With a record of 8-0-2, Andover JV Field Hockey has maintained an impressive undefeated record since 2016. In its ten games this year, Andover has a collective score of 22-2.
According to Co-Captain Emma Lowry ’21, and Fallon O’Connor ’23, Andover’s winning streak is a byproduct of the team’s strong commitment and chemistry.
“I don’t think our winning streak has affected the team all that much. Even if we hadn’t been winning a lot, I think we would still be playing with the same amount of motivation and enthusiasm. I think our team dynamic has fueled the streak, but regardless of the score of each game, we focus a lot more on how we played as a whole. The scoreboard only shows a fraction of what we do on the field,” wrote Lowry in an email to The Phillipian.
“We all push ourselves every single game to be better than the last one, even though we won. We always try to have something to improve upon every single game…It goes along with the spirit of the team– everyone puts their best effort forward and no one gives up,” said O’Connor.
Despite differences in skill and age amongst the players, the team has grown very close over the course of the season, according to Aakriti Caprihan ’23.
“We are all at different skill levels and we are all learning from each other and playing with each other, and I think that is one of the great things, like even though we are all at different levels, we are still able to compliment each other on each play and everything,” said Caprihan.
“[Head Coach Jamie Phinney] has done such an amazing job cultivating a supportive environment for our team on and off the field, and both the tough practice days and the fun team bonding days bring us all together. This year I would say around half the team is made up of students new to Andover, but we also have four Uppers, which in the past 2 years I’ve been on the team, I don’t think we’ve had before,” wrote Lowry.
According to Caprihan and Ariel Wang ’21, one of the season highlights for the team was its game against Middlesex, in which the team won 5-0.
Caprihan said, “We just came together that game. We started off with [an] amazing energy in the first ball, and we kept that throughout the whole game. It was so much fun to watch and play, and be part of that.”
“We watched a little bit of the Varsity game before us which I think helped inspire us and teach us, and we really managed to start the game off strong and with good energy, and then with each goal scored our moods and our playing got even better,” wrote Wang in an email to The Phillipian.
Although Andover has not lost this season, the team still looks to improve in some aspects of the game, according to Alicia Chu ’22.
“I’d say a big team goal is to consistently start off the game with high energy and also get better with communicating with each other and knowing who’s open, so that we have quicker passes down the field and the game goes at a quicker pace,” said Chu.
“This season, we have struggled with finding the same energy at the beginning of a game as we find at the end. However… our team is becoming closer, and that definitely fuels more energy on the team,” wrote Lowry.
Andover has four remaining games, ending with a home game against Phillips Exeter Academy.
