The Bromfield Trojans girls soccer team defeated its Hopedale Blue Raider opponent Friday, Sept. 17, by a score of 3-2, for their third victory in three games this year.
Bromfield’s senior co-captain, Grace Bilodeau, led the charge for Bromfield right out of the gate, first cutting through Hopedale’s defense and hitting sophomore Susannah Wright with a pass. Wright’s shot off of the pass was caught by the Hopedale keeper, but Bromfield had the offensive edge from the first whistle.
On the next possession, sophomore striker Casey Magrath fooled the Blue Raider defense with quick step around a defender, and dashed through the defense to put a hard shot on goal, but the Hopedale keeper deflected the ball back outside the penalty box. Bilodeau, however, capitalized on the loose ball, and gave Bromfield the lead with a bullet in the top right-hand corner of the net.
Bromfield kept their foot on the gas through the remainder of the half, paced by midfielder captains Emma Rothkopf and Bilodeau, along with Magrath, and eventually the pressure paid off again. Junior midfielder Kaya Phillips hit Bilodeau with a throw-in from the near sideline, and Bilodeau found the right corner of the box for her second goal in as many shots.
Coming out of halftime, Hopedale looked to come back with an offensive charge 10 minutes into the half. Senior striker Sarina Lathrop cut through the Bromfield defense with quick feet, and her strike from outside the 18-yard line went past the extended arms of Bromfield’s keeper, and captain, Aly Marteney. That goal brought the Blue Raiders within one goal.
Lathrop’s goal was one of the Bromfield defense’s lone mistakes of the game; the defense allowed just six shots in the whole game. Marteney finished the game with four saves.
However, Bromfield’s opponents could not contain Bilodeau, whose footwork led to another goal 15 minutes into the second half. Bilodeau sprinted hard past a defender and abruptly came to a stop, surprising three Hopedale defenders. She then chipped the ball over the defense to find senior Margaret Kibbler on the left side of the penalty box, where Kibbler finished the shot on the ground to the far side of the net. This extended the Bromfield lead to 3-1.
Hopedale added a goal late in the game, but it was too little, too late, and Bromfield walked away victorious, making their record 3-0-0 on the young season.
After the game, Bilodeau saw some areas in which she thought her team could improve. She said that “no game is going to be given to us” and that “we have to play hard and get the job done.” Bilodeau looks for her team to stay hungry going further into the season, saying that they cannot let up. “Nothing is ours,” she added.
Bilodeau had two goals on four assists in three games, while Magrath has one goal and three assists on the young season.
