Field Hockey Starts Season at Jamboree: Girls’ Team Ties Twice After 90 Minutes of Play

The girls’ varsity field hockey team participated in a jamboree against multiple different schools this past Saturday. These scrimmages were only practices, so the scores of each game were not as important as the learning experience for the Exeter team.

Big Red faced off against Nobles, Brooks and Lawrence for three 30-minute games. These three teams usually give Exeter a taste of how the season will go because they are all around the same skill level as the rest of the teams Exeter will face this season.

“We saw some nice things from returning players, and the players’ impact is definitely going to make a difference this year.”

Lower Catherine Griffin said, “We were about evenly matched with our opponents, but we played mostly defense.” The team only lost once in a 1-2 game and then tied their other two games. The girls feel optimistic after being able to keep up with all three teams, and they hope their performance will carry throughout the season.

The team had many successes in each of their games during the jamboree. The chemistry between all 11 players on the field was evident as they all worked well together and communicated well. Exeter excelled when they were transitioning from defense to offense because they worked the ball quickly up the field with accurate passes.

Even though the team excelled in many areas of their play, it still has a few key skills to refine if they want to improve. Lower Michaela O’Brien explained that the team “needed to improve on making better decisions.” Griffin added that they “still need to work on taking more shots on goal.”

The team plans to improve in these areas so that they can be more successful on offense. O’Brien followed up by saying, “Those are things that will easily come with the season and everyone feels very optimistic.”

After 90 minutes of play, the team was definitely exhausted, but it was well worth it. One of the highlights from the day was senior Michaela Corvi’s goal. Griffin explained that Corvi’s goal was her favorite moment from all three games. The team expects to put up many more points on the board during the rest of the season.

The team rotated the full roster onto the field so that everyone had the chance to play a decent amount of time. This opportunity enabled the new players to practice playing with some of the more experienced returners in a real game.

Coach Melissa Pacific commented on the mesh between new and old players. “We saw some nice things from returning players, and the players’ impact is definitely going to make a difference this year,” Pacific said. The team hopes to integrate the newcomers into the team’s system as fast as possible.

Exeter field hockey has a busy schedule ahead; after playing Groton yesterday, they will play Milton this upcoming Saturday. The team plans to translate their momentum from the jamboree into their future games and start the season off with wins.