Erin Martin ’20 scrambles for the ball in a recent game.
On a cold and gray Wednesday afternoon, Girls’ Varsity Soccer hoped to set the pitch alight with a strong performance against their Founder’s League rival, the Loomis Chaffee Pelicans. However, beating a Loomis team that Coach Rick Koczak branded “one of the best we’re going to see all season” would prove far from easy for the Wild Boars. Both teams came into the game with impressive undefeated records, foreshadowing the close-matched nail-biter to come.
Trouble manifested itself right from the kickoff in the form of an early Loomis goal, sending Choate down 0-1 against a team that rarely concedes themselves. At that point in their season, the Pelicans had only given up three goals in three games, having scored nine in that same time frame.
Halftime couldn’t come soon enough for the threatened Choate team, but it was then that the momentum shifted in favor of the Wild Boars. As Coach Koczak put it, the game was a tale of two halves. Clearly, whatever the girls discussed at halftime flipped a switch.
Right from the second half’s kickoff, chances for Choate’s offense began popping up left and right, with Sydney Jones ’17 in charge of finishing up front.
Erin Martin ’20 and Samantha Brown ’20 certainly made names for themselves, being two of the most creative players on the pitch in the second half. Co-captain Lexy Cook ’17 found herself involved in multiple battles inside of the box.
On defense, co-captains Elise Cobb ’17 and Morgan Harney ’17 battled hard to shut down Loomis’s offense, with Leah Salzman ’17 providing both defensive and offensive support on the flank. The Wild Boars were relentless, taking advantage of corner kicks and threatening the Pelicans’ defense with persistent attacks.
With just three minutes to go in the game, Jones cleaned up the rebound from a shot by Cook, leveling the game at 1-1.
Loomis made sure to park the bus for the rest of the match, settling an incredibly exciting game at 1-1.
Coach Koczak was buzzing at the electric finish to a well-fought match. When asked what was the most important moment of the game, he simply replied “halftime,” before elaborating: “At the start of the second half, our mental composure completely took over. That allowed us to play how we wanted to play instead of chasing like we did in the first half. We gained some experience out of this.”
In terms of the team’s performance, Coach Koczak couldn’t have been more complimentary. He stated, “Defensively, I thought we were stellar. On midfield, they worked their tails off, and up front that was just a great game of soccer. Both teams should be proud of their performances because this is what you want in the Founder’s League.”
Girls’ Varsity Soccer takes on Phillips Academy Andover this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Make sure to come out and support the team for what is sure to be another exciting contest!
