Girls’ Soccer Breaks Down Doors: Soxie Takes Home Refreshing 2-0 Win Against Deerfield
The girls’ varsity soccer team brought home a 2-0 win against Deerfield Academy on Saturday. This was the first win of the season for the team, following three consecutive losses.
The girls came off the two-hour bus ride to Deerfield with a strong desire to win. Lower Ogechi Nwankwoala explained that several players were injured and that many girls stepped up into different positions. However, they kept “a scoring mentality” in their minds and consistently took shots. “The team has really wanted a win for a while now, and we all knew that the ride back from Deerfield would be extra long if we lost,” Nwankwoala said.
Co-captain and senior Grace Pratt agreed. “We all came together as a team and said that we did not drive two hours to lose or to tie,” she said.
“The team has really wanted a win for a while now, and we all knew that the ride back from Deerfield would be extra long if we lost.”
Upper Anna Reaman scored the first goal of the game off a header. The assisting cross came from prep Abby Smith. Reaman knew Big Red how badly Big Red wanted the win. “Everyone on the team wanted to beat Deerfield,” she said.
Nwankwoala mentioned how Smith’s first assist “fired up” the team. “The key player in this game was Abby Smith,” she said. “She constantly took the ball down the line and made crosses.”
Prep Dennesha Rolle scored the second goal off a corner kick from co-captain and senior Daniela Nemirovsky. Nemirovsky was proud of the team’s aggressive attitude, which allowed them to get the ball first and create opportunities.
“I think the team was able to learn from our last few games in realizing that we can’t just go out, score and then lie back,” Nemirovsky said. “Because of this everyone stayed strong throughout the whole game to not only defend our early goal, but to go after another one.”
During practice the team has been working on defense and switching the field. Postgraduate Kat Cucullo explained how during this game, the girls applied their practice drills when midfielders cleanly passed to the forwards. However, she pointed out that the team was tired out by the second half. “We all have to work on our mental games when we aren’t doing so hot,” she said.
Cucullo admired senior Hannah Gustafson for her tough play as midfielder.
Pratt also praised Gustafon. “She works so hard in the midfield and even came back on after an injury,” she said. “She’s great at controlling the ball and distributing it where it needs to go.”
Upper Samantha Weaver also applauded a center midfielder, upper Lauren Arkell, for her “key plays” during the game.
With goalkeeper and senior Veronica Galimberti out from a concussion, senior Eloise Shields took over the goal and faced Deerfield’s offense. Other members of Big Red’s defense also stepped up to the challenge. Reaman described them as “a wall that could not be broken.” She continued, “The back line was consistently solid throughout the entire game.” Reaman praised Shields for her saves. Nwankwoala also credited the keeper.
“Deerfield took a decent amount of shots on her and every time she caught the ball,” Reaman said. “She was also very calm and I think she kept everyone else calm as well, even when Deerfield was pressing against us.”
The team’s next home game will be Saturday, Oct. 8 against Milton Academy at 1 p.m.