Girls’ Soccer Falls to Choate in 0-1 Match

The girls’ varsity soccer team lost 0-1 against Choate Rosemary Hall on Saturday. This was the first home game of the season for the girls. Last year, Exeter’s game against Choate was its toughest loss of the season, with a final score of 0-5.

Both teams battled it out during the first half. However, the ball remained on Big Red’s defensive side throughout most of the game. Upper Louisa Bartkovich described Choate as “a solid team” that created several combinations between its offensive and defensive players. She continued by saying that their defense was “very sound” and disrupted its offensive plays.

Bartkovich praised fellow teammate and upper Jen Zecena for her aggressiveness on the field. “She would step up against the other team even though they were twice as big as her,” Bartkovich said. “She did an amazing job putting her body in and getting the ball and then kicking it back up the field.”

“There were some opportunities to score, but we need to work on connecting more offensively.”

Another star player during this game was Exeter’s goalkeeper, senior Veronica Galimberti, who remained composed and consistent throughout the long game. Upper Samantha Weaver admired Galimberti for having “a great game” and making “some truly incredible saves.”

Senior Hannah Gustafson agreed with Weaver. “Our goalkeeper was a very valuable player in this game,” she said. “She faced a lot of shots on net and corners which she handled very well.”

Choate was only able to score once, in the second half after Exeter’s defense had worked tirelessly to get them out of Big Red’s half. “Although the score was close, the ball was definitely in our defensive half for the majority of the game,” Weaver said. “We barely had any opportunities to score, which is something we will have to work on for our next match.”

Gustafson pointed out that the team had difficulty taking shots in the “attacking third,” which is the third of the field that contained Choate’s goal. She attributed this problem to the communication errors between the attackers and strikers, as well as the spacing issues across the field. “I think everyone needs to talk more next game in order to have more success on offense,” she said. “Our defensive communication improved this game, but it needs to be better on all parts of the field.”

Bartkovich commented on the team’s improvement since last year. Big Red was able to shut down Choate’s attackers, lessening their goal count. “We need to work on more combinations, but I feel like our team is a lot more cohesive than last year,” she said.

Co-captain and senior Grace Pratt agreed with her. “I think the game was quite close, especially in comparison to last year,” Pratt said. “There were some opportunities to score, but we need to work on connecting more offensively.”

Co-captain and senior Daniela Nemirovsky applauded Pratt for her work on defense, saying, “She’s always a key player and it really showed in this game.” Nemirovsky said that she’d like the team to work on maintaining possession on attack to open up more opportunities to score. “I’m really proud of how our team held our own against Choate,” she said. “Our players matched the aggression of those on Choate and stayed organized against their strong attack.”

The girls’ next home game will be Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 3 p.m. against Holderness School. Earlier in the season, the teams faced each other and Big Red won 2-0. The girls are hoping for support from a home crowd.