The temperature was just right for a home game on Wednesday, when Deerfield faced off against NMH for a second time. The game started off with a strong push from the NMH Hoggers, but Deerfield’s goalie Gabriella Hu ’21 kept their shots in the circle out of the goal. Deerfield defense worked the ball out of the circle, where midfielder Renee Ballou ’20 made effective use of sideline passes up to the forwards. Six minutes into the game, one of these sideline balls was carried up to the Hoggers circle by forward Jo Louis ’23, who sent a cross pass to Whitney Spater ’21, who tipped the ball beautifully into the back of the goal.
Both NMH and Deerfield continued to play with intensity, and would have scored on multiple occasions if it hadn’t been for the quick reflexes of our goalie and a defensive save right on the goal line by sweeper Lily Faucett ’20. With 10 minutes left in the half, Ally Kell ’20 received the ball in the middle of the Hoggers’ circle, and with a well-executed spin and hit, scored the second goal for Deerfield. Ellie Shilling ’21 and Hunter Keller ’20 protected the middle of the field and stepped up to halt NMH’s forward movement time and time again.
NMH continued to put Deerfield on the defensive, racking up 8 corner attempts. Each time, the Deerfield defense managed to fight off their attacks. The ball spent significant amounts of time in both teams’ circles. At 7:00 minutes, Whitney Spater earned her second goal of the game, bringing the score up to 3-0. Deerfield managed to keep the Hoggers out of the goal for the last 7 minutes, finishing up an exciting, fierce game with a 3-0 win.