A Gritty First Battle

Carrying a bench depth of one or, at times, zero, the Mustangs had to learn on the fly a style of playing that conserved energy. Despite battling exhaustion throughout the game, the Millbrook girls did something incredible: they made a concerted and persistent effort to apply skills and concepts covered during practice to their playing. Brooke Sheftel bought for her team precious additional seconds of possession by using her body to shield the ball from her defender. Sophia Bortner found several opportunities to provide an easy square pass for her teammates. Lisette Lacroix successfully ran her defender off the ball in pursuit of possession. Captain Hannah Crystal, who also scored Millbrook's goal, made great use of the sideline to open up passing lanes and progress the ball up the field in the second half of the game. Leah Frost found huge patches of open pitch playing on the left wing. Elena Shan made a concerted effort to encourage offensive opponents to the sides of the field. Annabelle Pratt consistently communicated what her teammates couldn't see from their positions on the field. It was a great first game for the Mustangs, and we are grateful to Rumsey Hall for the contest.