Eight penalties proved costly to the Girls Hockey team against Exeter in a physical 2-0 loss last Saturday. Andover stepped out on the ice strong during the first period, setting up many scoring opportunities, but was unable to capitalize on any. By the buzzer rang to signal the end of the first period, both teams headed to the locker room scoreless.
“It was very, very even throughout the whole game, and we had a lot of good chances to score and a lot of good movement,” said Cara Daly ’13.
Both teams came back hungry in the second period, escalating to a physically aggressive style of play. Andover had a tough time following through on offense, consistently playing man-down because of its eight total penalties.
“The second period was hard for us because it was almost never even,” said Brooke van Valkenburg ’12.
Both sides’ defensive lines played strong, and nieither team managed to put points on the board.
Exeter came out firing during the third period. With half the period gone, Exeter made its way down the ice, found a breach in the Andover defense, and netted the first goal of the game for a one-point lead.
Then, with three minutes left on the clock, Andover made the decision to pull goalie Sarah Schuchardt ’11 out of the game to increase its offensive chances. As she skated off the ice, Exeter dumped a final goal into the open net for a final 2-0 win.
Despite the loss, Andover’s defense logged impressive stats, as Schuchardt had an excellent performance, blocking 34 of Exeter’s 36 total shots.
“It was a rough way to end the season, but it definitely
brought us together,” said Daly.
With the heartbreaking fall to rival Exeter, Andover
closed off its season with a 5-15-1 record. Though the
team did not do as well as it had hoped in the win and
loss column, it looks back at a great building experience in
terms of skill and chemistry.
To sum up her time with Andover girls hockey, Captain
Kellie Walsh ’11 said, “I owe a lot of thank-you’s to everyone
who has helped me along the way; I will always be forever
blue.”
