It was a beautiful day for JV Field Hockey’s Saturday afternoon home game. We were excited to have so many fans, family, students, and faculty. Exeter has traditionally been a very good opponent, and the team was ready for a competitive game. Early on, the Deerfield team seemed to dominate the field but was unable to get the ball in the cage. Despite difficulties scoring, it has become very clear that our individually talented players are working much better as a team. There were several times in the first half of the game where a series of five or six strategically placed passes in a row quickly brought our offense into scoring position. Even our defensive center back, Cece Cramer ‘26, had a fantastic moment where she successfully carried the ball down the entire field, dodging the other team so well that she ended up drawing a corner 16 yards from the goal! We are very impressed with the improvement in our team’s ability to read the field and make smart choices. Milana Shuman ‘28, looked very good trying out left wing today, taking several shots on goal. In the second half of the game, the girls were determined to score, though Exeter’s goalie was clearly skilled. Reed Foster ‘29 sent a nice pass to Willa Kaplan ‘28 who was able to lift it into the cage for the first goal of the game! The girls did not let up and continued to play hard. Rayner Loos ‘29 had a beautiful moment where she pushed the ball into the circle where eventually Campbell Ardrey ‘26 was able to tip it into the goal with 30 seconds left on the clock in the third quarter. The team continued their strong play in the fourth quarter. Exeter was able to make good use of a quick breakaway and score once in the fourth quarter, but our team made sure to not allow that to happen again. We were extremely proud of the teamwork and communication we saw on the field throughout the game. Our players should be very proud of their efforts today! We look forward to playing away at NMH on Wednesday.
