Girls’ Varsity Soccer is consistently one of the best soccer teams in New England, and that remains the same this year as it has a record of 10-1-3. The girls are rolling as they haven’t lost since September 19, their second game of the season. They have absolutely dominated the competition this season outscoring all of their opponents 37-10. The team had a very difficult schedule this season, and captain Emily Clorite ’18 has expertly led this young team through a difficult stretch where the team played Pomfret, Taft, and Hopkins in a span of six days. Those games resulted in two wins and a tie, which is incredibly impressive because they played three talented teams and they did it in the span of a few days.
When asked about the season, Nicola Sommers ’19 said, “Our season has gone very well so far. Because we have so many new players, it took a little bit of time to adjust to playing with one another. However, once we figured it out, we were able to come up with big results.”
The girls have talent that very few schools can match. Goaltending is a strength once again this season as Jordan Small ’19 has played excellent all year. The team has a strong offensive attack this season led by Sommers, Erin Martin ’20, and Clorite. Thes defensive unit, anchored by Grace Stapelberg ’20 and Hannah Huddleston ’19, has also played outstanding this season. They also have two excellent coaches in Rick Koczak and Susan Farrell. These are two coaches with a high soccer IQ, and they are very knowledgeable about the game.
The Choate girls should be very confident heading into the Deerfield Day game as Deerfield has not won a game this season. The girls feel confident about their chances heading into the game, and when asked about the Deerfield Day game, Sommers said, “Considering Deerfield’s record, we are expecting to be able to walk out with a win; however, we all need to stay focused and make sure that we don’t let the excitement of the day get to our heads.” Choate and Deerfield have played many of the same teams this season, but the Deerfield team has fared very differently than Choate in these games. Choate beat Exeter 7-0, while Deerfield lost 1-4. Both teams also faced Worcester Academy and Choate won 2-1, but Deerfield lost 1-6. Deerfield hasn’t played in many close games this season, which includes a 0-3 loss to the Taft team that Choate beat 3-1. Clearly Choate has fared better than Deerfield in the games where they have faced the same opponent.
Historically Choate has fared very well against Deerfield. Choate has won the past two years on Deerfield Day, including a commanding 5-2 victory last season. In 2015 the girls also managed to get a big 4-2 win over Deerfield. The girls are a pretty safe bet to help Choate replicate the varsity sweep from last year’s Deerfield Day.