Rachel Neyman ’22 is one of four Jhuniors on the team this season.
Andover Girls Hockey scored five unanswered goals in the second period against Northfield Mount Hermon to emerge with a 6-2 victory on Saturday.
Co-Captain Kelly McCarthy ’19 said, “We didn’t start our game against NMH as we would have liked to, but everyone played really hard in the second period. Once we got one goal, we gained momentum, and our energy picked up a lot.”
Backup goalie Katie Wimmer ’21 played in her first career varsity game in the third period against NMH. According to Indi Wagner ’22 and McCarthy, her play against NMH showed why she is an important member of the team.
“In the end, it was a great game because Katie Wimmer, our backup goalie, got to play a little, which was really exciting and we were all really pumped for that,” said Wagner.
McCarthy added, “Katie played great. She was super excited to get out there and she played really well. She is a natural athlete and always has an eagerness to learn in practice which is why she is such a great addition to our team.”
Andover also defeated Dexter Southfield in a 3-0 shutout victory at home. After defeating NMH and Southfield, the team’s record now stands at 3-0. Despite the win, the team has room to improve offensively, according to McCarthy.
“The team had a strong showing in our game against Southfield. We definitely want to work on generating more shots on net but we have collectively been doing a better job of taking the puck back and regrouping if the first attempt for an offensive play doesn’t work,” said McCarthy.
According to Wagner, the team’s energetic atmosphere helped to propel it to victory.
Wagner said, “It was a great game. It was our home opener so I was super excited and the team was also really excited as a whole. The energy on the bench was great and we were able to score some really great goals.”
On Wednesday, the team traveled to the Patsy K. Odden Invitational Hockey Tournament at Taft. In addition to practicing as it usually does for games, the team has worked on conditioning in preparation for the tournament, according to McCarthy.
“Monday and Tuesday of this week, we worked on some conditioning and skill work because the teams we will face at Taft will be our toughest opponents so far. We want to make sure we can compete hard for a full three periods,” said McCarthy.
According to Lilly Feeney ’20, the team is very excited for the tournament.
“We are looking forward to the Taft tournament because [Andover] won the year before I came, so we are hoping to get that title again and I think we have a good chance. We are a very deep team. We have four solid lines and nine defensemen, so it’s a lot more than most other teams in our league. And I think that will put us at an advantage to hopefully go the longest distance into the playoffs,” said Feeney.
McCarthy added, “If we maintain the energy and hustle we have had in our games so far this week we will be able to compete with our opponents and see the results we want on the scoreboard.”
Andover will face Choate and Hotchkiss on Thursday in the first day of the tournament. The team’s final ranking after Thursday will determine its opponent on Friday.
