Girls’ Water Polo Defeats Deerfield

This Saturday, the girls’ varsity water polo team hosted Deerfield for their first game of the season. Both teams came out strong, but it was Exeter that came away with a win. The final score was 14-2.

The game started with neither team scoring for the first three minutes, but Exeter ended up lighting up the scoreboard first. After Upper Emily LaRovere scored the first goal with a great rebound, Deerfield responded only seconds later with a goal of their own. Big Red played with high intensity offense, making it hard for their opponents to defend, and Exeter was able to take a two-goal lead at the end of the first quarter. Senior Madison Hillyard explained, “Our team played hard and won because everyone brought their best game to the pool.”

Throughout the game, the girls stressed the importance of communication, which helped them work together as a unit. Hillyard, the goalie, led the team from within the net, yelling orders and support to the rest of her teammates. All seven of Exeter’s players in the pool worked well together, making good passes and shutting down Deerfield on defense. The girls held Deerfield to only one goal in the first half. “Number five was their best player and we played really hard defense on her so she only scored once,” LaRovere noted.

“They all played as a team and definitely were looking to find open players in the pool. It’s crazy how good they were after only 11 days of ever playing.”

In the third quarter the game settled down with both teams trading possessions, but neither of them scoring. Exeter’s core group of starters stayed in for the majority of the first half, but many substitutions were made once the team was out to a comfortable lead. Many girls agreed that it was good to see some of the less experienced players in the game and making solid contributions.

Lower Maddie Shapiro commented on the team’s depth. “I was super proud of our new girls today,” she said. “They all played as a team and definitely were looking to find open players in the pool. It’s crazy how good they were after only 11 days of ever playing.”

Exeter’s tough practices have helped get all the new players up to speed. With such depth, the girls were able to extend their lead even with all the starters resting on the bench. Out of the team’s 14 goals, 7 were scored by first-year players. Not only were the newer players able to score points, they also were excellent on defense, letting in just one goal. The entire team’s individual achievements in the game boosted their confidence and gave them valuable experience.

The girls will spend this next week in practice working on being comfortable having possession of the ball, which was something that they struggled with during the game. Also, they will continue to improve their conditioning so that they will be able to out-swim their opponents.

With one win on the season, the girls hope to take this momentum into their next few games. This coming weekend, they will play two away game against Williston Northampton School and Loomis Chaffee. Loomis finished third overall last season and Exeter finished fourth, so it should be a close match.