Despite three goals from Travis Bouscaren ’14, Andover couldn’t defeat Choate last Saturday in a 14-6 loss. Bouscaren’s goals put Andover up 2-1 early, but Choate overcame Andover’s start to capture the game.
Didi Peng ’12 said, “We kept up with them very well, and [we] only began to fall behind when fatigue set in and we lost our focus.”
A bizarre event in Andover’s pre-game warm up left the team with an injured leading scorer and a sidelined senior member. Eric Benca ’12 and Peng unintentionally collided in the warm-up drills, where Peng ripped a shot, slashing his thumb and wounding Benca’s lip. Benca went to the hospital and did not play in the game, and Peng played with a hindered shooting hand.
The team’s underclassmen played well, scoring five of Andover’s six goals. Michael Camarda ’14 scored two of the five goals while Bouscaren scored the other three.
Great ball movement on the perimeter in the first quarter allowed Bouscaren to score each of his goals. Perimeter players would drop the ball in front of Bouscaren, who either turned and fired a shot into the top left corner or ripped a backhand under the goalie’s right arm.
Michael Camarda’s first goal came on a fast-break. After a perfect delivery pass from goalie and Captain Andrew Wilson ’12, Michael Camarda picked up the ball and inched in toward the goalie. He then faked once and put the ball in the back of the net. His second goal found the upper right corner from the perimeter.
He said, “[despite the loss], I still believe we played one of our best games out there, especially considering Benca couldn’t play.”
The sixth Andover goal came from Calvin Aubrey ’12, who sent a shot past the Choate goaltender after a counterattack.
While the offense struggled with the loss of Benca, Andover’s defense faced difficulties as well. Michael Camarda remarked, “We played a good game against them, but they stole the ball out on the perimeter a lot. We need to drive more and work on protecting the ball.”
Andover’s defense allowed too many Choate fast- breaks, which eventually proved overwhelming despite countless saves from Wilson. Wilson often took shots off the face and chest to keep the ball out of the net. Bouscaren said, “[Choate’s] fastbreaks gave them a momentum that we couldn’t match.”
Andover took the loss as a sign of room for improvement. Wilson said, “[the team] demonstrated a lot of good instincts.”
The team will take on Suffield at home next Wednesday.
