Girls’ Water Polo Defeated by Deerfield and Greenwich

This past Saturday, the girls’ water polo team played Deerfield Academy and Greenwich Academy. Their first game was against Deerfield, and Exeter was favored to win because they had defeated them 14-2 just over a month earlier. Their other opponent, Greenwich, was a dominant team that had not lost all season, so the girls expected a challenge. Unfortunately, Big Red lost to both of the teams, but they put up a good fight. Their current record stands at 3-8.

A common theme for this year’s team has been close losses, as they have lost five games by just two points or less. Their game against Deerfield was no different, and the girls lost 8-9. Their second game was not as close because Exeter was tired and Greenwich was a stronger team, and Exeter lost 12-19.

The girls started off their game against Deerfield with a couple of quick goals. Prep Issy Wise’s sharp shooting gave Exeter the lead and they held it for the majority of the game, but their opponents gradually closed the gap. Deerfield’s team revolved around one star player and it was important for Exeter to shut her down. Big Red was contained Deerfield’s strongest player in their game a month ago, but they struggled in this game.

Although the girls faced off against tough teams, they knew that they could play better.

“We needed to do a better job dropping on Deerfield’s best player, number five, because she could make a shot from anywhere,” lower Maddie Shapiro said. Deerfield tied the game up in the final quarter, and then they took the lead. Exeter made a valiant effort in the final minutes to send the game into overtime, but to no avail.

Demoralized and exhausted after their opening loss, the Exeter girls went straight into their next game against Greenwich. “The second game was predictably very hard for us, as Greenwich is a strong team with some girls who play year round,” Wise said.

Nevertheless, Big Red kept things interesting and did not let the lopsided game get out of their hands. The offense for both teams was very strong, with both teams scoring many goals. Greenwich stayed in the lead for almost the entire game, however, and they finished the high scoring game on top. Even though Exeter lost, many of the girls felt that playing against a team with tremendous talent was a good experience and that they learned a lot.

One of the issues Exeter had in both games was maintaining possession on offense. This was mainly because they had a tough time breaking out of their zone and transitioning down to the other end of the pool.

“We need to work on squaring once we get back on offense. It was hard to get the ball from our goalie to our offense since no one was open,” upper Emily LaRovere said.

Although the girls faced off against tough teams, they knew that they could play better.

Big Red’s 3-8 record is slightly disappointing when compared to last year’s 8-6 record. With only three wins this season, Big Red will not qualify for the Liquid 4 tournament, which takes only the top four teams in the league. Exeter has been in the tournament for many consecutive years, but they will not get the chance to compete for a New England championship this year.

There are only three games left in the season. They will play against Suffield and Choate is this Saturday.