Field Hockey Brings Second-Half Intensity, Still Falls to Brooks

Exeter field hockey journeyed south this week to Brooks Academy and came home empty-handed with a 0-1 loss, dropping the team’s record to 4-3-3. The girls’ current record, however, does not reflect the team’s capacity accurately—this season, Moxie has landed more than twice as many shots as the opponents so far, outscoring them 22-9.

The athletes practiced hard before Saturday’s game, coming off a 2-0 win over Tilton Academy. The girls ran corner drills and shooting drills all week at practice, trying to capitalize on and improve their ability to finish shots on net.

With a rigorous practice under their belts, the players arrived at Brooks ready to come away with the win. “I think we went into the game expecting it to be a good one,” upper Irene Chun said. “I think we were a little caught off guard by the aggression that Brooks had.”

“We had our prep, Michaela O’Brien, in goal, and she killed it—making some terrific saves at the end of the game that really brought up the team’s energy and kept us in the game.”

In the first half, the team fought well against Brooks, fending of their offensive attacks and striking back with their own, but Brooks executed an almost perfect corner, threading a shot through the defense and into the goal.

The team went into halftime down by one, but they believed they could bring it back and were encouraged by some of the seniors on the team. “At halftime I think we were a little frustrated because we struggled to move the ball up the field,” upper Bonnie LaBonte said. “I could tell our team was hungry for some offense. [Seniors] Courtney Peyko, Noa Siegel and Bronwyn Shields showed great leadership and kept us focused.”

With an aggressive approach fresh in their minds, the girls came out hard in the second half, striking often and playing well defensively. Unfortunately, the girls were unable to score, and they left the game with the same 0-1 deficit they entered the second half with. The team did play exceptionally well in the last ten minutes of the game, but it was their inability to play this well for the whole game that ultimately lead to their demise.

Despite the loss, there were some notable contributors to the team effort versus Brooks. “We had our prep, Michaela O’Brien, in goal, and she killed it—making some terrific saves at the end of the game that really brought up the team’s energy and kept us in the game,” upper Caroline Colbert said. Colbert went on to reassure Exonian fans that the team has great depth.

Moving forward, the team hopes elevate their level of play and their ability to put the ball in the back of the net.“I think we need to stay hungry,” LaBonte said. “Ralph W. Emerson once said ‘Nothing great was ever achieved without great enthusiasm,’ and I think our team needs to get excited and come out firing for the start of every game.”