Field Hockey: Reserve ties Frontier HS

Event Details

Deerfield travelled to Frontier for another cross-town rematch this afternoon.  Both teams were poised for another exciting game, but the Big Green really wanted to avenge their 0-4 loss in their first meeting in September. Deerfield had been working all week on generating offense and having a sense of urgency in front of the net.  All this work certainly paid off as Deerfield came out strong and dominated the game in the offensive end in the early part of the first half.  Sasha Hinckley ’19 and Olivia Geraci ’19 sent numerous beautiful crosses in front of the net that were just nearly missed by their teammates Helen Niles ’19 and Sarah Jung ‘20.  Finally, Renee Ballou ’19 intercepted a defensive pass at the top of the circle and took a beautiful hit that found the back of the net to put Deerfield up 1-0.  Frontier did not back down, however, and put pressure on DA’s defense with 7 shots in the half, but Janice Chen ’20 came up with some key saves to keep them scoreless until one Frontier attacker deflected a beautiful cross to tie the game at 1-1.

DA answered back with more connections in the midfield to set up a fast break opportunity. Olivia Geraci ’19 received a pass in the midfield and dodged two Frontier defenders to go one-on-one with the goalie. She blasted a shot to the left corner past the goalkeeper to put DA up 2-1 going into the half.

At half time, Deerfield made some crucial adjustments to their defensive strategy, and as a result, the Big Green held Frontier to only two shots and no penalty corners. Renee Ballou ‘20, Cameron Heard ’19, Acey Cai ’19, Jada Howard ’19, Grace Mazur ’20 all helped out defensively. Emmeline Flagg ’19 and Saadhya Bahudodda ’20 also held strong in the backfield. Despite these efforts, Frontier caught us off guard and tied the game at 2-2 with less than 3 minutes in the game. Deerfield kept up the momentum trying to score the go-ahead goal with relentless efforts from Helen Niles ’19, Ally Kell ’20, Sasha Hinckley ’19 and Olivia Geraci ’19 to push the ball up the field. Deerfield had many exciting chances but couldn’t put one in before the time ran out. Overall, a tremendous effort for a team that keeps improving with each game.