The Bromfield girls soccer team overcame the spirited play of No. 8 seed Hopedale in an away game last Friday night, outscoring the Blue Raiders 2-1 and advancing to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 5 quarterfinals.
The game was played under the lights on Milford High’s turf field, dampened by occasional spritzes of rain. The bleachers were packed with parents and fans.There was little breeze to interfere with airborne balls. Temperatures hovered near 50 degrees; bench players and fans alike wrapped themselves tightly in blankets and coats.
Co-captain Tilly Fitzgibbons (#24) hustles to the ball with total focus. Fitzgibbons would go on to score the second goal for the Trojans, cinching the team’s win. (Photos by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Bromfield maintained possession for much of the first half and was the first to score at the 20-minute mark on a shot by senior co-captain Nina Iverson. In the second half, senior co-captain Tilly Fitzgibbons scored the team’s second and final goal with 19 minutes remaining in the game, giving Bromfield what seemed a comfortable 2-0 lead.
Following Fitzgibbons’ goal, Hopedale called a timeout, and when the team returned, Hopedale striker Kaele Goode found a way to skirt past Bromfield’s defenders on the left and launch a ball into the Trojans’ far net, just beyond the reach of junior goalie Samantha Prouty, to score the Blue Raiders’ only goal of the game.
In the 12 minutes that remained, Hopedale fought to tie the game and send it into overtime while Bromfield’s offense fought to increase its lead, their shots stymied multiple times by Hopedale’s goalie. Hopedale had opportunities, but Bromfield successfully countered the team’s incursions, and the Blue Raiders could not capitalize on the two penalty kicks and one corner kick awarded in the game’s final moments. The goalies on both sides were busy, Prouty with eight saves for Bromfield and Hopedale’s goalie with seven.
Clara Ames #17 and Nina Iverson #15 watch as Iverson’s kick to the top corner of the goal eludes Hopedale’s goalkeeper for the first score of the game.
When the final whistle blew, Bromfield’s bench players rushed to the field to embrace their teammates and celebrate what has been a comeback year for the team. Coach Evan Woodworth is the girls fourth in three years and the team was plagued by injuries earlier in the season. Having lost or tied 11 straight games prior to Oct. 17, the team has turned a corner and won its last five.
Woodworth told the Press Friday evening that he couldn’t be prouder. “I think we started supporting each other, really trusting each other,” he said of the team. “We’re hitting our streak at the right time. We’re healthy now, and the girls are working really hard every day.”
Co-captain Fitzgibbons echoed Woodworth’s remarks. She acknowledged the season had gotten off to a rough start. “But we’ve really pulled it together now, … and come together as a team,” she said, noting in particular the team’s improved passing and teamwork.
By the time this article appears in the Nov. 15 edition of the Press, the results of the quarterfinal match against No. 1 seed Douglas (14-5-1) will be known. The Nov. 14 game promised to be among the team’s toughest. According to stats kept by the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, Douglas has scored twice as many goals as Bromfield this season, 66 compared to Bromfield’s 33, and has allowed only 15 goals compared to Bromfield’s 44. Douglas has an MIAA power ranking of 2.8775 compared to Bromfield’s 0.4840.
The game against Douglas was scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. at Grafton High School. The Press will publish the results online at harvardpress.com as soon as they are known.
