The temperature at Parsons Field on Wednesday, Nov. 8 may have been sub 40-degrees, but the girls varsity soccer team still brought the heat in a 4-0 win over the Needham Rockets in the playoff round of 16.
The game started off strong, with the Warriors playing heavy offense against the Rockets. After multiple opportunities, center forward and junior Makena Hammond scored. However, the teams still seemed equally matched. Team captain and junior Sydney Freese said that she was worried about the game.
“We knew this was going to be a really tough game because we’ve lost to them this season. But of course, we’ve grown since then,” Freese said. “I knew that if we put all our effort and energy out there that we would pull through.”
The Rockets fought back but could not gain any significant traction against the secure Warriors defense. Goalkeeper and junior Julia Churwin said that the team has yet to be scored on during playoffs due to the defensive players.
“Our defense has done a great job shutting them out. We look like a different team,” Churwin said. “Through the back, we’ve been able to play super well and up top.”
The defense consists of three players: junior Babette Hall, freshman Haley Ament and sophomore Mirabelle Keselman. The trio was synchronized and precise on the field. They moved together as one entity while simultaneously communicating with each other and Churwin throughout the game.
After their halftime huddle, the Warriors shed their warm-up jackets and went back on the attack. Multiple attempts on goal were made, but the Warriors finally broke through with a pass from Freese to captain and junior Anna Leschly, who then scored. Soon after, Leschly scored once again. She maneuvered up through the Rocket defense from center field and scored unassisted.
Freese said that because every game they play could be their last, the team always gives it everything they’ve got and hopes to continue.
“Everyone on our team has been saying, ‘We’re doing this to keep going, we don’t want to stop,’” Freese said. “We want to keep having practices and team dinners together because [playoffs] are the best part of the year.”
As the game continued, the Rockets offense made several attempts on goal, ultimately leading to no change in score. In the final 10 minutes of the game, they could work together and put up a strong fight but were no match against the impenetrable Warriors defense.
Head coach Ben Peters said the Warriors were on a roll throughout the game.
“From the first second of the game, to the last second of the game, it was utter domination,” Peters said. “We controlled the game from start to finish.”
The Warriors were quick and decisive with their passes. Towards the end of the second half, Leschly scored a third time, resulting in a final score of 4-0. Peters said he feels good about the team’s chances against Wellesley on Friday, Nov. 10.
“I feel confident,” Peters said. “We’ve played them twice this year, and we‘ve beat them twice, but I know they’re going to be stepping it up, so we’ve got to be on our game.”
