Jill Reichenbach PG’24 jumps to save the ball against Choate.
Following a two-goal loss to Choate Rosemary Hall on Saturday, Andover Girls Soccer claimed a win over Brooks with two goals each from Hayden Fischer ʼ25, Wylie Roossien ʼ26, and Co-Captain Emily Mara ʼ25. Andover’s record now stands at 5-4.
Andover trailed behind Choate in the first half of Saturday’s game, but Keaghan Murphy ʼ27 noticed an energy shift in the team for the second half. Andover’s change in mindset allowed it to put points on the scoreboard, scoring twice after halftime.
“First half we weren’t really ready for how they pounced on us on the attack. However in the second half we definitely came out, and we were hungry to get those two goals, and we put up a good fight, but unfortunately we didn’t get to execute as we intended,” said Murphy.
Despite the loss, Murphy thought the team created strong passes that resulted in goal-scoring opportunities. When everyone on the field was involved, the team was able to execute its best plays.
“There were a lot of plays that were built up from the back and went through the midfield and we found a through ball up top, which created a good opportunity. So, I think the best moments we had were when almost everyone got touches on the ball,” said Murphy.
Similar to Saturday’s game, the team struggled with a slow start against Brooks on Wednesday, ending the first half with a 1-1 battle. However, Lola Aguirre ʼ26 emphasized Andover’s ability to recover after discussing its objectives for the remainder of the game at halftime.
“Definitely part of our halftime goal was to control the controllables, and just play soccer instead of focusing on the intangibles like what the other team was saying, what the refs were doing,” said Aguirre.
According to Lauren Herlihy ʼ25, part of the team’s ability to execute on the field is because of the relationships the players have formed with each other outside of the sport. As teammates, each player’s support resonates in places outside of practice and games.
“I feel like we’ve really bonded throughout the season so far and I feel like there’s a lot more to come … we do a lot of off the field things together, we always eat dinner together, we have team dinner all the time, and we’re always doing homework together in the library and I feel like everyone’s a really good person and there’s a lot of good friendships on our team,” said Herlihy.
Looking ahead, the team hopes to build on the grit it showcased in the second half of Wednesday’s game. Herlihy noted that bringing the energy right from the start could help the team set a stronger tone for games.
“It takes us a couple minutes to warm up in a game and then we really get it going in the second half … if we just played the way we did in the second half then we’d always have a better start to the game,” said Herlihy.
Andover Girls Soccer will face St. Paul’s on the road on Saturday.
