Sports

Win-less Tournament RevealsWeaknesses

Hannah Sorkin ’14 nabbed the only two goals for Andover Girls Hockey in a tournament at Taft over winter break. Although Andover Girls Hockey dropped its three games against Tabor, Taft and Kent, the team showed improvements throughout and remains positive about the season ahead. “We sometimes didn’t play together and there were a lot if nippy and abrasive feelings at Taft when things didn’t go our way, [but] we all adapted to the situation, knew what we needed to do,” said goalkeeper Ashlyn Aiello ’14 in an email to The Phillipian. “Individual effort was amazing and we played with all our hearts.” In the first game of the tournament, Tabor overpowered Andover 6-1 despite a singular goal scored by Hannah Sorkin ’14. Tabor is widely considered the best team in the league. “We played afraid of Tabor,” said Co-Captain Amy Morin ’14. The team, however, changed its mentality and stepped up against Taft. After stumbling early in the game, Sorkin claimed her second goal of the tournament. Andover struggled to maintain its momentum, and eventually fell to Taft 2-1. Unable to bounce back, the team did not find its footing against Kent. In the final game of the tournament, Andover lost to a surprisingly strong Kent 2-0. The tournament highlighted the team’s weaknesses, which the team looks to hone in on in the future. “We have to remember to play at our level and not down to the level of our opponents,” said Sorkin. “Now it’s a new year and I get the sense that everyone is excited to claim it as our own. Building off of Taft, I think we will be able to know our best effort from our worst and our strengths from our weaknesses, and will approach every game with the desire to be the team we know we can be,” said Aiello. Head Coach Steve Weiner believes that the team can do a better job in the neutral zone, making sure the puck isn’t lost at either blue line, which results in an odd-man rush. Making better passes and chipping pucks off of the boards are two solutions that he mentioned in his email to the team. “We have been moving the puck and playing together, and it is really important that we stick together and keep it up.” said Co-Captain Amy Morin ’14. “We are still figuring out who we work best with and figuring how everyone thinks, but we continue to improve and always give it all of our effort.” Even though the team didn’t see the results that it strove for, it maintains a positive attitude. “At Taft we got to test ourselves against some great opponents and became a better team because of it, on and off the ice,” said Miranda Nestor ’16.