Deerfield pushed their winning streak to five games after coming away with victory against the Big Blue on Andover Day in the Valley. After four lopsided wins, Thirds had to play a nailbiter against a speedy Andover team with technically proficient midfielders and a solid defense. For seventy minutes Deerfield controlled possession, largely kept the ball in their attacking third, and registered more than ten shots but couldn’t find the back of the net. When wingers Max Yau ’28 and Jose Fernandez Zambrano ’28 came on, the attack widened and started creating chances more consistently. Cries of elation and relief could be heard from river to rock when midfielder PJ Pirsch ’27, the heartbeat of the offense, finally slipped through the Andover centerbacks and played the ball off to striker Cole Higgins ’26, who finished to give Deerfield the lead. For those who needed proof that this team has become expert in executing its offense, they got it one minute later when Pirsch and Higgins combined again to double the advantage. “I’ve never felt so much dopamine,” Pirsch remarked after the game. While Andover would pull one back in the 80th minute, the defense held firm, led by the best game of the season from keeper Leos Jollon ’29 and commanding complete-game performances from captains Magnus Selvig ’26 and Rich Zhou ’26, and bolstered by some head-turning plays from fullback Charlie Juhas ’29 and the versatile and dependable Teddy Gonzalez, who celebrated this win as a present on his 18th birthday. But to call out any individual players belies that this was a total team effort, as Player of the Week Kenan Ozada ’28 celebrated in the postgame huddle. With four games left on their schedule, if Deerfield wins out they will put up more wins than any Thirds team in at least a decade. With that goal in mind, they’ll head to Avon for their last away match of the season on Wednesday.