The last time Deerfield failed to receive a postseason invite “was my freshman year,” recalled the four-year starter, “and take it from me, making the tournament is certainly a much more enjoyable way of ending the season.”Īs for the key to Deerfield’s success during her career here, Shilling feels as though the wins are more a result of the way the team plays rather than who’s playing. Shilling, the other co-captain, who is averaging more than a point a game (3-5-8) as the midway mark beckons, will be seeking her third straight tournament appearance next month. “We’ve done pretty well for ourselves so far, and that tie with Hotchkiss has given the girls a real confidence builder,” she admitted, “but with other perennially strong programs such as Loomis, Taft, Westminster, Andover, and defending champion Greenwich yet to play, we’ve still got a long way to go.”ĭeerfield’s offense is well rounded, as Maggie Shilling ’14, Ashford, Lytle, and Hamilton top the team scoring charts, with the Big Green averaging three goals a game. “I’ll never forget it … it was so exciting.”Īlthough her team is in the midst of one of its typical fast starts, Veiga, who has chalked up a 20-9-2 record through her first two years as head of the program, prefers to take it one game at a time for a few more weeks before allowing herself to even think about a possible tournament invitation. “It’s the biggest goal of my career,” said Hamilton, who was immediately mobbed by her teammates.
The ball popped up in the air and by that time I had gotten over to the front of the net and I just hit the ball right out of the air and into the net. “I passed the ball into Caroline Ashford ’14, who took the shot on goal,” explained Hamilton. The Smith College bound defenseman has figured into the Deerfield stat sheets rather frequently due to the fact that “I set up the corner shots,” and that’s exactly how she scored against Hotchkiss. As a junior, she produced nine points on five goals and four assists, and so far this season, she has accounted for two goals and set up four others. “It showed us early on that we can compete with the best teams in the league as well as the best teams in New England.”ĭespite the fact that Hamilton plays defense, adding a little punch to the Big Green offense is nothing new for her. “Tying Hotchkiss was a huge confidence builder for us,” said Co-captain Julia Hamilton ’14, who posted Deerfield’s lone tally of the game. When Greenwich Academy bested the Bearcats in overtime during last fall’s tournament finale, it closed out a string of 10 consecutive years that Hotchkiss had won the New England crown. Earning that tie was made even sweeter by the fact that not too many other teams have beaten or tied Hotchkiss over the past decade or so, either. “We hadn’t beaten or even tied Hotchkiss in recent years,” said Coach Kristen Veiga of the 1-1 deadlock. It’s that tie, however, that might impress the tournament brass more than some of those wins and it certainly has created quite a buzz in the Big Green camp. The team has jumped out to a 5-0-1 record and has outscored its opponents by a commanding 18-5 margin.
20 is in the offing.ĭeerfield has done just about everything it possibly could this fall to catch the eye of the NEPSAC officials. And, as the Big Green hits the midway mark of its 2013 campaign this Saturday, it would appear as though invite No. This storied program raised the curtain on its 24 th season last month and will be seeking its 20 th tourney invite when it lowers the curtain next month. The names and faces have obviously changed during the 24 years of the program’s existence, but its address hasn’t-and that’s made it easy for New England Prep School Athletic Council tournament officials to so frequently summon Deerfield Academy to “Come on down!” The postseason has simply become an extension of the regular season as far as Big Green field hockey is concerned.
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