Deerfield Day didn’t go as planned this year, but every team still played well. Here’s a recap of 5 of the biggest games from Deerfield Day.
Varsity Volleyball: The Choate girls dominated from the first serve until the final point. Deerfield made the Choate girls work hard for the win, but Choate handily won all three sets. After the game, Julia Mackenzie ’19 said, “ We were expecting to win, but Deerfield definitely showed up to play. Their defense was what made the game so much fun to watch and be a part of.” After the second set the gym began to fill up with Choate fans, who had just arrived on campus, and the team seemed to get an energy boost playing in the gym filled with Choate fans. The third set was a display of domination by the Choate girls. The excellent play by Lani Uyeno ’19, Mackenzie, Zeynep Ozturk ’19, Blake Migden ’19, and captains Elyse Cornwall ’18 and Anabel de Montebello ’18 helped seal the victory. The victory was made sweeter by yet another playoff qualification.
Boys JV Soccer: Despite their desire for a win and undefeated record, Boys JV Soccer only managed to come away with a tie in a 0-0 game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. The team had a lot of talent this year and it showed in every game, but despite their ability as a team, they just couldn’t finish any of their opportunities against the Deerfield defense. When asked about the game Quico Vargas ’19, one this team’s key players, said, “It was a tough tie. We definitely expected to go out with a bang, but just weren’t able to put it in the back of the net. We were definitely the better team.” Joaquin Antunez-Tierney ’19, Will Wildridge ’19, and Tagan Farrell ’20 played excellent in the game against Deerfield. Goalie Max Patel ’19 was a brick wall at the net once again and he was one of the reasons that they had a chance to win. The boys had a remarkable season that they predicted back in the beginning of the season when Jake Nadzam ’20 and Ethan Wedge ’19 said that they believed “there is a good possibility that we go undefeated this season.” A disappointing tie on Deerfield Day shouldn’t dampen the excellent season that this team had.
Boys Varsity Soccer: Boys Varsity soccer exceeded expectations this season and had high hopes heading into Deerfield Day. However, Choate suffered a tough 4-2 loss to Deerfield. One Deerfield player had the game of his life, scoring 4 goals against a Choate team that has the best defense in their league. Choate got both of its goals from freshman phenoms, as Sean Kish ’21 and Tife Agunloye ’21 both had incredible goals that helped keep the game within reach. As usual, captains Zach Lopes ’18 and Sebi Barquin ’18 played excellent and they are a big part of the reason that this team had such a good season. Choate was missing starter Dilibe Iloje ’18, as he was suspended for receiving a yellow card in the previous game. It was a tough loss, but making the playoffs certainly served as consolation.
Girls Varsity Soccer: Girls Varsity Soccer lost a shocking 4-3 game to the Deerfield girls on Saturday. After Choate went up early, Deerfield came back with 3 unanswered goals to take a commanding 3-1 lead. However, the girls performed admirably and almost mounted an amazing comeback. Captain Emily Clorite ’18 played an outstanding game. Erin Martin ’20 also played an excellent game as she consistently beat the Deerfield defenders. Nicola Sommers ’19 was all over the field making plays and keeping Choate in the game. The girls had several scoring opportunities where they came close to tying the game, but they just fell short. Clorite had an excellent volley off a great cross by Martin that just went over the net and Cici Curran ’20 had a shot from in close that rang off the crossbar and rolled towards the sidelines. In the final few minutes Choate tried desperately to move the ball up field to get a shot, but Deerfield was doing everything they could to run out the clock and win the game. The Choate girls had an amazing regular season that had a disappointing ending, but like Boys Varsity Soccer, can take solace in making the playoffs yet again.
Varsity Football: The other undefeated team on campus went into the game facing the strongest Deerfield team in years. Deerfield had a record number of post-graduates this season in hopes of providing a real challenge for Choate. Their efforts proved to be futile, as Choate left the Emerald City with a 28-7 win. The game was surprisingly close at first, as the score was tied at 0 halfway through the first quarter. As the offense sputtered, the defense stood tall and continued to shut Deerfield down. Quarterback Joe Young ’18 looked excellent, easily evading the Deerfield pass rush all game. Noah Pope ’18 scored the first touchdown of the day and terrorized the Deerfield backfield all day. Hunter Burns ’19 was a force on defense effortlessly creating turnovers and scoring the second Choate touchdown of the game from one of those turnovers. Shane Sweitzer ’18 ran all over the Deerfield defense as Deerfield needed multiple players to tackle him every time. He also played hard, physical defense and at one point annihilated the Deerfield quarterback, much to the crowd’s enjoyment. When asked for his thoughts on the game Jaiden Cruz ’18 said, “We were ready for a fight, we got one, and we executed our assignments until we came out with a win.”
Despite having some tough losses it sets Choate up for a rebound year next year when the rivalry returns to Choate. The Choate teams have a lot to prove on Deerfield Day next year.
