Sophie Dandawa ’25 moves up left field towards the net, maintaining possession against Pingree’s defense.
Andover Girls Varsity Soccer lost to Tabor Academy 1-3 this past Saturday and tied Pingree 3-3 on Monday. Initially down 2-0 against Austin Preparatory School (Austin Prep) on Wednesday, Andover found the back of the net after halftime but ultimately fell short 1-3. The team’s record now stands at 2-4-2.
According to Wylie Roossien ’26, a highlight from the past three games was the positive energy supplied from those both on the field and the sidelines. Despite not being able to take any wins, the team maintained its energy and composure throughout.
“I feel like we played as a team. We were able to support each other off and on the field, our bench did a really great job of pumping us up during some hard moments, and a lot of credit goes to them because they are responsible for making sure people that were starting the second half felt good going in and just having a good time. I think that’s what we all enjoy so much about the game, is being able to just have fun, and go out there and play hard. After all, we did end up achieving that goal, which was to have fun, and in the same breath, it was disappointing, the results weren’t exactly what we went out to achieve,” said Roossien.
In its game against Austin Prep, the team conceded two early goals. According to Jazzy Cormier ’24, despite the early challenges, the team was able to rebound with a stronger second half.
Cormier said, “The first half was a little bit tougher than the second. It just seemed like we were a little lost in the beginning, and we weren’t really connecting passes well. We were a little bunched up in the middle, so it was a little bit of a struggle, but by halftime, [Head Coach Lisa Joel] talked to us, gave us a pep talk, and talked about how important it is that we calm the field down and how we play with a different mindset because from her perspective, it seemed like it was in fact our mindset that was off—that was making us a little bit congested in the middle of the field. So we went on with a different mindset, and we ended up losing 3-1, but the second half was a lot better than the first.
Maintaining camaraderie and support is imperative for a successful team. According to Co-Captain Kelly Bu ’23, the team has improved upon its mindset over the course of the season thus far.
“Soccer’s a really tricky game, there’s eleven people on the field at one time, and it’s like the butterfly effect, one mistake can lead to a whole separate thing, so five minutes later and people are like ‘that was your fault’ or ‘this was your fault’, but I think that we’ve been getting a lot better at pulling each other up, bringing each other up, rather than pulling each other down,” said Bu.
Scoring four goals and allowing 17 in its last five games, the team has struggled on both ends of the field. According to Roossien, producing offensively will be critical for the team’s success moving forward.
“I feel going forward, focusing [on] a very optimistic outlook, being able to convert in the attacking third is really crucial. We had a bunch of opportunities and for a lot of reasons haven’t been able to put the ball in the net. A couple injuries have led to that, and you know, everyone makes mistakes. Especially as a striker and a forward, it’s hard to put every single one on frame, but I think going forward, converting in the attacking third is going to be very pivotal for us later on in the season,” Roossien said.
Andover Girls Soccer will face Choate away on Saturday.
