Deerfield 3rds Field Hockey traveled to Taft on a gorgeous fall afternoon for an intense match-up on Taft’s Parents’ Day. The fields were full of fans with teams playing on every field in sight. The game started with fast action from end-to-end. Taft created a number of fast breaks opportunities but were stopped in the midfield by Lisa Ito-Bagshaw ’21 and Lauren Stenger ’22.. The Taft attack was fierce, but The Big Green held their composure and kept Taft at bay. Defense on penalty corners was led by Maddie Boger ’21, Elsa Marrian ’21, Lily Zeng ’22 and goalkeeper Gabriella Hu ’21.
The second half saw more action and some improved ball movement up field by Deerfield. Willow Woodward ’22, Sophia Hamlem ’22, Lizzie Eudy ’21 and Kaitlyn Kelly ’22 combined for some wonderful passes in the offensive end. Deerfield kept pounding the Taft goalkeeper, but Taft’s defense held strong. After a scuffle in front of the net midway through the half, a Taft player gained possession of the ball and found the back of the net, making the score 0-1. Deerfield rebounded, however, with intense offensive pressure. Sara Ito-Bagshaw ’22, Camille Glatt ’21, Jing He ’21 put in solid efforts offensively. Deerfield was finally awarded a penalty corner when momentum was on their side. Lisa Ito-Bagshaw ’21 sent a beautiful pass out to Maddie Boger ’21 who sent the ball in front of the net. After a few attempts the ball went passed the goalkeeper, but the goal was called back. On the next try, Deerfield executed a textbook corner with a beautiful shot from Boger being deflected reverse stick by Lisa Ito-Bagshaw passed the keeper. Once, again, the official called back the goal and a corner re-take was called. This time, a penalty stroke was awarded, and Captain Elsa Marrian ’21 scored on the stroke to tie the game 1-1. The game remained tight for the last seven minutes with neither team scoring again. Truly a hard-fought effort for both sides.