Soxie Ties Milton in a Riveting Match
On Saturday, the girls’ varsity soccer team, nicknamed Soxie, travelled to Milton Academy. The two teams had an intense back and forth game before ending up tying. With a final score of 2-2, Big Red’s updates its season record to 1-5-1.
“This training really came through in the game as both our goals were either from a corner kick or a cross.”
After a narrow 0-1 loss to Governor’s Academy on Wednesday, the team was fired up to redeem itself. Senior and co-captain Anna Reaman said, “At this point in the season, our team is really starting to pick up momentum. The team did a great job of bringing that energy and positivity to Milton.” Senior Sammie Weaver explained the team’s methodical preparations. She said that practicing corner kicks and crosses turned out to be rewarding for the team. “This training really came through in the game as both our goals were either from a corner kick or a cross,” Weaver said.
The energy and excitement the team had was immediately evident in the game. Within minutes of the game starting, upper Juliana Merullo ran in on a cross from lower Robin Potter and kicked it past the goalie. Reaman explained that Merullo’s goal boosted the team’s spirits and set the tone for the rest of the game. However, Milton countered with their own goal near the end of the first half, tying the score at halftime. Soxie brought a similar level of intensity as the second half began. Not long after the second half started, prep Alli Hanlon scored a header off a corner kick delivered by senior Louisa Bartkovich, once again putting Exeter into the lead. However, in the last few minutes of the game, Milton scored off the rebound. This resulted in the tied final score, a disappointing ending for Soxie.
Weaver attributed this result to the team’s loss of focus during the second half of the game. “After scoring the second goal we became too intent on not losing that we let Milton tie the game,” she said. Weaver elaborated that the team should maintain their offensive and aggressive mindset throughout the entirety of game instead of backing off near the end. Upper Gillian Quinto echoed Weaver’s sentiments saying, “We just need to make sure to finish it off in all these very close games and make sure our shots are all on goal and in corners.”
Being at the midpoint of their season, members of the team recognized the progress and improvements the team has experienced since the beginning of the season. Quinto explained that the team has improved on bringing the intensity from the get-go, evident by their early goals. Additionally, Weaver praised the team for its improved teamwork and collaboration in games. “As the team only has nine returning players from last year, our cohesion is improving with every game,” she said. “We are stringing more passes together and getting a lot more shots on net.” Reaman agreed with Merullo and also added that the team’s “communication has improved on the field because we are becoming we are more familiar with each other.”
Soxie’s next game will be this Saturday at home against Northfield Mount Hermon. With a home turf advantage and hopefully a lot of support from the faculty and student body, Big Red will look to improve its season record.