An overcast afternoon: it sprinkled ever-so-slightly as non-seniors rushed down to the field with 13 home-made posters for seniors in honor of our “senior game” against Dublin. Athletes scrambled to write heart-felt messages while also warming up for this final home competition. One player couldn’t make it, another would be quite late; still, the mood was jubilant, and the rain held off. We even witnessed an array of sunbeams streaming down onto our wide south-division fields. Our usual (and beloved!) fans attended, and a bunch of new fans came, too. We love you, fans!
We started the game with an unusual lineup: 8 v. 7. Our extra player was Ausin Zhang ’25, who is wearing a boot because of an unfortunate bone break. He was “in” for the pull and then hobbled off as we set up for our first goal: Josh Freedman ’26 to David Peirce ’25. Josh quickly followed with a second assist, this time to Esther Lee ’25. Then, the tide turned against us. D.A. did manage one more pretty goal before halftime. Josh threw long to Hazel Secker ’26 for our third goal of the game.
In the second half, we loved seeing Billy Tang ’25 make two goals, one assisted by Brandon Smith ’26 and the other from Josh. Late in the game, Thomas Unkles ’25 appeared to great cheers. In addition to boosting team morale, Thomas delivered a lovely assist to David for our sixth goal. Billy made a nice pass to Sammy Sullivan ’25 for our final goal.
The Dublin team had great spirit and sometimes unusual (think football hikes) strategy. The team was also wonderfully generous, giving awards to Josh (for excellent play), to captain Elena Tskhvitaria ’25 for “Spirit of the Game,” and to Austin for being a trooper despite his broken leg. The Dublin team also vociferously thanked fan Paul Secker for providing the best “blondie” snacks they had ever encountered. Yes, we did not take home a “W,” but we had a great day, nonetheless. Thank you, D.A. for awesome athletes who do their best and take joy in this wonderful game.