Anna Hurley ’21 has netted 5 goals this season as a starting midfielder.
Andover was down 2-0 after the first half against Thayer. Although the halftime talk by Head Coach Lisa Joel revived the team’s energy, leading them to score in the second half, Andover was unable to defeat Thayer, according to Mack Lucas ’20.
“I think the second half really tested our grit and spirit, and we bounced back after halftime. Going into the talk, we were a bit frustrated and stressed out, and after the talk and after we spent some time together we refocused, and got our hearts in it,” said Lucas.
According to Athalia Esty ’22, the team brought their best effort against Thayer, but lost due to lack of passing connection among the players.
“As a team, our hearts were all there and we were fighting until the final whistle. We have to work on connecting our passes more—we can connect really well, but sometimes we don’t play as a team,” Esty said.
Andover is using this loss as a learning experience and an indication for areas of improvement, according to Lucas.
Lucas said, “Our season has been awesome, and this game isn’t an exception. We needed this reality check that sometimes bad games just happen. These girls, this team is truly amazing; my favorite I’ve ever been a part of, and it’s because of our spirit and how much we want to win. I know we’ll bounce back after this match, and continue on our fun and successful season.”
Earlier in the week, Andover defeated Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH) 2-1 during its Breast Cancer Awareness game. Nicola Sommers PG’20 assisted a crucial goal against NMH when she crossed the ball in the air right as Myra Bhathena ’22 leapt up and headed the ball into the back of the net. Andover’s record now stands at 10-1-3.
Despite facing issues with the referee during the NMH game, the team managed to secure a win by maintaining its composure and limiting its fouls, according to Lily Haik ’22.
“I think we found each other’s feet well and we were able to work up the pitch. I think we were doing well supporting each other because we all got very easily frustrated because the [referee] was not the best [referee], but we all kept each other calm and cool and that definitely helped limit the number of fouls we gave,” said Haik.
Moving forward, the team is looking to improve its offensive skills and make more deliberate plays, according to Emily Kelly ’22.
Kelly said, “I feel like we needed to work on connecting passes. We didn’t really make eye contact when passing the ball but we went ahead and passed it anyways so we lost a lot of possession.”
Andover will next face Deerfield away this Sunday.
