In the second to last week of the season for fall teams, Deerfield teams continued putting forth strong performances. This week also marked the second Green & White scrimmages for teams and the white teams held the record advantage posting a 4-6-2 record this week. The final standings will come down to this week’s results. Learn about each team’s week and stay tuned for this week’s results.
Watch Wednesday and Saturday’s varsity games on livestream.
Girls Thirds Soccer:
Despite the rain and cold temps, Wednesday’s game went off without a hitch. The girls played well and were much improved from previous contests. This week the green team prevailed with a 5-1 victory. The green & white series is tied 1-1 with two games to go.
Water Polo:
Robert Amundson’s last-second score after a wild scramble in front of the goal sent White to its second victory over Green in what has become a series of tightly contested games. Both teams are learning to play team defense and capitalize on the counterattack. The younger players are gaining game awareness by playing for long stretches, and that experience will prove useful in the coming seasons.
Boys Jr. B Soccer:
Quad squad combined with thirds for the Green and White scrimmage this week on Wednesday, October 28th. In an exciting, back and forth match, White won again, 5-4, to increase their season lead to 2-0. Alex Sotirhos ’24 opened the scoring in the 3rd minute of the first half to give White an early 1-0 lead. Jake Rohan ’24 struck for Green a few minutes later in the 7th minute to even the match at 1-1. Sotirhos responded with two more goals, in the 13th and 24th minutes, to complete the hat trick and give White a 3-1 lead. Just when it appeared that the game might get out of hand, Green scored twice in the remainder of the half to tie the match 3-3 at half-time. Jamie Weymouth ’23 scored in the 27th minute and Thomas Lu ’23 scored in the 32nd minute for Green to end the first half scoring. The White team didn’t waste any time in the 2nd half, with Barack Mwesigwa ’24 scoring in the 3rd minute to give White the lead once again at 4-3. A Landon Whayne ’24 goal in the 14th minute increased the lead to 2 for White and perhaps put the game out of reach. Green continued to attack, though, and pulled another goal back in the 28th minute when Davey Mazur ’24 netted a goal to trim the lead to 1. The last few minutes of the match were frantic, as Green looked for the equalizer. On the final kick of the game, Mazur hit the post, but somehow the ball stayed out of the goal and White escaped with the 5-4 win.
Girls Cross-Country:
Despite some uncooperative weather this week, the girls xc team did a great tempo mile and hill repeats workout, persevered through a rainy long run, and enjoyed some relaxing recovery runs and strength work. The highlight of the week, however, was the chilly 5k and 3k race that the girls ran on Saturday morning. They braved the cold weather, dressed in all black with pops of colour coming from fun socks, and tackled the Deerfield course with gusto. Members of the team who were unable to run made signs and came down to cheer on the runners, and then we celebrated the run with Hager’s apple cider doughnuts as we exchanged notes and candy for Secret Pumpkin. A great way to kick off Halloween weekend!
Boys Jr. A Soccer:
Though rain canceled a practice, the team remained dedicated to self-improvement, cooperation, and fun. Highlights included soccer volleyball and a wild round of World Cup. The most exciting moment of the week was our first 11-on-11 match, made possible by our collaboration with the Boys’ Junior B squad. Rather than facing off, we merged our rosters and created combined Green and White teams. It was a high-scoring game with lots of great moments up and down the roster, and our players came away impressed with the talent and diversity of skills shown off by their younger teammates. We hope to do it again this week!
Boys JV Soccer:
In our second week of Green vs White play, we saw the White team bounced back with a close 5-4 victory in the aggregate. It was a very close match with a late game winner from Jarvis Shema. We extended the field a bit and the guys worked the ball wider and deeper to take advantage. And overall, the communication and coordinated attacks were more fervent and successful. We followed up with more practice at these critical skills and the team has taken another step forward. We’re eager to see how the final week’s competitions take shape. Goals last week for White: Will Yang (2), Javis Shema (2), and Henry Barrera (1). Assists for White: Peter Aznar Klein (1) and Songa Rwamucyo (2). Goals last week for Green: Vignan Kamarthi, Malachai York, Peter Kurto, and Shane McCarthy. Assists for Green: Fahad Shabhaz (3), Peter Kurto, and Shane McCarthy.
Boys Cross-Country:
Last week was another thrilling one for DAXC as the runners finished off their hardest training of the season. On Monday, the harriers raced a virtual track 3k contest against some schools in the Founders League including one Connecticut-based school whose name rhymes with “goat,” “bloat,” “float,” and other such monosyllabic words that end with an alveolar plosive. While the contest was unscored as a team meet, our individual runners placed very well relative to their competitors, with nine DA runners placing ahead of the third runner from the aforementioned school in Connecticut. The rest of the week saw the DA harriers work through some adverse conditions to continue improving aerobic fitness with a long run, and one last VO2 max workout on Saturday, during which the runners impressed the coaches yet again with their remarkable improvements. Looking forward, the runners will begin their taper to allow their bodies to adapt to all the stress they have under gone and they will finish out the fall with two more hard, fast runs here on Deerfield’s track on the 7th and the 14th.
Girls Varsity Soccer:
Last week the girls varsity soccer team enjoyed another competitive Green vs. White scrimmage with a plethora of scoring opportunities for both teams and with several lead changes happening throughout play. The White team jumped ahead in the final period and the game ended, 6-4. In the scrimmage, both teams played their most connected soccer of the season and the previous week of training was illustrated in the run of play through the many different combinations in the attacking third and the great 1v1 defending and defensive cover in the neutral and defensive thirds of the field. Under our masks, there were a lot of smiles as teammates enjoyed playing the beautiful game! On Friday, the team held it’s annual Pumpkin vs. Ghost day; in costume the teams competed in a series of competitions, exchanging victories. In the final tic-tac-toe relay the pumpkins sealed the win. The team is excited for it’s final two scrimmage opportunities on November 4th and 7th. Go Big Green!
JV Volleyball:
In our second week of competitive play we saw our White Team take a quick lead in all 3 sets that we played. Green battled back in each set to keep the play competitive. Ultimately White won all three sets (25-23, 25-20, 25-20). Angie Osei-Ompadu led the White team with serving streaks of both 10 and 8 in a row. This certainly gave White the competitive edge. However, Green never gave up and came back from deficits in each set to tie it up but couldn’t convert those efforts to a win. We shift our focus this week to serve receive and this should set the stage for an even more exciting and competitive final week.
Varsity Volleyball:
Between intra-squad scrimmages and small-sided, competitive drills, we’ve been having lots of fun in varsity volleyball. We’ve also been improving a ton! Looking at video from the beginning of the season and watching our play now is like watching two different teams: our passes are crisper, our setting is more consistent, and our hitting and blocking are more forceful and intelligent. We’ve growth together as a team and it’s always a highlight of the day to be able to get into the gym to play some volleyball. We’re looking forward to our final two scrimmages as a team this week.
Thirds Volleyball:
Though they were rained out for the majority of the week, thirds volleyball made the most of their court time. In the few days they had, they were able to scrimmage often and continue practicing in-game situations. Since selecting designated setters, the players have been working hard at generating bump-set-hit sequences, which was clearly on display during the green and white scrimmage. The serving and bumping continues to improve, which in turn made for quite a few exciting back and forth rallies in-game, and we look forward to closing out the season on a strong note.
Varsity Field Hockey:
The score of this week’s Green & White scrimmage suggests the two squads are evenly matched, with similar strengths. The scrimmage ended this Wednesday once again with a tie score on the board. Lila DeLuca ’24 scored early for the white team, putting the team ahead by one early in the first half. The white team worked well together, cutting to passes and controlling possession of the ball. With leadership from seniors Eleanor Wenners, Talbot von Stade, and Hannah Roche the white team moved the ball easily up the right side of the field and made several attempts on the goal. During half-time, the Green team regrouped and re-strategized. They came back to the field with better communication and beat the white team to the ball in several midfield match-ups. The second-half was controlled by them. Juniors Maddy Zavalick, Ainsley Hubbard, and Grace Dumond controlled their defensive end and pushed the ball up to the Green forwards. Lexi Watson ’24, tied the game up with a shot to the boards. Both goalies had some action and both teams had a chance to practice several of their corner plays. They’ll return to the field to play each other again on Wednesday, November 4th.
Boys Varsity Soccer:
Last week, Green and White played to a 2-2 draw in a spirited match down on the Boys Varsity soccer field. White jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and carried much of the play before Green settled down and stormed back to tie the game at 2 with under 10 minutes to play in the match. The final minutes saw excellent scoring chances for each side. We look forward to the rematch on Wednesday. In addition to our Green and White scrimmages, we also have several other competitive matches that make up a season-ending tournament. On Monday, Kiwi City SC won our 1st annual bench game tournament with Mango FC and Papaya United coming in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Football:
The Big Green football team had another productive week of competition. The scrimmage saw a strong defensive effort behind Casey Reynolds and his 2 interceptions. Griffin Schutz anchored a strong running game behind an impressive offensive line. This year’s line is an athletic and explosive group centered with Joe Lochiatto ’22 and also paced by postgraduate Grant Jones. Grant and Joe have lead the way up front all fall with their size, physicality and athleticism. On Tuesday the team broke into groups of 3 for a skills competition that included throwing a med ball, QB net accuracy challenge, sand bag hold and relay race. This competition was very intense and in the end the team of Grant Jones, Griffin Schutz and Toby Fernandez came out on top thanks to Toby Fernandez taking first place in the QB net challenge. Great stuff from all of the teams. Next week we will attack the month of November with the leadership of our awesome senior class. Stay tuned for more updates from this talented group.
JV Field Hockey:
We continue to work hard when the weather is good, and this past week had to manage both colder temperatures and the occasional rain-soaked afternoon. Consequently, we had just one practice before our second refereed scrimmage on a chilly Wednesday afternoon. And for a second time this season the team experienced that feeling all of us miss so much: great competition, working really hard together, meeting with success as everyone’s hard work pays off, and being happily exhausted after the group effort. It was too cold that afternoon for our usual post-game conversation, so we put off the shout-outs until our next practice. Since on Fridays a couple of the players typically join their out-of-season teams, we decided to celebrate Halloween together on Thursday with the full team. In non-Covid times, in good weather, this fun practice includes costumes, pumpkin carving and silly field hockey-related games. Not so this year. But our senior captains, always eager to make their own fun, rose to the challenge: the three girls organized surprise Halloween treat bags for each player, labeled them with each girl’s name, and then hid them in the Koch building (first floor only!). After the girls successfully found their treat bags, we re-convened for Wednesday’s shout-outs, and then headed outside—under a tent, in the rain—to enjoy local cider and cider donuts. Quite a week! Everyone is looking forward to our final weekday scrimmage this coming Wednesday, followed by Saturday’s Green & White Day to cap off an unusual season. But a good one nevertheless!
Girls JV Soccer:
This week our team showed positivity and progress in the face of adversity. We have showed immense progress in both our style and our spirit of play. The girls spent this week focusing on conditioning, team bonding, and our work with the Thirds team. On Monday we had our team picture taken and, after many attempts, we were able to find the right one. On Tuesdays, Junior Varsity and Thirds have continued to play small 7 on 7 scrimmages. We try to have the scrimmages focus on ball movement, defending, and taking good shots. This acts as the warm up for our Green and White game. Green defeated White in a stunning 5-1 loss. The White team had many opportunities to score but failed to capitalize. Green played amazing team soccer and were able to make plays that allowed for easy goals. The game was competitive with Green only pulling away at the end of the second half. The series between the two teams is now even. With Thursday being Halloween, our team celebrated with trivia and candy. The girls costumes were great and we all had a good time celebrating a COVID-friendly Halloween.