On a dark and stormy day, the Triumphs demonstrated just how far they’ve come this season. After tying Loomis 2-2 on Family Weekend back in October, the team put in a month of hard work and came to the island of the Pelicans hungry for a win and ready to cement their gains before a Choate face-off on Saturday. Deerfield started strong and dominated the first half of the match, thanks in large part to solid backup defense from juniors Anna Harvey and Annabelle Mauri and sophomores Chelsea Egu and Catalina Llorente. Crucial midfield work from sophomores Caroline Carpenter, Mia Burch, and Dominique Whitney also contributed to a great deal of Triumph ball movement. Up top, Deerfield began knocking on Loomis’ door, as Jordan Manning ’19, Katie Parker ’19, and Whitney Vogt ’20 fired off a volley of crosses which narrowly missed the Pelicans’ net. Despite racking up the shots, Deerfield could not get on the scoreboard in the first half, but brought their A-game after the break and refused to tire out.
Fresh legs from ninth graders Maggie Tydings, Grace Knight, and Hope Smith, all of whom filled in as forwards, helped maintain a strong Deerfield offensive attack. As the clock wound down and play became less clean and more frantic, Smith found herself alone at the top of the circle in possession of the ball. She wound up and took a shot, which rolled past the Loomis keeper and put Deerfield on the board and in the lead. The team took a few seconds to celebrate and then got ready to do it again, and, lo and behold, a handful of plays later, Vogt charged to the net and hammered it home, closing the game out.
All in all, it was an especially well-played game on the part of the Triumphs, who gave the game their all and were truly motivated to win. The team will undoubtedly keep the fire burning all the way through the last game of the season, the much-awaited battle with Choate, at 10:30 on Saturday.