Co-Captain Lulu Rourke ’23 attacks the offensive zone.
With six college commits, Girls Hockey continues to dominate the season. On Saturday, Andover defeated St. Mark’s 7-3, followed by a 7-1 win against Cushing on Wednesday. Andover is now 14 games unbeaten.
According to Co-Captain Anne Averill ’23, the team primarily focused on transitional passes between the offensive and defensive zones leading up to its game against St. Mark’s. A greater emphasis on the individualized skill improvement characterized the practice sessions after Andover’s victory.
Averill said, “Leading up to the game, we focused a lot on utilizing the boards to make indirect passes and chips into the offensive zone or out of our defensive zone. After the game we had a practice that was focused on skill development and individualized instruction.”
As the scoreline suggests, Andover’s visit to St. Mark’s was marked by accurate passes in offensive zones. However, Andover’s dominance on offense did not come without Wendi Ying ’25’s performance in goal, according to Ellie Parker ’25.
“In the third period, our goalie, Wendi, made some really crucial saves, so I would definitely give her a shout-out. The teamwork was really great and the team moved the puck well and made some strong plays in the offensive zone. I feel like we also really supported each other on and off the ice,” said Parker.
Despite its successes, the team is wary of falling into complacency. Kiera Harder ’23 says the team always looks for margins for improvement in practice sessions, which is a quality she cherishes about her teammates.
Harder said, “I think pushing ourselves to really challenge each other in practice and making sure that we’re not getting complacent sometimes is really important. Again, giving our all, I think we already do a great job of that but there are always improvements to make. I think that this team is something really incredible.”
On Wednesday, the seven goals against Cushing were scored by six different players. Caroline Averill ’26 led the team with two goals and an assist; Kiera Bruen ’26 scored one goal and assisted two. Harder also credits Ying, who started for the first time and ended the game with 15 saves.
“I thought we played a really great team game, I mean we had six different goal-scorers and everybody’s energy was super high. The bench’s energy was unbelievable, the fan energy as well. Everyone played really well, a big shout-out to Wendi, our goal keeper. She did so well and made save after save,” said Harder.
Harder continued, “We had a lot of variety in the way we were scoring. Deanna Buenzow [’23] had a fantastic top shelf goal. Sarah Powers [’26] had a great one-timer. Keira Bruen had a beautiful rush where she made a great move on the goalie. Just overall, a really great team play.”
Looking ahead, the team is determined to continue its success on the ice. Harder expressed admiration for the everyday work ethic of each member and the consistent efforts of her teammates.
“I think we have something really special here on this team, I mean everyone is just always giving their full effort and it’s just really great to see. It’s such a team that is united and puts all their efforts into every game. We obviously hope to keep our winning streak going forward. But overall, this team is something that’s really special and I think we can go far,” said Harder.
Girls Hockey will face BB&N at home on Friday.
