With a record of 1-4, no one would have guessed that the Girls Varsity Soccer Team could beat undefeated Governor Dummer on Wednesday. But they did, winning 3-1. “We were thrilled with our win,” said Goalie Melissa McDonald ’06. “It was an incredible game. Every single person out there played their absolute best.” The Girls also played Choate this week and lost 3-1. The GDA contest started with Julie Wadland ’06 in net, Kara Hollis ’07 at her new position on offense, and Jean-Marie Gossard ’05 taking her place at sweeper. With the knowledge of the Governor’s undefeated record, Andover did not play with high energy during the first half. GDA repeatedly took shots on net, but Wadland stopped all but one. With 30 seconds left in the first half, Hollis took control of the ball and brought it quickly up the field to score Andover’s first goal and tie up the game. Said Ali Holliday ’06, “Kara’s goal was amazing. She’s doing so well playing forward; she’s really determined to score all the time, and it’s making a difference in our game.” When the second half started, the girls went onto the field with a new energy and a determined attitude. Holliday gained control of the ball, blew through GDA’s defense, and scored two goals, finalizing the Blue’s 3-1 victory. “Ali scored two awesome goals, and Kara’s goal was equally unbelievable,” said Gossard. On Saturday, the Big Blue had to forfeit their usual warm-up because the team arrived late to Choate. Like in many games, the girls struggled to play their best in the beginning. “The fact that we didn’t really get to warm-up really through us off,” said Catherine Wright ’06. “We went into the game cold, and had a difficult time getting things together in the first half.” McDonald started the game in the net, and made some incredible saves that prevented a number of potential goals. However, Andover’s defense had a difficult time pushing back Choate’s offense, and Choate was able to score two goals. Said Kara Hollis ’07, “We went to the field late so we weren’t as ready as we could have been. Choate caught us on our heels in the first half. But besides a few bad calls, we dominated in the second half.” When the second half rolled around, Andover made a change on the field. Hollis, the team’s star sweeper, moved up the field to play offense. The change proved successful, as Hollis took control of the ball and brought it all the way up the field to score the team’s only goal of the game. However, the changes did not come soon enough in the contest, and the Big Blue lost 3-1. Gossard said of the game, “This game was the best game of our lives. GDA is undefeated- not anymore!”
