Sports

Boys Water Polo Rebounds From Loss Against Deerfield to Beat Westminster in Double-Header

After a tough 8-14 loss against Deerfield on Saturday, Andover Boys Water Polo reset to comeback 17-4 against Westminster that same day. The team’s record now stands at 2-3. 

According to Co-Captain Trey Wolfe ’23, the team initially failed to take advantage of dangerous scoring opportunities. However, the team quickly improved on the weakness, scoring nine more goals in the second game than the first. 

“I would say against Deerfield our biggest weakness was we didn’t capitalize where we should have. I think we were a little shy. I think some of the guys on the outside who were farther away from Deerfield’s goal could have taken more shots, and they didn’t, and that’s okay. We learn from that. Then in our next game against Westminster, we figured it out and capitalized and really played into them. I know that we’ll meet Deerfield again so in the future we’ll know what to do,” said Wolfe.

Nick Donaldson ’23 emphasized the importance of recuperation, especially after losing the first game of the double-header. According to Donaldson, the team took ample time in between the two games to regain energy and spirit, propelling the team to a comeback against Westminster. 

“We had two games over the weekend, and we lost the first one pretty badly because it was a close game, and it was a game we felt we should have won. Our morale was low, and our coach talked to us for a while in between games. I felt like we were able to bounce back really well, and we literally destroyed the next team we played, so that was really good. I think our comeback was really good,” added Donaldson. 

Wolfe shared a similar sentiment to Donaldson, highlighting the team’s change in mindset from the first game to the second. Although the team was frustrated by not showing its true potential against Deerfield, letting go of the frustrations was critical to performing well against Westminster. 

“We played Deerfield first, and we lost to Deerfield. We really should have won that game, so that was a tough loss. What I was telling the guys is [in] new games, we need to take a breath, reset mentally, don’t carry any of the upset or stress from [the] last game into this one. Let’s reset mentally, let’s play a whole new game, let’s win. I think everybody did a very good job with that. We had a lot of frustration from the first game, and we put that to the side and won,” said Wolfe. 

While recognizing the full-team effort, Sam Lee ’24 acknowledged Co-Captain Marek Deveau ’23 for his composure and maturity throughout both games. Despite consistently being called out by the referee, Deveau stayed respectful, setting an example for the rest of the team. 

“Although there wasn’t a clear MVP during the games per say, if I were to choose, I’d definitely choose Marek. Marek endured so many B.S. fouls and penalties from the ref, but at the end of the day, he never let it affect the game. He never got angry, and showed true sportsmanship,” said Lee. 

Although dominating offensively against Westminster, the team had mostly focused on its defense up until this point, according to Donaldson. Looking ahead, the team wants to combine its strong defensive press with effective offensive positioning and goal-scoring strategies. 

“We have been so defensive-minded so far this season, and in preseason, that we decided to train offense on Monday, and we will get back to defense eventually, but running different plays on offense, shooting drills, anything kind of offensive-minded,” said Donaldson.

Andover Boys Water Polo will face another double-header against Greenwich and Williston on Saturday, alongside hosting St. John’s Prep on Wednesday.