Elizabeth Welch ’18 scored the winning goal against Cushing.
With 2:03 minutes left in the first overtime period, Elizabeth Welch ’18 scored off a pass from Captain Kaitlin Hoang ’17, propelling Andover Girls Hockey to a 1-0 win over Cushing Academy.
Earlier in the week, Andover beat BB&N 3-0 but fell to St. Mark’s 4-1. The team’s record now stands at 8-3.
Coming out with high intensity and energy on Monday against BB&N, Lilly Feeney ’20 scored the first goal which set the tone for the rest of the game. Andover continued communicating on the ice, setting up plays and creating many scoring opportunities.
Entering the second period with a 1-0 lead, Andover played hard offensively and moved the puck quickly. Late into the second period, Elizabeth Holubiak ’18 scored Andover’s second goal off assists from Charlotte Welch ’18 and Elizabeth Welch.
Goalie Ashley Tucker ’18 said, “I think we came out really strong in the first period and we scored right away which was a huge momentum boost and propelled us to keep up the offensive pressure throughout the rest of the period.”
With assists from Charlotte Welch and Elizabeth Welch, Feeney scored the third and final goal of the game with 5:27 minutes left in the third period, earning Andover its third shutout win of the season.
Hoang said, “Monday’s game really marked a huge change in momentum for us. We played together as a solid unit, and it made a difference on the ice. We dominated the entire game, and I couldn’t be prouder of the girls.”
On Wednesday, Andover managed to secure a narrow win over Cushing, with the lone goal coming from Elizabeth Welch during overtime.
The score was matched throughout the three periods. Andover played the entire regular play and overtime with high energy and clever movement, according to the players. The team put multiple shots on goal, but could not manage to get any by Cushing’s goalie.
“We played as a team,” said Liv Keefe ’17. “We kept the energy up the whole game which is what made the difference. Everyone was supportive of their teammates and talking and cheering on the bench.”
Head Coach Martha Fenton ’83 said, “We are moving the puck really well and creating offensive opportunities. We need to shoot more, and we need to play a bit more disciplined defense in the neutral zone.”
On Saturday, Andover dropped its third game of the season to St. Mark’s. St. Mark’s scored early on in the game, haltering Andover’s energy and causing the team to slack in its performance.
Andover entered the second period down 1-0. Despite generating a few shots, Andover could not find the back of the net and continued to trail behind. St. Mark’s scored two more goals during the second period.
Sarah Rigazio ’18 said, “The first two periods were not our best. We weren’t ready, and it showed on the ice. There were some good moments, but it was overall sloppy and disoriented. Communication wasn’t as on point as it should have been against St. Mark’s. Lack of communication led to intercepted passes, sloppy plays and missed shot opportunities.”
The third period began with Andover behind 3-0, until Rigazio put a shot into the back of the net, slightly closing the gap in score. St. Mark’s managed to score on an open net at the end of the third period, however, securing Andover’s loss of 4-1.
Rigazio said, “We were having a lot of trouble scoring the first two periods. We outshot St. Mark’s in the first period and kept play in our offensive zone for the most part, but they really took the momentum at the end of that period by getting a goal with about a minute left. We finally found the back of the net on a power play a few minutes into the third period. After that, we started playing much better, but it proved to not be enough.”
Andover will play Deerfield on Saturday in hopes of bringing home another win.
