After a two hour drive up to Deerfield, the team proved they were ready to play. Lots of work was done since last Saturday's match against Berkshire and it was such a thrill to watch every single player show improvement over their playing last week. Girls were more aggressive in winning the ball, more daring with footwork, more accurate with passes, and more precise with shooting. The first half was dominated by Taft, with 19 shots on net to only 6 from Deerfield. Emma Beckford '23 demonstrated her aggressive spirit as she came out of the next for all 6 shots and made great punts down the field. It took the 15 shots by the team before Margo Kahler '22 completed the ball in the back of the net 25 mins into the first half. Five minutes later, Lauren Duque '25 made an excellent pass to Jane Walsh '24. A few beautiful passing sequences finished the first half 2-0. A goalie change for the second half put Lina Benabdallah '24 in net. Even though Deerfield had no subs in the second half, they came out ready to defend their field. Improving their shots on net to 9, Lina was challenged with many saves, mostly at ground level, that required bravery to attempt!! The defense gradually pushed Deerfield out of their end of the field, which lead to an excellent cross from Emma Beckford '24 (now playing forward) to Grace Denious '22, who sailed the ball over Deerfield's goalie into the back of the net. With 10 mins remaining, Coco O'Brien found herself on a breakaway from midfield and tapped it to the low corner, making the game 4-0. In the final 5 mins of the game, the Deerfield fan base grew around the field and the Big Green gained momentum. The distraction got the better of Taft and Deerfield scored their first goal with 14 seconds remaining. The game finished 4-1. The team will play Loomis at Taft, our first home game, on Saturday.