The Deerfield JV Field Hockey team took a short trip over to our nearby neighbors, Northfield Mount Hermon. The temperature and sporadic light rain was just enough to keep the busy players cool, without being uncomfortable. The Hoggers came out strong and cohesive, and snuck a goal into the net early on in the game. The play moved up and down the field frequently, with both teams playing tough and fighting for possession. Deerfield’s defense was solid and organized, all the way from the forwards recovering back, the midfield stepping to pressure the ball, and the consistent, fearless defensive players.
The team quickly made adjustments to respond to NMH energy. Ally Kell ’20 and Kate Kelly ’22 connected beautiful long passes up the sideline to generate forward momentum. Renee Ballou ’20 and Lizzie Eudy ’22 executed well-timed dodges to maintain possession of the ball under pressure. With about 10 minutes left in the half, a flurry of activity in the NMH circle resulted in a goal by 9th grader Jo Louis ‘23 to tie the score.
The Deerfield team continued to play an excellent game in the second half. Several corners throughout the 25 minutes marked their consistent pressure on the Hoggers’ defense. Anne Brown ’21 played aggressive and effective defense on the sideline, preventing NMH from progressing down the field. With the game still tied at 1-1 with five minutes left, forwards Olivia Waterfall ’23 and Whitney Spater ’22 worked together to steal the ball and create an attack on the NMH circle. Their push resulted in a corner, in which Emma Jaskolski ’20 received a beautiful pass to the top of the circle and got off a speedy shot straight into the back of the goal. Deerfield held NMH at bay for the last 3 minutes of the game, to come away with a well-fought for 2-1 win.