Zach Godsey ’25 scored one of the team’s three goals against Exeter.
Although Andover Boys Water Polo opened the season with a 3-11 loss against Exeter on Wednesday, the team felt pleased with the way they played.
According to Sean Niu ’25, the team had multiple opportunities to score but failed to capitalize on many of those chances. Niu also noted the team’s need to refine its finishing.
“We just have to learn to finish, and all of our guys have to learn to shoot close to the cage. But I think it is the opportunities that we mainly look for. And with all the opportunities that we saw today, I think once we learn to finish and capitalize on the opportunities we’ll be able to beat Exeter,” said Niu.
Brandon Xu ’26 echoed Niu’s sentiments, emphasizing the team’s collaborative efforts.
“There were a lot of great opportunities on offense that we just missed out on. We gave it our best, but the shots we got off just didn’t connect. We did very well translating skills we worked on in practice. We did have a few mistakes, but for the most part the coach was very pleased with our performance. We will try to work on the smaller details to get our game more polished,” said Xu.
According to Sam Lee ’24, the team has improved since last year with their coordination throughout the game. By working cohesively, the team was able to maximize their collective strengths and enhance their overall performance in the pool.
“Last year, one of the biggest issues we faced as a team was that we wouldn’t set up our offense and defense. But today, we played cohesive, organized, and structured water polo. I’m really proud of everyone,” said Lee.
Niu highlighted a few players that showcased their confidence and composure coming into their first game. These players provided their teammates with many chances throughout the course of the game
“Our captain Jonathan Ji ’24 and our point Jason [Kokenes ’25] really stepped it up today. They both scored and they were both locking Exeter down defensively and doing a lot of great things on offense that Coach was looking for. I think one of the more memorable players this game was our Senior Raphael Sibuet ’24, who was posting up in the center, and he got a lot of great opportunities throughout the game,” Niu said.
Xu also commended Ji as being one of the stand-out players. According to Xu, Head Coach Howie Kalter ’07 was also pleased with how the team played.
“One moment that stood out was our captain Jonathan’s backhand from two meters. Our coach said it was the best shot he’s seen from our program. Also, for the most part, Coach was very pleased with our performance today. I thought the crowd atmosphere was pretty good as both team’s JV teams were in the stands cheering,” said Xu.
Jason Kokones ’25 attributed their loss to Exeter’s high level of play. He also described the areas that the team would work on in the following week.
Kokones said, “Exeter had a lot of individually skilled players, and we had trouble defending them, so we are probably going to work on our ability to defend in one-on-one situations. We also are going to work on setting ourselves up and getting into good positions to score on offense.”
Andover Boys Water Polo will host Deerfield and Westminster in a double-header on Saturday.
