The Bromfield Trojans pushed Leominster to a tense 0–0 tie at home on Friday, Oct. 14.
The Trojans began the game with plenty of momentum, helped by the return of junior Kiley Russell, who had suffered an ankle injury the previous week. Sophomore Sophie Ragno, junior Nicole Bourque, and senior Liz Polimou remained out of play due to their injuries.
The Trojans started with the ball and swiftly took it up the field, managing a few shots on goal until the ball rolled out of bounds. On the sidelines, Coach Sue Silver could be seen shaking her head. “Step it up, white, step it up,” she said. Leominster tried to take advantage of its free hit, but sophomore halfback Sasha Fraser stopped the players at the 50-yard line. Bromfield took the ball once again up the field, received a free shot from the 25-yard line on a foul, and began driving the ball for a goal.
The rest of the first half was dominated by fouls and corners. Bromfield received its first corner for a Leominster foul but faltered, letting Leominster rush in to snag the ball. Then Bromfield recovered the ball, and senior Kate Connors took a shot on goal. Leominster fouled while attempting to block it, and Bromfield was awarded another corner. Once again Bromfield lost the ball, but Russell saved it and passed it up to freshman Ella Corbett, who took a shot. Leominster fouled once more while blocking the shot, setting up Bromfield for its third corner. Bromfield pushed the ball to senior Meghan Parlee, who crossed to junior Greer Jarvis. But Leominster arrived on the defense and angrily shoved the ball out of bounds, resulting in another corner for Bromfield. This time, Bromfield sent the ball to Corbett. When Leominster double-teamed Corbett, an illegal move in field hockey, Bromfield got another corner. This time, Leominster took the ball legally and advanced down the field. Although both teams fought hard, the first half ended with no score for either side.
The second half passed in the same manner, with Bromfield and Leominster controlling the ball equally and neither succeeding in scoring a goal.
Since the start of the game, Leominster’s JV and varsity players, standing in a line along the side of the field at the urging of their coaches, had loudly cheered their team. When Leominster won a corner against Bromfield in the final two minutes of the game, their cheers were even louder, leading Coach Silver to demand that her players do the same. Leominster did not score, but the cheering from both sides continued until the end of the game as each side’s fans and sidelined players urged their team to score and and break the tied game. As the final whistle blew, neither side had succeeded.
This week, on Monday, the girls played Narragansett and won 4–1. Connors scored twice. Junior Lauren Hadorn and Corbett each scored once.
Bromfield now has six wins, four losses, and three ties. The team is currently third in the Middle- Wachusett League’s Division D.
Bromfield will play Maynard away on Friday, Oct. 21, and again at home, on Monday, Oct. 24.
Kate Selig is a Bromfield sophomore.
