Varsity Field Hockey delivered a thrilling performance on Downing Field, resulting in a 1-1 tie against Taft’s team, ranked 22nd in the country.
Before Taft Day, the team had a record of 11-2, one of its strongest showings in the past several years. Captain Steph Ionescu ’24 described the team as “defensively dominating,” noting that they had only let in eight goals all season.
Team members went into the match with Taft with high spirits, despite facing a team with an undefeated season. Ionescu ’24 said, “We were able to push our worries aside and capitalize on Taft’s weaknesses. Taft was used to scoring a lot during games. They had an average of 6.1 goals per game. We focused on playing defensively strong to not give Taft the opportunity to score.” Possession of the ball was shared fairly equally during the game. Midway through the second quarter, Taft scored the first goal. But the Bearcats bounced back. Annabel Raffin ’24 scored with an assist from Mia Griffith ’26, bringing the score to 1-1 to close out the first half.
The energy around Downing Field was electric going into the second half as both the blue mob and Taft’s traveling supporters converged on their respectivce side lines. Loud cheers and vibrant support from both sides encouraged the players.
During the team’s halftime discussion, Head Coach Kate Leonard ’06 emphasized the importance of taking shots and being present for rebounds.
The teams continuously fought for the ball during the second quarter. Ionescu ’24 said the players were “giving it everything they had’’ in the last few moments of the matchup.
When the final whistle was blown, the score was tied, which sent the game into overtime. Field hockey overtime consists of two ten-minute halves. If the score remains tied after the overtime periods, the game ends as a draw. Penalty shoot-outs are only used in playoff games. Each team had extremely close shots on goal to no avail. Overtime concluded with no additional points scored, officially marking the end of the long-awaited matchup as a tie.
Varsity Field Hockey made NEPSAC Class A playoffs as the #4 seed, and played Noble and Greenough on Downing on Wednesday, November 15th. Taft was the #1 seed and played #8 Deerfield.
