Results:
vs. Northampton: Loss 5-12
vs. Pioneer Valley Regional School: Loss 7-9
vs. Longmeadow: Win 13-5
On Saturday, Deerfield’s awesome co-ed Ultimate team played three games against Varsity boys teams. The tournament was hosted by Four Rivers School, and it took place on Greenfield Community College’s green but rain-soaked fields. The unfortunate coincidence of SATs in the morning meant that we were not at full strength in the morning, but we gained both in numbers and in strength over the course of the day. Accordingly, we lost our first game 5-12; we closed in on our second game with a score of 7-9, and we secured a “W” in our final game. Each of the games had its strengths and weaknesses, but our game against Longmeadow took the prize for best sportsmanship on both sides of the field.
Shout outs go to Gerry Alexandre for an excellent defense. In the first game, Gerry also jumped up over three other players to catch the disk. He is an excellent communicator, and a good listener. Alex Bautista had great energy throughout the long tournament day. He helped other players improve their flicks, and he gave the most high fives of the day! Maddy Beaubien was a great handler. She got some good looks and had one of the better bids of the day. Ian Gordon maintained a positive spirit even when we were down in score, and he worked well with both Gerry and Gerald to start a scoring streak in the PVRS game. Kevin Gu, our Cheer Captain, had good throws and excellent strike cuts against North Hampton. Tyler Kelly had the single best bid of the day, and he did the most to “take it home” from the field (=covered with the most mud from multiple layouts). Maya Laur maintained strong energy, and she was voted our Spirit Captain for the rest of the season. Sam Laur scored some goals but was even more importantly a critical assist player. Maddie Lee, our manager, kept stats and showed her great commitment on what turned out to be a very long day. Juliette Lowe had hands of glue, always catching the disk and staying chilly for the next throw. Juliette’s steady hand and good eye earned her “Athlete of the Week.” Shane McCarthy kept his cool and was terrific on the push pass reset. Luis Rodriguez maintained good spirit when there was an out-of-bounds call on an unlined field. A fellow player said of Luis: “If you throw to him in the end zone, he’ll catch it 99% of the time.” Adam Sussbauer was chillier than usual with end zone play, giving him great synergy with Gerry. Raheme Taylor had an awesome gloveless catch in the end zone for a score against Longmeadow. Gerald Xu was a constant competitor who was always in the right place at the right time. Alex Yuk had some sweet down line curves that went out of bound and then back in just in time, and he played a fierce defense in the first game against Northampton. Mason Zhao had good cuts deep, and he maintained his speed even when players were all getting tired.
Our fans cheered us on at every game, and the team dogs kept up our spirits. A special thanks goes out to Athletic Director Bob Howe for driving one player to our tournament after his late-finishing SAT. Thanks to all for a muddy but wonderful Saturday day of play!