Groton vs. LA

On a day where the wind chill dropped temperatures into the 30s (~3 °C), Groton’s penultimate match came against cross-town rivals, Lawrence Academy.  Cold conditions were clearly affecting the state of play generally, as both sides struggled for a foothold in the opening 20 minutes.  LA found it through the skillful play of their wingers, one of whom produced a searching ball that another one of their attackers finished neatly after rounding Groton’s goalkeeper, Sixth Former Ben Milner.  Groton rebounded immediately, which was a pleasure to see, as Third Former Ettore Monson slotted in from a nice through ball from Sixth Form standout Leo Serodio less than a minute after going behind.  From that point in the match, Groton began to assert more dominance, especially in the final third, hitting the bar and seeing several shots turned away by LA’s impressive goalkeeper.  The go-ahead goal came in the 32^nd minute after Leo robbed an LA defender and finished into the bottom corner.  The second half followed a similar script, as Groton hit the bar two more times before finding a third after Third Former Alex Holden rounded LA’s keeper thanks to a lofted pass from Monson that split the defense.  Serodio bagged his second of the night with a precise header from Second Former Jiayang Kang’s cross, allowing Groton a bit more breathing room to see out a satisfying victory.  Next up (and our final game of the season): we’re away at St. Mark’s next Saturday (11/11).