Stealing the ball off a goal kick, Maddy Silveira ’20 launched it past the Pingree goalkeeper and into the bottom corner of the net. Silveira’s goal helped propel Andover Girls Soccer to defeat Pingree 2-0 at home on Wednesday. Following a 2-4 loss against Tabor on Saturday, the team’s record now stands at 3-4.
Andover’s success against Pingree came from its intensity and determination on the field, according to Co-Captain Elise MacDonald ’19.
MacDonald wrote in an email to The Phillipian, “Our intensity was so much higher. Everybody clearly wanted it so much more, and it was apparent from the moment we walked onto the field for warm ups. I am so proud of the adjustment the girls were able to make, especially on such a rainy, cold Monday afternoon. We had possession for the majority of the game.”
Despite knowing Pingree to be a historically tough opponent, Andover maintained a strong defensive line and generated offense despite the rainy weather to secure the win, according to Katherine Marquis ’21.
In an email to The Phillipian, Marquis wrote, “A goal in the game against Pingree was to keep our defensive shape throughout the whole field, making sure that everyone is where they are supposed to be to help get the ball back and attack. Because of the weather, we knew that we had to take a lot of shots and follow them to try and get rebounds, which there would be a lot of as a result of the rain. The quality of play in this game was some of the best we have done so far. We held our defensive shape, connected passes in the midfield, and created shots on net.”
On Saturday, Andover faced Tabor, which the team anticipated to be a difficult competitor.
“I’ve played those kids before. I thought they played extremely well together. They really combined well through our middle, and they played a lot of long balls. Our defense was playing a pretty high line, and Tabor was able to get in behind us, playing through balls and balls over our heads,” said Hurley.
Despite struggling to stop Tabor’s most threatening players, Andover competed hard for the entirety of the game, according to Marquis and Karoline Conte ’21.
Marquis said, “Our strategy was to mark up on their key players that we know from past years, which were two of their forwards. Overall, the team played well and kept working hard until the end of the game.”
“Overall we could have done a better job marking up key players on the other team. Elise, our Captain, played amazing as always, putting her heart and soul into the game,” said Conte in an email to The Phillipian.
According to Hurley and MacDonald, the team needs to improve upon its shooting and its ability to maintain a high level of energy throughout the game.
“I would say with our team, we were taking shots from too far out. We were taking them from about 35 to 40 yards out. I think something that we’re going to work on is building up the play before we take the shot. In the last game against Pingree, we did that,” said Hurley.
MacDonald wrote in an email to The Phillipian, “We definitely lost steam in the second half. Lots of our team is sick/recovering from being sick or injured, so we’re not at 100 percent. We need to work on maintaining the energy that we bring to the first and last ten minutes of each game.”
The team will face Choate away on Saturday.
