by Jackie Pollack
Zoe Maxwell (class of ’18) has been a tremendous asset to the women’s soccer team at Brown University since she graduated IHS. Her team had a fabulous season after winning the Ivy League title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately on November 22nd, Maxwell’s season came to an end after losing to the defending champs Florida State University in the second round of the tournament.
The team ended their season with a record of 15-2-2 and set a new bar for the program. Maxwell believes her team definitely exceeded expectations on how far they would advance in comparison to last season.
Maxwell said, “From the very first practice we had during the preseason, I had a good feeling that we would attain a lot of success this year.”
In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Brown defeated Monmouth University in penalty kicks. Despite this great victory, Brown had to combat Florida State University in the second round.
Ending with a score of 2-0 in favor of the Seminoles, Maxwell said, “Florida State is a very good team, and they out possessed us. We struggled with our unforced errors in our defensive box and sparking successful counter attacks. If we improved on those aspects, the result would have been different.”
The end of the season was bittersweet for Maxwell, but she was glad the seniors finished their careers in an outstanding manner. However, she is impatient to get back onto the field to compete in this one of a kind environment.
Though the official soccer season came to an end, the team still has demanding practices during the week. The practices average two hours long, but become less frequent out of season. Balancing school work with soccer is not too troublesome due to Maxwell’s strong support system.
She said, “My team is full of the sweetest, funniest, and most hard working people I have ever met. Everyone is on the same page of what our goal is and how we’re going to get there. I think our success this year was due to everyone wanting the best for each other and for the team as a whole- everyone played their part.”
Zoe’s mentality has greatly improved from last season as she gained more confidence from each game. Her grace and effortlessness with the ball has only improved this year, while she averaged eighty four minutes on the field per game.
Maxwell’s favorite moment of the season was on senior night when they clinched the Ivy League title after beating UPenn.
“Having our whole team storm onto the field and hearing the crowd go crazy after we won was an amazing feeling, and definitely one of the best experiences I’ve ever had,” said Maxwell.
She looks forward to next season and hopes to advance to the NCAA Tournament again.
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