Athletes of the Week: Robitaille & Whiteley

Maura Robitaille
Mount Everett

Mount Everett senior defender Maura Robitaille has proven that she is a tough wall to get through in this 2015 season.

The Eagles (5-1) have allowed only 10 goals in six games; seven of them coming from a tough loss to Lenox last week.

But Mount Everett coach Jess Murtagh describes  Robitaille as the anchor of the defense. She organizes her team every time they make the defensive switch and her solid clears to the wing and midfield are very consistent, instilling confidence in her team that the defensive line is there to back them up.

"She leads by example; always works extremely hard in the conditioning and is a 'game speed' player at practice," Murtagh said. "This helps the other girls to work harder on the game and practice field."

Robitaille is a confident defender and it shows on the field. Murtagh said the other players feed off that confidence, and the result has been one loss in six outings and considerable offensive output from the Eagles' younger players.

"She is the best sweeper our program has seen in a long time," Murtagh said. "It'll be hard to replace her next year."

Anthony Whiteley
Taconic High

Taconic junior Anthony Whiteley scored three touchdowns last week in a 56-0 win over Monument Mountain after suffering a 22-20 overtime loss to Pittsfield in week one.

The junior running back stepped up after losing to city rival Pittsfield and did what had to be done to earn Taconic its first victory of the 2015 season.

Whiteley scored twice on offense against Monument and once on defense, on a 46-yard interception.

He is averaging 125 yards per game.

"Anthony contributes to the team through leading by example, whether he is carrying the ball or blocking for a teammate, he does it with 100 percent effort," Taconic coach Jim Ziter said. "He is always the focal point of our opponent's defense."

Ziter called upon his captains after their loss to Pittsfield knowing that the week leading up to the Monument Mountain game was important; Whiteley took the lead all week long and made sure every rep was done with complete effort.

His hard work and consistent effort paid off for him and his team in their first win of the season putting them at 1-1.

Taconic hosts Wahconah Friday evening at Wahconah Park for a 7 p.m. start.