Against an exceptionally talented Lawrence Academy squad, Andover kicked off its season with an explosive offense and an ironclad defense to secure a 3-0 win this past Wednesday. Coming into the game, Andover’s strategy was to attack Lawrence early and often. Following through with its goals, Andover scored two goals within the first fifteen minutes. Having such a convincing start to a hard match allowed Andover to sit back a little bit and display its defensive prowess. Andover discovered that the best defense is a good offense, weaving passes through the Lawrence Academy defense, creating many chances to score along the way. Although many of the scoring chances did not produce a goal, the dynamic offense allowed Andover to possess the ball, assisting goalie Shannon McSweeney ’11 in her first shutout of the year. Throughout the match Lawrence scarcely made its way near Andover’s goal. “The game went great,” said goalie Shannon McSweeney ’11, “I hardly had to touch the ball.” McSweeney credits much of the team’s success to the great team chemistry among the players, which is surprising for a team to develop so early on in the season. With their talent and personalities, the six new players are fitting in well with the rest of the team. “We have a very diverse team; there’s depth at every position,” McSweeney said. “And the new girls add to this diversity. The players have wide skill sets, so almost everyone would be able to back each other up if necessary.” Overall, Coach Kate Dolan was pleased with the team’s performance, saying it had a good start and a strong passing game. “We just need to polish a few things,” said Dolan. After seeing the team so close to scoring numerous times during the game, she hopes to finish more plays at the net in order to put a higher number of points on the scoreboard. These plays will prove important when Andover plays Loomis Chaffee, a skilled and tough competitor, according to Dolan.
