by Olivia Muller-Juez ·
Friday, May 27, 2022
The Bromfield girls varsity lacrosse team beat the Hollis-Brookline High School Cavaliers 15-6 on Thursday, May 19, in a home game.
It was Bromfield’s last game of the regular season, one showered with yellow cards as well as rain. After this slippery victory, the Trojans head to playoffs ranked fourth in their statewide division by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletics Association, with a win-loss record of 14-1.
Under a slate-gray sky, the referees handed out seven yellow cards, five of which went to Hollis-Brookline. All calls were for either dangerous pushes or checks to the head. The rule book states that after three yellow cards, the offending team must play minus a player and will lose another player for every subsequent yellow card. With 20 seconds left in the first half, a third yellow card was called on the Cavaliers, and they played shorthanded for the second half.
With this advantage, Bromfield widened its point gap from 7-4 to 10-5 in the second half. The Trojans then made a string of five goals 15 minutes later, after the Cavaliers received another yellow card and lost a second player for the rest of the half.
With 15 minutes left in the game, there came a sudden downpour. Several players and a ref slipped on the slick fields, and the scorekeepers huddled under a table to protect the scorebook. There were no serious injuries, and the rain had passed by the end of the game.
Bromfield coach Maesa Phongsamouth said they had to deal with some “weird circumstances,” but that the Trojans adjusted well. “I think it’s hard to get beat up like that, especially since they had so many cards, but we played well and played through it.”
The top scorers for Bromfield were senior Julia Mara and sophomore Kristin Podgorni, with four goals each. Phongsamouth particularly congratulated the substitute goalie, senior Ashley Sampson, who made seven saves while temporarily replacing co-captain Peyton VanDorpe, who was out with COVID-19.
Phongsamouth had conflicted feelings about leaving the regular season behind. “It’s sad because I’ve been with these seniors since seventh grade—we both started together—but they’re ready for the playoffs,” she said. “They’re really clicking and playing well with each other, so I’m excited to see how far they go.”
Bromfield’s first game in the upcoming MIAA Division 3 tournament has not been determined, as the tournament brackets for the playoffs have yet to be released.