This week, Deerfield teams kicked off their green and white scrimmage schedule. The matches were closely contested across the board. Collectively, the white teams posted a one-game advantage over the green teams; the white team’s record for the day was 6-5-3 and the green teams followed closely posting a 5-6-3 record. This week’s match-ups are sure to be exciting!
Girls JV Soccer:
This week, the JV team had great energy and effort. On Tuesday we combined with the thirds team to work on some game situations, and play each other in a cross-field scrimmage. By fine tuning our skills, the first official Green vs White scrimmage on Wednesday went really well. The game was very even, with some great play from both teams, but with some impressive shooting, the White team won 2-1. We want to thank all of our volunteer goalkeepers for their efforts, who made the game very tight. After two more intensive days, on Thursday, the JV squad had a more relaxed day, where we enjoyed some cider and apple cider donuts, and played a fun game of World Cup. The team has had great attitude and energy, and with only two weeks left together, we look forward to their continued effort and positivity!
Boys Jr. B Soccer:
Quad squad split into two teams for the first Green and White match of the year on October 21st, with White coming away with a hard-fought 4-2 win. Because the teams were playing 9v9 on a full field, the match was divided into 4 12-minute quarters. It didn’t take long for the scoring to begin, with Heskey Samu ’24 netting a goal in the 2nd minute to stake White to a 1-0 lead. He followed up again in the 7th minute with a long-range goal to give White a 2-0 at the end of the 1st quarter. After a scoreless 2nd quarter, Jake Rohan ’24 scored in the 5th minute of the 3rd quarter off of a Samu cross to give White a 3-0 lead. In the 8th minute, Barack Mwesigwa ’24 hit the crossbar with a long free kick for the Green team, but Davey Mazur ’24 was there to knock in the rebound to cut the White lead to 3-1 heading into the 4th quarter. After an Alex Sotirhos ’24 goal from a corner kick in the 3rd minute, it looked like the 4-1 White lead was insurmountable. Walter Burkley ’24 made it interesting, however, scoring for the Green team in the 6th minute to cut the lead to 4-2, but that would be it for the scoring. Quad squad will be back in action with another Green and White match on October 28th on the lower fields, with Green looking to even up the season series.
Water Polo:
Although the weeks of work on technique helped each player improve, the opportunity to test those skills in competition has enhanced everyone’s play. The coed squads have played twice, and each contest has been decided by a single goal. Shifting players in and out of the action, the coaches have ensured that every team member has seen significant action. With three remaining contests, both squads look forward to employing new offensive plays and to committing further to team defense.
Girls Varsity Volleyball:
We’re always looking to have a good time while we play volleyball and this past week we did that by doing some fun, competitive drills. For example, we challenged ourselves to games of “golf” where pairs of players had to pass the ball down the court, *under* the net, and then turn and hit the antenna with their final pass. It’s both a good time and a great way to work on fundamental volleyball skills. We’ve also been working with each of the position groups (outside hitters, middle hitters, right-side hitters, setters, and defense) on specific skills and strategies that make them more effective players. We’re looking forward to getting to apply this practice to our scrimmage on Wednesday!
Varsity Field Hockey:
On Wednesday, the players were divided into their Green and White teams for our first official scrimmage of the season. On a full field with two refs, the 14 players were challenged. They finished the 60 minutes tired, but they fought hard for their teams until the very end. White dominated the first half of the 7 v 7 scrimmage, with freshman Lila DeLuca finding the corner of the net towards the end the half to give the white team the first lead. Green responded during the second half, improving their ball movement and layering. Lexi Watson ’24 scored and tied up the scrimmage! The score remained 1-1 till the final whistle. The two teams are eager to return to the field and see who will come out on top this Wednesday.
Boys Cross-Country:
This past week, DAXC carried what will likely be their peak training load for the season. For their Monday long run, the top harriers hammered 12 miles on Green River Road (averaging 6:35/ mile), while another group hit 10 miles, and the rest of the team looped around the Deerfield area to get their aerobic training. After a Tuesday recovery run, the whole team honed their racing edge with a Wednesday VO2 max interval workout: 1200m & 1000m intervals with short rest. With some good hard running on their legs, the runners focused on recovery for Thursday and Friday in anticipation of a Saturday asynchronous race against Williston Northampton. Unfortunately, the team was unable to travel or practice on Saturday. The squad rebounded with an incredible race on the track on Monday. Green NARROWLY got the win with 27 points to White’s 28. Chase Whitney ’22 won the race in the 11th fastest 3k in school history (9:20), and Quinn Hampson ’22 took second place with the 14th fastest time in school history (9:24). It was a truly beautiful race for the rest of the team, too; 6 guys under 10:15, 9 guys under 10:30, and a ton of huge PRs. Also, every single boy went through the first mile of the 1.8 mile race faster than their preseason 1 mile time trial. A small group of fledgling runners did a one mile race, and all of them absolutely demolished their preseason time trial. Jerry Zhou ’22 went from 8:10 in early September to 6:59!
Girls Cross-Country:
The girls xc team had a rollercoaster of a week this week, as they found out on Wednesday that an asynchronous race against another school had been confirmed, only for that race to have to be unavoidably and unfortunately cancelled on Saturday. The girls kept their spirits high, however, and many of them went out and enjoyed a run on Saturday, regardless. In terms of the training program, earlier in the week the girls did their first 800s workout on the lower field, which were challenging, but the girls absolutely crushed them. Some of the team also went on a long run on the trails on Thursday – we are all trying to make the most of the beautiful fall before it is over!
Girls Thirds Soccer:
The team had an exciting week as we transitioned into our Green and White game series with the JV team. Both teams played hard in a close game. The 2nd half showed improvement all over the field, but especially on offense. Both teams generated lots of shots to make it an exciting match. We are looking forward to this week’s rematch.
Boys JV Soccer:
This week, the JV Boys Team took part in their first day of inter-squad matches. The Green and White team kicked off their first of three Wednesday game days, where they played three periods of 25-minute games. For the first game, each side claimed a goal with sophomores Peter Kurto and Songa Rwamucyo scoring for the Green and White team, respectively. In the second period, Kurto scored again for the Green team, but with the help of sophomore Jarvis Shema, the White team was again able to hold on to a 1-1 draw. For the final playing period, Kurto continued delivering for the Green team, nailing in two-goals for his side without a response from the White team. With such tight contests, Wednesday’s play-day was a stellar way to jump into competition-mode. However, the most exciting part of it was seeing players showcase the soccer skills they had work hard to cultivate earlier in the fall season. This glimpse of soccer development promises to make the coming weeks just as exciting for both Green and White.
JV Volleyball:
This week was our first week of competitive play. Our White Team narrowly edged out a victory over our Green Team with a final score of 2-1. The White Team demonstrated their strengths, especially the Setting skills of Grace Stone and consistent and strong serving by Jean Chun. The Green Team nearly pulled off a comeback with outstanding defense displayed by Megan Ng as well as great Setting by both Olivia Konar and Clara Chae. However, unfortunately, we can only have one winner. Regardless we are all cheering for each other and having fun doing so. We learned that our teams need to remain calm under-pressure and that the skills we have accomplished this season have created a high-level of play and much better understanding of the game. We are looking forward to our next 3 games!
Thirds Volleyball:
In their first scrimmage of the season, the Green Team defeated the White Team 3-0 in three closely contested games. Newcomers Corrine Cunningham and Lauren Kim delivered timely aces for Green, while returner Julia Shulman set up her fellow returners Zoe Matias and Simi Lawal with accurate passes. The White Team fought hard, led by outsize contributions in the back row from newcomers Aly Gonzalez and Amelia Tyler, while first time players Zed Deas and Chloe Ramirez saw their first official action. Both Green and White look to build upon their positive momentum heading into the next week.
Girls Varsity Soccer:
This week the girls varsity soccer team focused on attacking and defending team concepts. In addition, we introduced and rehearsed some in-direct set pieces. On Wednesday, in our first official green and white scrimmage of the season, the girls varsity soccer team donned their green and white uniforms for their 10v10 full-field scrimmage for three 20 minutes periods. Both teams had great moments of possession play that resulted in goal scoring opportunities. The white team jumped ahead to an early lead and finished the game ahead 7-1. The green team showed their determination and grit by creating opportunities until the final whistle. With every minute of play, the team chemistry on the field grew. We look forward to building on that chemistry and continuing to raise our level in this week’s scrimmage. Go Big Green!
JV Field Hockey:
During the week of Oct. 19th the JV field hockey team enjoyed another mix of events. Monday and Tuesday we worked on conditioning and skills, and had the ‘green and white’ working in their respective teams to hone their ability to work together. focusing on play inside the 25, we alternated which team was on defense and which was on offense in order to practice corners, communication, and marking in the circle. On Wednesday during our full field scrimmage the teams were evenly matched as the score went back and forth, one moment with white in the lead, the next with green in the lead. Near the end of the game a 3rd goal was scored with less than a minute to spare, leaving the game in a tie, 3-3. A highlight was the fact that captain Whitney Spater ’21 scored a hat trick as her teammates assisted with well-executed passing. After working hard to finish strong during the scrimmage, we decided to make Thursday’s practice a hike to the rock, knowing that the weather, and leaves, would be turning soon. It was a picture perfect fall day with temperatures near 70 degrees, and the view from the rock was as spectacular as ever. The team enjoyed their bonding time, making videos and taking pictures to file away in their memory banks. We finished the week focusing on defensive strategies, using the last bit of sunlight to end with a game of “Queen of the Circle.”
Boys Varsity Soccer:
Boys Varsity Soccer had their first Green and White scrimmage last week with Green grinding out a 4-3 win. It was a hard-fought match with some good, constructive play. Unfortunately, we had a few injuries early on in the game and had to adjust numbers and the size of the field. Green jumped out to an early lead and was able to add on to make the game 4-1. White showed a lot of heart and determination and climbed back in to the match and nearly tied it in the closing seconds. We’re looking forward to our next match and continuing to raise our level of play.
Football:
This week the football team’s focus was all about points. In 99% of professional, collegiate and high school football games the team that scores the most points wins the game! With that in mind our team attacked our red zone and goal line focus with the mentality that we need to count by 7’s and not by 3’s. In practice the competition level continued as we saw great matchups in man to man coverage. The explosive plays carried over to the live action in the scrimmage where both Donnie Gray and Elic Ayomanor tallied touchdown catches of over 40 yards. Griffin Schutz notched a bunch of powerful runs and capped off a touchdown drive bulling into the endzone from the one yard line. Christian Reavis ’23 made some big defensive tackles and Donnie Gray created a big play with an interception on the first drive of the scrimmage. This group continues to grow stronger together and it is fun to see our young players sharpening their skills every day. Big things ahead as we move into November which has become known as championship month for the Big Green!!