Martlets Fall to Deerfield

Traveling to Deerfield is never easy, and the team arrived on field just 15 minutes before the start of the game. Despite the short warm up time, the team was able to match up well for the first half until a strong drive from the Deerfield strikers found a resulting goal. Westminster locked down and entered the half down 1-0. Soon into the second half a Deerfield player outran the defense to score another. But soon after, Caroline Hebbeler ‘27 lofted a finesse pass to Gloria Oh ‘28 for an easy goal to make it 2-1. Deerfield played 4 strong defenders in the game, and they rarely left their positions in front of their own net. This may seem odd, but Westminster struggled at times by losing control of passes or lofting the ball right to the defenders who often stepped up with their strong distance kicks. On the shorter field where the game took place, this gave them an advantage. With 15 minutes remaining in the game, a deep pass from the Westminster defense found the opposing line, who returned the ball most of the field for a Deerfield striker to scoop up and quickly deposit in net for the game saving goal. Westminster could not find an answer or succeed in maintaining control of the ball for most of the second half. Even with the loss, the team continues to exemplify Grit and Grace, as they have all season, and they played hard to the final seconds. Strong efforts and awards for this game go to Mason Turton ‘27 who started for the first time this season and played the entire game, and to Gloria Oh ‘28 and Caroline Hebbeler ‘27, who continue to show incredible determination on the field. Gloria also played every minute of the contest. The final match of the season comes at home next Wednesday against Miss Porter’s.