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By Brendan O’Malley

MPH celebrated its annual Homecoming festivities the weekend of October 4th and 5th. Beginning with the pep rally on Friday, students eagerly cheered on the various sports recognized this fall. Prior to the announcement of the Boy’s Varsity Soccer team, students were invited to participate in two games including a “Ping-Pong Ball and Spoon Relay Race” and an “Oreo on the Forehead” challenge. While the group of faculty members came out on top for the relay race, sophomore Casey Beach was able to get the Oreo from his forehead to his mouth within seconds, a new record. 

At the debut of the Harvest Festival, fall themed games and food such as pumpkin bowling and scarecrow making were organized by each one of the four houses: Trojan, Knight, Panther, and Phoenix. Students from all three divisions enjoyed themselves the lower field prior to the Boys’ Varsity Homecoming game, so it made for a good opportunity for this season’s largest crowd to form as the game began. MPH came out to 1-0 lead over BVM at halftime off an unassisted goal by senior Brendan O’Malley. They were able to hold off the Saints through a team defensive effort and a first-rate performance by the senior goalkeeper, Ezra Hanlin, ending the game with 13 saves. 

Saturday morning began with the 4th annual Alumni Soccer game, where friends old and new came back to campus to play in a co-ed soccer game on the upper field. Alumni from a wide range of years including Trent Amond ‘74 and Josh Hutko ‘18 gathered to commemorate MPH’s long standing tradition of success in both boys’ and girls’ soccer. 

Following the Alumni game, the Girls Varsity Soccer played Jordan-Elbridge and came away with a 5-3 win. Sophomore Katherine Mezzalingua finished the game with 2 goals and 2 assists. Freshman Abigail Hinshaw added 1 goal and 1 assist. Natalie Storie and Madelynn Huff contributed 1 goal each while goalie Angel Holligan finished the game with 13 saves. 

Finally, the festivities concluded Sunday morning at Applebee’s where the annual Flapjack Fundraiser was held by the Athletic Booster Club. Student athlete volunteers helped prepare pancakes and bacon for parents, students, faculty and alumni, while raising additional money for MPH athletic teams. This year, the focus is to buy new warmup shirts for the JV and Varsity Basketball teams. The Booster Club thanks everyone for their support.