Andover Girls Hockey suffered two close losses this past week against Governor’s and Nobles & Greenough. Despite outshooting Governor’s 39-5, Andover dropped a tight game 1-0, constantly knocking on the door, but unable to score. Andover managed to stay out of the box for the most part and committed only one penalty, not allowing more than two shots in any given period. Andover had 17 third-period shots on goal, keeping up the pressure until the final buzzer, but the team could not capitalize against the Governor’s goalie. On Wednesday, Andover was defeated by Nobles, a top-ranked team in New England, by a score of 3-0. “Our game today against Nobles was spectacular. They are known to always have a strong team and record, but we played so hard and didn’t let that affect our intensity or game play,” said Nikoletta Toffoloni ’15. “We shut them out until the second period when they scored one and fought back hard. Unfortunately, they slipped two in at the end of the third, but we made them fight for their win and I’m so proud of our team.” Andover trailed by only one going into the third period. Goalie Ashlyn Aiello ’14 recorded 35 saves on 38 shots, registering a 0.921 save percentage. “She came up big when we needed her. She keeps improving with every game,” said Eliza Quigley ’15. Andover was outshot 11-38, but the team was happy with the effort it presented against Nobles, an extremely strong opponent. “I think we learned that, if we have the right mindset, we can stay with any team,” said Quigley. “It gives us confidence that we can play with any team in the league. “If we can bring to Milton the desire and will to win from our [Nobles] game today, I have no doubt that we will beat them. I think we can dominate with this mindset against a less talented team like Milton,” Quigley continued. Andover will finish the season with three home games next week. The team will face off against Milton (4-15-2), Tabor (14-2-3) and Westminster (12-6-1).
