We tied NMH today at their campus on a cool, windy, sunny afternoon. The game was really tight in the midfield with both teams working hard to possess and both teams finding more success dispossessing the other. We had the better of play, generally, finding more strikers facing the goal with the ball than NMH could find. Both defensive lines were able to frustrate every attempt, though just before halftime, striker Bryan Gianvecchio (26) touched a long ball deftly to attacking midfielder John Rousou (28) who raced through the defense and shot one just over the bar. It was 0-0 at halftime and then for much of the second half. NMH was able to poke in a loose corner kick and take the lead briefly. Deerfield responded soon after. John Rousou (28) ran onto a ball which winger Tai Feng (26) had played wide for him. John deked the wingback, attacked the post to draw the keeper, then slotted a perfect cross to striker Rabi Diallo (29) who slammed in the equalizer. We kept pressing and had our chances to win. We actually put a go-ahead goal into the net, though the ref had whistled the play dead saying that the keeper had control of the ball. The game ended 1-1 and we proudly shook hands with our neighborhood rivals. Both teams played a highly competitive match and brought the best from each other. Many Deerfield players stepped up today and we coaches were proud of the team’s intense effort.