Soccer, Boys: Junior A defeats Hotchkiss

Event Details

Deerfield Boys Jr. A Soccer handed a talented Hotchkiss team their first loss of the season by a score of 3–1. DA was led by the back line, as the first goal came quickly off an interception by sweeper Seth Blain ’20. Seth sent it up ahead to striker Andy Han ’18, who hit a streaking Connor Guest ’20 for the quick shot in the bottom left of the net. Hotchkiss and DA traded possession, but Guest and Han connected for a second goal as a blitz by Guest through three Hotchkiss defenders led to a successful shot by Han from the top of the box. Reinvigorated, Hotchkiss maintained control of the ball for the next ten minutes, leading to two off target attempts on the DA net. Good movement by DA’s Jonathan Glinton ’19 and Merritt Wurts ’21 eventually resulted in the ball bouncing through several players at the top of the Hotchkiss box, and Adrian Yao ‘20 buried the ball in the back left of the net to put Deerfield up 3 – 0. Elliot Flagg ’20 had several good opportunities, including a shot that bounced right off the keeper’s fingertips, before the cessation of the half. At the start of the second, Hotchkiss leapt to two breakaways past the Deerfield defense. On the first, their center forward struck the ball with pace towards the back of the net, but Deerfield keeper Matt Gardner ’18 blocked the shot with an excellent save. On the second breakaway a well-placed ball by the Hotchkiss striker slipped past his fingers to make the score 3-1. However, the score would be Hotchkiss’s first and only goal of the match. The Deerfield offense, including Guest and Jason Liu ’18, had several additional attempts on goal in the remaining time, although no shots found their mark. James Whitely ’20 and the rest of the strong thirds back line repelled each opportunity from Hotchkiss throughout the second half, and the boys walked away with the win.