Tahir Hasanov ‘25
Nov 3, 2023
On October 21, Mercersburg Academy’s girls tennis, girls soccer, girls field hockey, and boys soccer teams traveled to The Peddie School for their annual MAPL matchup. Peddie is a consistently strong opponent and the games were critical match-ups for Mercersburg’s teams. Field hockey player Ava Guzic ‘25 commented, “Other MAPL schools are usually really competitive. Out of all of them, Peddie often gives us a really good game.”
The girls tennis team was busy last weekend, competing in back-to-back MAPL matches. On Friday, they played Blair Academy and won 4-3. However, Peddie, a contender for the MAPL championship, was a considerably stronger opponent. Head coach Mike Sweeney said, “At Peddie we only managed to win one match, the #3 seed doubles team of Anezka Pospisilova ‘26 and Ava Marathe ‘26 came away with a convincing 8-1 victory. At #1 seed, Hisano Enomoto ‘25 played one of her better matches of the season, coming up just short against a strong opponent.” The final score of the match was 0-7 for Peddie. The team dropped 2-3 in the MAPL as they head into the final tournament on Saturday.
Similarly, the girls soccer team competed in consecutive matches last weekend. The team played first against Perkiomen School on Friday and won 4-0. However, the match against Peddie the next day was more challenging. Madison Goodheart ‘24 said, “In preparation for Peddie, we have been practicing a lot of set plays, and strategic passing for our offense. Coach Pixler has done a great job of keeping our practices new and fresh, while also focusing on some details that can elevate our game from good to great.”
The Falcons controlled possession for the majority of the game, but the Blue Storm’s defense held firm in the face of attack. The team’s single goal came from Grace Rachals ‘24 assisted by Nina McDowell ‘25. The game ended in a 1-1 draw. The team poasted a 0-4-1 record in the MAPL as they head into their match against The Hill School.
The field hockey squad also played back-to-back MAPL contests last weekend. They lost to The Hun School of Princeton on Friday 6-0. On Saturday, the team shifted its focus to Peddie. Guzic said, “Last year, we beat them in double overtime plus a shootout!”
Although the score didn’t go their way against Peddie, the team was able to accomplish many of the goals they had set in practice. Maria Rihn ‘24 said, “On the offensive side, we made use of stick handling and ball movement up the sides of the field to get possession in our circle. On the defensive side, we played containment defense and worked to make sure every dangerous player was covered when the ball was moving towards our goal.” The final score of the game was 0-4 for Peddie.
Rihn added, “Unfortunately, many of the official calls were not in our favor, and, at one point, we had to play two players down. Regardless of this, our team hustled and continued to communicate, maintained spacing, and stayed hungry for a win, which I could not be more proud of!”
Unlike the other teams, the boys soccer team played a single game on Saturday. This match marked the third last game in the regular season, so the team prepared rigorously. Dave Nguyen ‘24 said, “In practice, we tried to improve on some of our problems from previous MAPL games. We watched film, and practiced specific aspects of the game in preparation for Peddie.”
The game itself was extremely intense, remaining scoreless through the first and most of the second half. Nguyen added, “Towards the very end of the game, Peddie scored 2 goals off free-kicks. It was an unfortunate way to end a largely even game.” Despite the loss, the team was able to play one of their best games so far this fall and now head to the final phase of the season.