In the final minutes, Ann Doherty ’11 tipped the puck into the back of the net to secure a well-earned 1-0 victory against Deerfield Academy last Friday. The snow day cancelled Wednesday’s game against Exeter. “We played one of our better games of the season against Deerfield; everyone was working hard and playing smart,” said Doherty. Andover matched up well with Deerield, as both had similar records going into the game, with Andover at 4-9, and Deerfield at 5-7-2. The team went into Friday’s game with a shooting mentality, hoping to get a high number of shots on net. This aggressive mentality proved crucial in winning battles for the puck at the net. Andover goalie Sarah Schuchardt ’11 stood out in the first and second periods, holding her ground despite a stream of shots from Deefield. After a back and forth battle in the first two periods, neither team left the ice with a clear advantage. Daly said, “The game began with a lot of optimism, but as it progressed, our tension began to rise; the first and second periods went by, and we continued to strike out in the offensive aspect of the game. For the first half of the third period, both teams continued battling head-to-head, unable to put any points on the board.Our coaches gave us some inspirational words of wisdom for the third period, and we went onto the ice hungry for success.” However, with four minutes left on the clock, Sarah Marcotte ’13 sent a smooth pass to Doherty. Doherty then received the pass and placed the puck into the upper right corner of the Deerfield net, taking a one-point lead for Andover. “I was lucky with the goal because I think that I just really caught the goalie sleeping,” said Doherty. The plans for rescheduling the game against Exeter are yet to be determined, Andover is working hard in preparation to square off against Taft School this Saturday. In practice, Andover is running drills to work on neutral zone coverage, as well as forechecking. The team will travel to Cambridge to play at Harvard University’s rink for Saturday’s game.
