After a 4-0 win against St. Paul’s, Andover Field Hockey’s 5-2 victory against Middlesex brought the team’s win streak to five games. Its record now stands at 9-1.
The team scored three goals within just four and half minutes of Saturday’s game against St. Paul’s. Co-Captain Keira Harder ’23 believes that the game was one of the team’s best performances so far this season.
“So honestly I think that St. Paul’s was one of the best games we ever played collectively as a team. I think that everybody was just on their A game and ready to work hard and especially work together. I think our passing patterns were so much more cohesive and people were hustling for fifty-fifty balls and we were really looking for open spaces,” said Harder.
Sharing a similar sentiment to Harder, Meg Stineman ’25 highlighted the team’s desire to take advantage of open space, both on offense and defense. Spreading out on the field allowed for more ball movement, according to Stineman.
“Offensively, I think the team was really working on passing on the move and passing into the space and letting on to the ball to help with a quicker tempo of the game. Defensively, I think that we’ve really been focusing on transferring the ball from one side of the field to the other to spread the field and use the full width of the field and that’s also been helpful,” said Stineman.
Harder believes that the team’s cohesiveness and communication was another contributor to its dominance. According to Harder, the team is quickly building a powerful, unbreakable bond, allowing it to carry out complex plays and movement patterns in-game.
Harder said, “I think again we were working more cohesively as a unit. We were really moving that ball with purpose. We were being smart. We were communicating. On and off the ball, we were doing cuts and movement patterns that we have been talking about and practicing in our past practices. And we were just able to put the ball away, which was awesome and I think that it was great that everybody got to show what they were capable of which was so unbelievable. I think it was the first game that I think we really had this kind of calm but powerful team connection.”
Last year’s matchup against Middlesex resulted in the team’s only tie in its undefeated season. According to Neilly Ware ’25, the team’s eagerness to rebound from the tie propelled it to victory on Wednesday.
“Last year’s tie was definitely rough, especially as a returner. It really made us hungry for a win this year because it was the only kind of notch in our record. We really wanted to come back stronger and get the win this year. So I think especially for the returners but really for the whole team, I think that we were all really eager to play them and try to come out with a win, which we did. I think we just had a lot of good energy,” said Ware.
After letting in an early goal, the team proceeded to score five consecutive goals against Middlesex. Ware highlighted the team’s optimism and sustained energy, even after suffering an early deficit.
“I think that our energy was kind of the best part of our game today. We were really positive throughout the game and kept up that kind of fire and loose excitement which I think we needed. It motivated all of our team, whether they were on the bench or on the field. I think that we really brought our energy today, so I think that it’s an important factor for us to really capitalize,” said Ware.
Andover Field Hockey will play Northfield Mount Hermon on Saturday and BB&N on Wednesday.
