISJ Dragons. Many seasoned swimmers placed in their events with others improving on their personal best time. Ho Youn S. came first in the 50 metres backstroke (15 years and over), whilst Jonathan K. placed second in the 100 metres freestyle (15 years and over), with Justin H. third in the same event. Jonathan K. also placed second in the 50 metres freestyle (15 years and over), with Evan A. in fourth place. In the 100 metre Individual Medley (IM), for 11-12 years, Hoseong N. at 1:38.93 took over 2 seconds off his best time, with Jason H. also making a personal best time at 1:31.97 in the 100 metres IM (13-14 years). A first time competitor in the 50 metres breaststroke saw Been A. come 6th place with a time of 44.63. Special mention to Kevin C. who gave up his place in the 50 metre breaststroke to enable his teammate, Been, to swim the event. A final congratulations to the 200 metre medley team (15 years and over) who came first place; the team consisted of Justin H., Jason H. Jonathan K. and Hoseong N., who stepped out of his age group to join the older students in the relay. Great work from all the swimmers and coaches. MS GIRLS:
Team Moseulpo brought on 3 players from Team Seogwipo in Sally (Siyoon) Kim (G8), Esther (Jeongbin) Choi (G7), and Chae-Eun Yang (G6) for insurance against some unknown opponents in Songdo this past weekend. Nerves was definitely a factor for many of our girls on day 1. In fact, several of our new players were experiencing their first ever soccer tournament. Nevertheless, the girls started out playing their system and immediately made a statement. In their first game against one of the three Chadwick teams, our girls clearly had more offensive chances, but one unlucky bounce going the other way allowed Chadwick to score one against us. The game would finish 1-0 in favour of Chadwick. The next game was against arguably the best team at Songdo 7s: Seoul Foreign School. SFS had previously disposed of their first opponent 11-0. They would go on to top our team (4-0) and Group B. The last match of the day pit our girls up against Dwight School Seoul. Unphased by the previous losses, the girls finished with a complete effort that saw them pot 3 goals, and goalkeeper Helen Jeong (G8) finished with a clean sheet. On day 2, the girls were through to the quarter finals and had to match up against a tough Chadwick side that performed well on day 1 in Group A. Our girls showed patience, mental fortitude, and confidence in our system, which resulted in Lynn Kim (G7) blasting home a goal to put us ahead. That lone goal would be enough to send us into the semis and a tough rematch against SFS from day 1. In the semis, the girls demonstrated resilience and their greatest work ethic yet. Unfortunately, SFS squeaked one goal past our defense. The game ended 1-0 in SFS’ favour. KISJ MSGS finished 4th out of 8 teams and showed they clearly belonged at the tournament despite never participating in it before this weekend. Songdo 7s was a huge learning experience that should prove to be great experience leading up to our final tournament in two weeks’ time at KISAC. MS BOYS: Our boys’ excitement was palpable as they boarded the bus on Friday evening in advance of their flight to Seoul. With an air of professionalism, it was clear that our ten chosen representatives were prepared to define what it is to be a Dragon both on and off the pitch. On Saturday morning, our team found themselves standing across from our hosts and ultimate tournament champions, Chadwick International. With a decorated history at the tournament, Chadwick was sure to be a formidable opponent. With confidence and determination, KISJ took to the field. After going down 1-0, our boys bounced back to take the lead 3-1. However, with a show of their own determination, Chadwick worked hard to end the match in a 3-3 draw. Showing our goal-scoring prowess in the next match, KISJ defeated Fayston Preparatory School 7-0. And finally, despite being weary after a long day of intense focus and attention, our boys mustered all of their energy to defeat Dulwich College 2-1, placing KISJ second in Group A and winning a spot in the single elimination Cup competition the following day. Come Sunday morning, our boys were certainly tired after the efforts on Saturday. With an early match against Shinjeong, our exhaustion got the better of us. Having gone down 2-0, KISJ gathered our last remaining morsel of energy to score our final goal. Eventually, we succumbed to Shinjeong’s pressure and lost 3-1. However, having made it to the quarter finals of a 16-team tournament, our boys had plenty to be proud of. KISJ finished the tournament in 5th place, displaying Dragons pride and character throughout the weekend. With another two-day tournament on the horizon, KISJ is prepared to learn from our experience in Songdo and display our might at KISAC. GO DRAGONS! |
Archives
December 2019
Categories |