President Trump to Nominate Christopher Wray ’85 as Next FBI Director
Jun 8, 2017
Sprinting away from Thayer defenders, midfielder Ashley Tucker ’18 pulled away from the pack and drove the ball past the goalie on Saturday to solidify a 2-0 win for Andover Field Hockey. Later in the week, Andover beat Lawrence Academy 3-1. The team’s record now stands at 3-0-1.
In the first half against Thayer, Andover’s defense played a critical factor in its success, turning away three consecutive corners to help the team earn a shutout win.
In an email to The Phillipian, Elizabeth Holubiak ’18 wrote, “Overall the game was tough and physical. We were faced with a lot of challenges out of our control, but we kept battling and were able to turn our frustration into motivation. The team did a great job supporting each other coming back with the ball. The overlaps and support from teammates helped us in our success.”
Although both teams entered the second half scoreless, Andover refined its passing sequences and ball movement. With goals from Tucker, as well as forward and Post-Graduate (PG) Payton Donato ’17, the team claimed a decisive victory.
Holubiak wrote, “Payton and Ashley both did an amazing job positioning themselves in the offensive circle to get a tip or rebound and were able to finish on those opportunities.”
Captain Beth Krikorian ’17 wrote in an email to The Phillipian, “Some calls didn’t go our way, but we channeled our energy into relentless effort. We kept it in our end the majority of the second half. The team is doing really well with our openness to constructive criticism. Everyone wants to be told what they can do better to help the team.”
On Wednesday, Andover successfully took control of the game by adapting and taking advantages of Lawrence Academy’s playing style.
Sarah Rigazio ’18 said, “Offensively we played very smart, drawing fouls and corners more than we have this season. During a timeout in the second half, [Head Coach] Kate [Dolan] and [Assistant Coach] Martha [Fenton ’83] told us to try our hardest to get the ball to the right side of the field because it was wide open. After the time out, our offense did a really good job of working that right side and using it to our advantage.”
Meghan Ward ’19, Charlotte Welch ’18, and Krikorian each scored goals for Andover, propelling the team to its third straight victory.
Ward said, “Offensively we did a good job getting the ball into the circle and taking a lot of quick shots. We created a lot of goal scoring opportunities by causing lots of corner calls.”
When asked about what the team needs to work on in preparation for its next game, Ward said, “One thing that could be improved upon before our next game is ball speed during our transitions across the field. We have a lot of talent in the backfield and with faster ball speed we could really work the ball up the weak side and to the net much faster.”
Andover will take on Loomis Chaffee this Saturday in the hopes of extending its winning streak.
