Field Hockey: Reserve defeats Amherst

Event Details

The Big Green took on local rival Amherst on the Fair Family turf for the first time this season. Without practicing on the turf prior to the game, the team shined on the faster surface. The coaches were impressed with everyone’s stick skills on the turf. Passes were crisp, and the midfield did a nice job of switching fields when Amherst began to overload one side. The teams were pretty evenly matched, and play in the first half was mostly in the midfield. Just as either team began to generate an offensive play, each team’s defense came up with the key play to send the ball back up the field.

Once again, the defensive unit of Lisa Ito-Bagshaw ’21, Maddie Boger ’21, Elsa Marrian ’21, Lily Zeng ’22 and goal keeper Gabriela Hu ‘22 held strong and kept Amherst scoreless. Time and time again, deep defenders like Marrian and Zeng came up with key plays.  On the attacking side, Aim Poonsornsiri ’21, Camille Glatt ’21, Fourth Sukprawit ’19, and Sara Ito-Bagshaw ’22 worked together to create some exciting scoring opportunities.  Strong performances in the midfield came from Willow Woodward ’22, Lizzie Eudy ‘22 and Lauren Stenger ’22.

Just when the game felt like it would end in a tie, The Big Green showed a total team effort with tenacity and determination. With less than 20 seconds left on the clock and Amherst earning possession of the ball in their defensive end, Deerfield dug deep, got the ball back and moved into the scoring circle. As the last second of the game ticked down, Deerfield earned one last penalty corner. When time runs out, the team awarded the penalty corner may play the corner out to try to score. Deerfield was given one last shot to win the game. The pressure was on, but Deerfield’s offense remained focused. With poise and perseverance, Lisa Ito-Bagshaw ’21 sent a smooth pass out to Maddie Boger ’21. Maddie received the ball perfectly but couldn’t quite get her shot off. Instead of getting flustered and giving up, she stuck with it and sent a perfect ball straight to goal. Bagshaw reached in at the perfect time to deflect the ball passed the goalkeeper and win the game! It was the most thrilling victory of the season and maybe even in 3rds field hockey history!  Tenacity and perseverance won the day!