Co-Captain Lulu Rourke ’23 scored the game-winning goal against Brooks this Wednesday, securing a 2-1 win. The win followed a 4-6 loss against Choate last Saturday, making Andover’s record 3-1-5.
According to Lola Aguirre ’26, Choate held on to an early lead, powered by three goals scored in the first half. Aguirre acknowledged the difficulty of coming back from an extremely tough start.
“Well, in the first ten minutes or so, we were down by three…we worked back up to a score of 4-6…but in the first ten minutes, we were losing by three so that was a tough place to come back from,” said Aguirre.
Leading up to its games against Choate and Brooks, the team focused on refining various facets of its game, both in the back and front ends. According to Co-Captain Kelly Bu ’23, the team’s practice translated effectively on the field.
“This week in practice, we focused a lot about our offensive shape. So, really thinking about where players are when they don’t have the ball, and how we can move the ball around, rather than just sort of free-floating, and just being really intentional with the way that we play soccer moving forward, and attacking, especially. And then also, communication, defensive shape, all of those things. I think our offensive shape looked so much better today, and that’s why we were able to generate those offensive chances as well,” said Bu.
In its game against Brooks, the team drew from bursts of energy all across the field. Bu highlighted key players that stood out during the match.
Bu said, “Our first goal was scored by Sarah Powers [’26] – she’s a freshman, and she just had this tenacity to her when she came on the field where she was relentless, fearless, and really came after the ball, and after the goal, and we needed that spark of energy. I think we could shout out A.J., our goalie, she had some really big saves today that really helped us gain confidence moving forward. Lulu Rourke, she is one of our Senior captains, as well, and she just is always, every game, always everywhere on the field, she’s always getting the ball back, winning the ball back, tackling, so ferocious, and so fierce, and it’s really really amazing to watch.”
Lauren Herlihy ’25 further emphasized Powers’ strong performance on the field, allowing for Andover to come out on top.
“I feel like the game went really well, I mean we pulled out a win and I think that was our main goal going into the game. Sarah Powers went for it, and she scored right in the first half and that was awesome. It was a great way to start the game,” said Herlihy.
Moving forward, Bu hopes the team can continue polishing offensive and defensive aspects of their play as the season continues. The effective offense showcased on Wednesday needs to continue in future games, according to Bu.
“I think we really need to work on continuing our offensive shape, working on our defensive shape, really learning how to win the ball back, and turn that into more of an offensive attack. I think that we could work a bit on our transitions in that sense. From defense to offense, and offense to defense. I think that’ll really help us tighten up things that we need to work on, and areas where…people can pick us apart. So I think, looking forward to St. Pauls, we really are just going to reflect on the way we played today, and then think about ways we can improve,” said Bu.
Girls Soccer will face St. Paul’s at home on Friday under the lights.
