The Boys Thirds Soccer team bounced back with aplomb after its first loss of the season earlier in the week to beat Eaglebrook at home in front of family and friends on Saturday afternoon. Deerfield came roaring out of the gate, energized by the first starts at midfielder from speedy freshman MacGregor Hynds and James Kurto. Striker Winston Cho ’24 began the scoring in the fifth minute thanks to a great cross from Kurto. Two minutes later Door of the Week Jack Willett ’23 put Deerfield up 2-0 with a great shot from the left wing. Ari Santos came into the game off the bench 10 minutes in and quickly made a great attempt narrowly deflected by the keeper and finished off by Willett. Before we knew it, the score was 4-0 thanks to smart, aggressive play by Cho resulting in an own goal that he was credited with. After halftime, sophomore Walter Burkley—after putting in 25 minutes of his signature stellar work at fullback in the first half—started at attacking wing and hit a strong ball from the corner of the 18 to score Deerfield’s fifth goal. The lead gave the coaches a chance to get a few players some minutes at new positions, which led to some mental mistakes that resulted in two Eaglebrook scores. Kiefer Ebling’s return to the field at fullback shored up the defense immediately and Deerfield secured its seventh win. Among the day’s memorable performances was freshman Connor Coutu—who was sidelined by injury for the first several weeks—emerging as a swift, sure-footed midfielder, Shogo O’Connor ’25 making one smart play after another late in the game to stifle Eaglebrook’s momentum, and Aaron Gibbons gorgeous crosses from the right wing and, because he is always hungry for more minutes, his debut on defense at fullback. The team looks forward to some rest and family time over the long weekend and is excited to head out to its penultimate away game Wednesday in Easthampton against Williston.