Martlets Defeat DA

Westminster showed up to play today as they returned to Hovey field to take on a strong Deerfield squad. From the sound of the first whistle, the Martlets competed for every ball, trusted each other on the field, and played the team game that they have been looking to play all season. In the opening minutes, Westminster showed their commitment to team defense in the midfield by redefending each ball hard, and they dominated the possession by using the entire field to transfer the ball and spread the Deerfield press. The Martlets capitalized in the final minutes of the first quarter, when Liv Fernandez ’23 hunted down a loose ball in the Deerfield circle after a beautiful transition up field. Fernandez sent the ball to the far post and it went through several defenders before soaring past the goal line and into the back of the net. After regrouping at the break, Westminster continued the fast pace of play and scored just over a minute into the second frame when Fernandez jumped to a ball on the press and carried deep into the left side of the circle to send a cross ball in front to Mckenzie Bloom ’23 who was ready to deflect it into the back of the cage. Bloom added another just minutes later when she ripped a shot at the top of the circle just after she and Lily Vincent ’25 displayed incredible defensive play to regain possession from the Deerfield defense inside the attacking 25. Olivia Gordon ’24 added one of her own before halftime when she corralled a loose ball off of a rebound while on the back post on a penalty corner and firmly sent the ball to the back of the cage to bring the score to 4-0 Westminster. After a Deerfield timeout, Westminster’s defensive corner unit, led by Cassie Goundrey ’23 in net, shut down five Deerfield corners in a row in the final minutes to keep a clean sheet heading into halftime. The second half saw more back and forth play, with Ava Lynch ’23 and Margaret Dilks ’23 showcasing solid defense in the backfield. Dylan Bloom ’24 had an outstanding day on the defensive end and her outside midfielders, Hadley Crowther ’25 and Allysen Whitehead ’25, both did a great job supporting off ball and holding position for outlet and transfer options. McKenzie Bloom struck again in the final 90 seconds of the third quarter when she received a pass from Olivia Emerson ’24 off of a well executed penalty corner and sent a reverse shot to the back of the cage with traffic in front. The fourth quarter saw a full team effort to hold off a hungry Deerfield squad and keep the score at 5-0 in favor of Westminster. The Martlets are proud of their efforts today to play a complete 60-minute game and will use this momentum to prepare for the final game before the long weekend after Kingswood-Oxford on Saturday afternoon.