I had that feeling of profound dismay that you get when you realize that your team is going to lose. Fieldston missed a shot, and a Collegiate big man corralled the rebound and got fouled to shoot free throws. Like a professional golfer strutting down the eighteenth hole at the end of a successful day, the foul shooter triumphantly made his way to the line, carried by the roars of teammates and fans. It was over. Oh well… what a battle.
But then, clank and clank. The Collegiate player missed both of his free throws and Sophomore Justyn Rogers pulled down the board for Fieldston and called timeout. Fewer than 10 seconds remained, and the Eagles were down by three. It was suddenly a game.
After the timeout, Fieldston inbounded the ball to Senior leader Andrew Sofer at the midpoint line, who immediately called his team’s final timeout. Suddenly, a shred of hope trickled down the bleachers where some Fieldston fans had journeyed to see their team play.
With only a few seconds left on the clock, the referee at midcourt handed the ball to Kyle Axelrod (VI) on the sideline. Sofer — who had positioned himself close to the ball — quickly broke toward the far sideline. Axelrod whipped Sofer a chest pass near the center of the court. Sofer took a dribble or two to his right and threw up a fading prayer from barely inside the halfcourt line. For a brief moment, I could’ve heard a pin hit the hardwood. Sofer’s shot was true, evening the score, and Fieldston’s supporters went ballistic. Long story short, two nerve-racking and brutally physical overtimes later, Fieldston squeaked out a victory, 91 to 82.
January 20 was a huge day for Boys Varsity Basketball Head Coach Cliff Brooks. His Eagles went into Collegiate’s gym and took down a previously undefeated Dutchmen squad.
“It showed we are progressively getting better as a team,” Brooks said after the game. “Also it gave us confidence that when we do the intangible things fundamentally it makes US a very competitive team night in and night out against the elite teams in our league.”
Feeling hyped up after a truly program-building road win, Brooks raved about the energy that his group brought.
“[We were] recklessly focused, gritty, hard-nosed and passionate — all attributes that define who we are as a team,” Brooks proudly continued. “Many I’m sure never would have expected US to have that type of resolve as a team.”
The Eagles’ win over Collegiate marked their third victory in a row, and they would go on to beat Trevor Day on January 21 by a margin of twelve points, 60 to 48.
But then, with Fieldston carrying the momentum of a four-game winning streak, along came Poly on January 23. Poly Prep came into the nest and stymied the Eagles’ offense, routing the home team 53 to 34. It was a tough loss to swallow, but thanks to a couple of snow days, the Eagles had a week to physically and mentally recover and turn their attention to their Winterfest bout with league rival Hackley. And recover they did.
Fieldston came out with the same pop and toughness that they played with during the Collegiate game and put the “win” in Winterfest. The final score was Fieldston 53, Hackley 43.
Now standing at 11 and 6, the Eagles look to eventually make a run at a league title. With senior leadership from Sofer, Axelrod, and Jack Upton, and production from talented Sophomores Justyn Rogers and Gabe Ravetz, this bunch has the firepower to make some noise in the postseason.
In other Winterfest news, Savannah Stern (VI) and Girls Varsity Basketball lost their Winterfest matchup with Hackley. Hackley Junior point guard Sammy Mueller led the charge for her squad a controlled the tempo throughout the night. The Eagles didn’t have an answer for her ability to penetrate the lane and either score or dish the ball to open teammates.
Fieldston’s Varsity Swim team had a similarly difficult day in the pool. Both the girls and boys fell to visiting Poly Prep, 67 to 100 and 66 to 103, respectively. Despite the scores of their games, however, the girls won seven out of the eleven races at the meet, co-captain Jessica Lipton (V) conquered her own school record in the 200 IM with a time of 2:21.12, and the boys were able to end the day on a high note by winning the final 400 meter relay.
Lastly, Varsity Ice Hockey continued its winning ways with a 3 to 0 shutout of Brunswick.
“It was a good week,” Captain Karan Reddy (VI) said after the game. “We’re starting to get on a roll and we’re going to need all the momentum we can get for Harvey on February 4.”
