The Girls Varsity Soccer team split its two games this past week. The team shut out Deerfield 3-0 in an excellent performance on Saturday, but fell to a premiere BB&N side 4-0 this past Wednesday. On Saturday, the Girls Varsity Soccer team traveled to Deerfield to secure a 3-0 victory. The girls put forth a great amount of effort, with strong passing sequences and key finishes on plays. Co-Captain Julie Wadland ’06 said of the game, “We really showed what we could do with the ball offensively. Everyone was looking to get the ball to the other end of the field and in the back of the net.” The game began with Andover dictating the play and passing well with one another. Offensively, the forwards were pouncing on the through balls sent by the defense. This pressure enabled Andover to penetrate into Deerfield’s half of the field. As a result, early in the half, Jenna Castellot ’08 broke through the defensive barrier and fired a shot past the Deerfield goalie. Dana Feeney ’08 really helped Andover by pressuring the Deerfield defense. Andover continued to dominate the rest of the first half by maintaining possession and switching the field. Coach Joel said, “We played very well the first half because we were composed and played our game. We dictated the pace of the game and that really came through.” Going into halftime the score remained 1-0. Andover came out even harder in the second half, increasing its intensity yet another notch. The girls ran hard for every 50-50 ball and won the majority of them. This effort on each member’s part really enabled Andover to control the direction of the play. Andover’s possession also created two more scoring opportunities. Kara Hollis ’07 found the back of the net off of a flick from Feeney. Later in the second half, Castellot was able to notch her second goal of the game. Castellot put the ball away off of a pass from Emily Kennedy ’07. Also playing crucial roles for Andover were Becca Howe ’06 and Hannah Comeau ’06. Both players are silent leaders, directing play through their consistentency. Overall Coach Joel was pleased with the win saying, “We played a really solid game both offensively and defensively. Everyone was in an offensive frame of mind, looking to finish on scoring opportunities. Everyone also played great team defense.” On Wednesday, Andover played away on BB&N’s new turf field in a tough 4-0 loss. BB&N, one of the toughest teams on Andover’s schedule, was simply able to capitalize on more scoring opportunities. Coach Joel said of the game, “Throughout the season we have found Wednesday games to be the most challenging, and today was no exception.” As the first half began the team was hustling to the ball, but the girls could not find each other on the field. As a result, BB&N took advantage of Andover’s mistakes and scored its first goal on a breakaway. Trailing, Andover struggled to stay with the fast transitioning BB&N team. The Andover girls, however, still managed to have a few bright moments with solid combination plays. BB&N made the most of yet another scoring occasion with a strong shot coming from the left side of the field. As the first half ended Andover was behind 2-0. Scoring proved still elusive for Andover in the second half. BB&N scored their third goal when a forward picked off Goalie Melissa McDonald ’06. The girls tried to fight their way back, but they just could not find one another. In the last minutes of the game the BB&N goalie punted the ball all the way down the field, and their forward pounced on the ball to put away yet another goal. Coach Joel said, “BB&N did what we wanted to do, and that was the difference.” The team is now focused on preparing for a showdown with Exeter
