Sports

Field Hockey: Devastating Loss Follows Two Wins

Latching onto a deflected shot from Lauren Overly ’17, Captain Beth Krikorian ’17 tapped the ball past Tabor’s goalie to put Andover Field Hockey ahead 1-0 last Saturday. Regular time concluded in a pitched 1-1 tie, but Emily Batchelor ’19 broke the deadlock four minutes into overtime to clinch a 2-1 victory for Andover.

On the previous Friday, An- dover defeated Brooks 3-0 in its first home game of the season with goals from Meghan Ward ’19, Charlotte Welch ’18, and Krikori- an. However, Andover fell 1-0 to Governor’s Academy on Wednes- day, ending its undefeated streak and leaving its record at 5-1.

Against Brooks, Andover domi- nated possession and transitioned smoothly from defense into of- fense, creating countless scoring opportunities.

Krikorian said, “We did well when we got the ball into our end. At halftime, we talked about how when we got the ball in our offensive end, we were able to create some great opportunities. We wanted to have the ball in our circle more and put our shots into the net.”

The win provided valuable momentum heading into Saturday’s matchup with Tabor.

Elizabeth Holubiak ’18 is a three-year member of Andover Field Hockey.

 

Elizabeth Welch ’18 said, “We were super excited coming off of a big Friday night win versus Brooks, and we definitely were hoping to keep the energy going.”

However, Tabor utilized a physical style of play that kept the scoreline a lot tighter.

Krikorian said, “We know that Tabor is always a tough game physically. They have an aggressive style of play that we had to be ready to combat.”

Andover came out strong with an early goal from Krikorian. For the remainder of the half, its energy and determination allowed the team to fend off the aggressive Tabor players.

In the second half, Tabor outplayed Andover and scored, tying the game up at 1-1. Determined not to lose, Andover fought tirelessly for the rest of the game and ended regulation time in a draw, send- ing both teams into sudden death overtime.

In an email to The Phillipian, Head Coach Kate Dolan said, “Tabor was a completely different game, and we had a hard time getting into a consistent flow until the overtime, which the girls dominated.”

Andover came out firing in overtime. Within the first four minutes, Batchelor received a pass off the corner and slotted a shot past the goalie for the game-winning goal.

Krikorian said, “We knew what we needed to do, so we came out with full force and relentless effort. Overtime was a matter of who wanted it more and who worked harder, and we proved that we were able to do both.”

 

Captain Beth Krikorian ’17 is a four-year member of Andover Field Hockey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Batchelor added, “We always practice overtime, and the team itself is no stranger to overtime considering our season last year, so I think everyone on the team felt pretty confident and everyone wanted the game so badly for each other and the team as a whole. Everyone was just ready to go out there and win the game.”

Andover’s matchup with Governor’s Academy on Wednesday handed the team its first loss of

the season. In the first half, both teams defended relentlessly, and neither Andover nor Governor’s was able to score. In the second half, however, Andover conceded a goal 15 minutes into the half.

After concluding Wednesday’s game, Krikorian said, “We need to work on finishing our shots in the circle. We got some great opportunities today, but unfortunately couldn’t capitalize on them. I think we played an outstanding game against a great team but didn’t get the outcome that we de- served. The loss didn’t reflect our play, but being inches away from scoring multiple times is what we need to fix before Choate on Saturday.”

Although the team suffered an unfortunate loss on Wednes- day, the players are still optimistic about the rest of the season.

Krikorian said, “We had been working on transition and I think we applied it well in the games. We had some incredible hits and passing sequences that went to show that the practice paid off.”

When asked what the team could work on, Charlotte Welch said, “We are hoping to focus on controlling our hits, blocking their fast breaks, and dominating the play in the defensive end in order to generate scoring opportunities in the offensive end.”

Andover will travel away to Choate on Saturday and hopes to return to its winning ways.