According to Head Coach Heidi Wall ’94, the team was grateful for the opportunity to play competitively for the first time in almost two years, and their excitement translated into an energetic atmosphere. She also noted the dynamic environment created by the team and students in the crowd.
“It was a terrific team effort with contributions from all 24 team members. Mostly, we were all just so happy to be out there playing again after such a long time. It’s been almost two years since we have competed as a team. The energy from everyone on the field and on the sidelines was super positive,” said Coach Wall.
According to Co-Captain Abby Ryan ’21, the offense created numerous highlight plays and was able to work together and produce assisted plays that included many different players.
“[Shea Freda ’24] had some really good draw controls and so did [Grace Hammond ’23]. A highlight was having goals from eight different players with 12 assisted goals. The fact that we had 12 assisted goals was really impressive because that means a lot of people were touching the ball and a lot of people were focused on moving and setting up other teammates. Our offense was really strong and we were making good moves and securing a lot of assists that we needed for offensive movements and transitions up the field,” said Ryan.
According to Co-Captain Lily Rademacher ’21, this ability to work as a cohesive unit on offense was a result of the team’s focus on communication leading up to the game.
“The highlight of the game was Tory’s behind-the-back shot. There was also a really great passing sequence from [Ellie Harrison ’22] to [Indi Wagner ’22] to Tory. It was a really good offensive sequence that led to a goal and that’s the best. The offense is still improving each week and that is a great example of the work we have been putting in shown on the field,” said Rademacher.
According to Rademacher, the team was also scrappy in retrieving the ball back after lost possessions and the defense was in sync as Co-Captain Kennedy Everson ’21 skillfully directed the defensive movements.
“The attack coordinated really well to get back balls that we lost. Our defense also did really well and Kennedy was very vocal in telling us who to mark and when to slide. That was really clear of us working together really well and becoming more comfortable with each other on the field,” said Rademacher.
According to Coach Wall, the team will focus on strengthening the defensive side of its game and practicing ways to have controlled possessions on offense in preparation for its next game.
“Deerfield will be tough. This week we will need to work on tightening up our defense throughout the field. We will also need to work on maintaining possession on offense and not turning the ball over.”
Andover will travel to Deerfield this Saturday to look to build off of its strong start to the season.
