News Detail
Maroon Falls to Oakcrest
The EHS girls JV soccer team fell 0-2 on Tuesday in another valiant effort on Coxe Field against visiting Oakcrest School. Clad in their all-black uniforms on another dreary, room-temperature day in Northern Virginia, the home squad fought hard from wire to wire, giving up just a single goal in each half and sticking together despite experiencing the seemingly Sisyphean frustrations of defeat.
After Oakcrest missed a penalty kick ten minutes into the game and keeper Sydney Hopkins ‘23 made huge diving saves at twelve minutes and fourteen minutes, the Chargers were finally able to push through a goal on a fortunate, pinball-style deflection to take the lead seventeen minutes into the contest. As with their last match, the EHS crew felt the rollercoaster of emotions of allowing a second goal to score shortly after the first, sending the Chargers shouting with glee, only to see the referee’s hand up to indicate offsides, no goal: the Maroon had held the line! The only other Oakcrest score came in the second half on a stunning shot across the box that rocketed into the top of the far corner of the goal, a nearly undefendable strike that left the Maroon with nothing better to do than tip their caps to the Charger attacker.
EHS’s best offensive attempts came from Chloe Cha ‘25 and Emma Walker ‘23 in the first half on runs right through the middle of the Oakcrest defense, and then in the second half from Natanim Bekele ‘25 and Lara Georgia Guimarāes Noronha ‘23, who had a thrilling give-and-go chance in the sixty-second minute. Caroline Bruns ‘25 added a last-ditch effort to score with a beautiful corner, but alas, the Maroon could not tuck it into the back of the net. The EHS goalies, Hopkins and Ruby Gonzalez ‘25, who each tended a half in net, showcased total confidence in stepping up off of the line to face the Charger attack, brilliantly executing strategy that the group had spent the previous week practicing. Defender Bella Duran ‘25 channeled her first-half frustration into powerful rebuffs of the Charger offensive in the waning minutes of the game, including a rare header on a ball descending from on high and even a save off the face (!), which left the crowd grimacing in sympathetic pain but couldn’t deter Duran even for a momentary substitution.
Perhaps most importantly, the Maroon never lost their spirit and illustrated beautiful chemistry even through another frustrating loss, demonstrating particular strength in this matchup with positional flexibility. Walker requested a shift to defense to shore up the back line, and played a near-flawless game from that point forward, anchoring the team’s goal prevention beside center midfielder and dear pal Bibs Riddell ‘23. Sophia Appiah ‘25 made the corresponding move up to offense, and added some of the High School’s best threats into Charger turf. The team will have only a single practice to regroup before facing a formidable Flint Hill group in enemy territory on Thursday.
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After Oakcrest missed a penalty kick ten minutes into the game and keeper Sydney Hopkins ‘23 made huge diving saves at twelve minutes and fourteen minutes, the Chargers were finally able to push through a goal on a fortunate, pinball-style deflection to take the lead seventeen minutes into the contest. As with their last match, the EHS crew felt the rollercoaster of emotions of allowing a second goal to score shortly after the first, sending the Chargers shouting with glee, only to see the referee’s hand up to indicate offsides, no goal: the Maroon had held the line! The only other Oakcrest score came in the second half on a stunning shot across the box that rocketed into the top of the far corner of the goal, a nearly undefendable strike that left the Maroon with nothing better to do than tip their caps to the Charger attacker.
EHS’s best offensive attempts came from Chloe Cha ‘25 and Emma Walker ‘23 in the first half on runs right through the middle of the Oakcrest defense, and then in the second half from Natanim Bekele ‘25 and Lara Georgia Guimarāes Noronha ‘23, who had a thrilling give-and-go chance in the sixty-second minute. Caroline Bruns ‘25 added a last-ditch effort to score with a beautiful corner, but alas, the Maroon could not tuck it into the back of the net. The EHS goalies, Hopkins and Ruby Gonzalez ‘25, who each tended a half in net, showcased total confidence in stepping up off of the line to face the Charger attack, brilliantly executing strategy that the group had spent the previous week practicing. Defender Bella Duran ‘25 channeled her first-half frustration into powerful rebuffs of the Charger offensive in the waning minutes of the game, including a rare header on a ball descending from on high and even a save off the face (!), which left the crowd grimacing in sympathetic pain but couldn’t deter Duran even for a momentary substitution.
Perhaps most importantly, the Maroon never lost their spirit and illustrated beautiful chemistry even through another frustrating loss, demonstrating particular strength in this matchup with positional flexibility. Walker requested a shift to defense to shore up the back line, and played a near-flawless game from that point forward, anchoring the team’s goal prevention beside center midfielder and dear pal Bibs Riddell ‘23. Sophia Appiah ‘25 made the corresponding move up to offense, and added some of the High School’s best threats into Charger turf. The team will have only a single practice to regroup before facing a formidable Flint Hill group in enemy territory on Thursday.
