On Wednesday, Sept. 30, Bromfield lost 3–2 at Lunenburg in its first defeat of the season. On Friday, Oct. 2, Bromfield faced Gardner at home in the rain and won 4–0.
The Lunenburg game proved the most intense of the season thus far. Senior forward Suzy Opalka and junior forward Kate Connors scored Bromfield’s two goals. At the start of the first half, Bromfield, unused to the fast speeds and transitions possible on turf as opposed to grass, struggled to match Lunenburg’s passing speed but adapted quickly, dominating the second part of the first half. Lunenburg players cut in front of their Bromfield opponents to intercept passes, which was one of the game’s deciding factors. Over the course of the game, Bromfield’s transitioning improved as players crossed the ball to change fields. Captain Opalka reflected, “Once we got a goal, we gained energy and started to play together with a purpose. If we had the intensity that we had at the end of the game in the beginning, then the outcome might have been in our favor.”
Messy half
The first half of the Gardner game was messy, with the referees choosing to call few fouls. Bromfield scored in the first 20 seconds and went on to score three of its four goals in the first half. Scorers included Opalka, senior forward Maddie Ragno assisted by Opalka, Connors assisted by senior midfielder Lily Moore-Eissenberg, and sophomore midfielder Chandler Farley. Both teams wrestled with slippery sticks in Friday’s cold fall rain, and players on the bench huddled together for warmth. By the time the horn blew to signal the end of the second half, every player was soaked and chilled to the bone.
With a record of five wins, one loss, and one tie, Bromfield is well on its way to qualifying for Districts. The team needs 18 points to qualify and currently has 11, each win counting as 2 points and each tie counting as 1 point.
Bromfield was scheduled to play at Maynard on Wednesday, Oct. 7, and at Oakmont’s turf on Friday, Oct. 9.
Lily Moore-Eissenberg is a senior at the Bromfield School.
