Another 1-0 win against another good team. Exeter was a large squad with lots of fast players looking to slice their way through the middle of the field with quick one-touch passing. Their bumpy, narrow field made it hard for both teams to possess and, in many ways, worked against their own tactics. Deerfield was able to dispossess them, turn the ball to their goal, and get more balls into their box, nearly scoring on several chances. Still, Exeter tested keeper Gianluca Simonelli with a ball off our post and one he had to “get big” to deflect outside the post. Finally, about midway through the second half, Finn Knight was first to a punt in near midfield, then Jack Zhunio first again to the second ball, which he sent wide to Cai Harrison, whose cross deflected and ended up at the feet of Justin Scalzo. Justin was open at the top of the 18 yd box, took one touch, and hit one of his lethal left-footers bounding into the left side of the goal. And though Exeter in the final 20 minutes made several entries into our end and into our box, even with some free kicks, our back line stood tall and cleared their lines confidently. Oscar Sanford, Michael Hieo, and Kiefer Ebling were especially steady back there today. With three 1-0 wins in a row, the coaches are proud of the team’s poise, tenacity, and sportsmanlike character. They are proving worthy of their Deerfield jerserys, but can we maybe score more than one goal next time?