Ava Murphy ’24 is committed to Liberty University for Field Hockey.
Ava Murphy ’24 is committed to Liberty University for Field Hockey.
10/28 — Andover: 2, Deerfield: 2
11/1 — Andover: 3, Nobles and Greenough: 3
On Saturday, Andover Girls Soccer (7-5-3) rallied back from two goals down to end in a tie against Deerfield. An intense game against Nobles and Greenough (Nobles) on Wednesday followed a similar result, with Andover coming back after trailing from three goals down.
According to Murathime Daisley ’26, Deerfield’s physicality proved difficult for Andover to deal with. Adapting to the quick pace of their opponent proved to be something that the team struggled with in the initial stages of the game.
“We weren’t used to [Deerfield’s] style of play. We are a very fast and quick technical team, but they were very physical, and we weren’t getting a lot of calls that we wanted. And we were not as physical as they were, so it started off slow and the energy a little low at the beginning,” said Daisley.
Head Coach Lisa Joel highlighted Kendall Toth ’24 and Co-Captain Jazzy Cormier ’24 as two players who worked to keep the game close. Resilience and mental toughness proved to have an impact on the team, preventing two losses as the season comes to a close.
Joel said, “Kendall Toth always brings a focus to compete, and that focus resulted in a header goal late in the second half inside the box… Senior [Co-]Captain Jazzy Cormier ripped a beautiful shot to the upper ninety [corner of the goal] beyond the outstretched hands of [the] Deerfield goalie. Ultimately, the team did not string minutes or passes together and came up short. The focus is on being locked-in for our final games in the season for the first to last whistle,” said Joel.
Although the result was disappointing, Daisley thought that the team worked hard.
Daisley said, “It was a tough day. We had some trouble with the referees as well, not making as many calls as we would have [liked], but then when we got that first goal by Kendall, our energy was back up. I think that we had high energy, [and] we [were] very competitive… We definitely were working hard. I think we gave it our all and maybe we just need to play more to our physical strengths next game.”
According to Keaghan Murphy ’27, the team had many opportunities to score during Wednesday’s game against Nobles. Though she believed that the team showed the effort, it lacked the ability to finish.
“It was a good, high-intensity, aggressive game. We moved the ball throughout the midfield and created many chances in the final third. Even though we didn’t find any goals in the first half, we were definitely constantly knocking on their door, hungry for anything that could get us on the scoreboard,” said Murphy.
Murphy highlighted Wylie Roossien ’26, whose hat-trick played a pivotal role in the team’s comeback on Wednesday. Within the final minutes of the second half, Roossien’s influence reinstilled confidence in each member of the team.
“Wylie definitely stood out because of her three amazing goals that were all scored within the final 15 minutes of the game. She stayed positive like everyone else on the field and sideline, and she kept the atmosphere positive and helped keep us determined,” said Murphy.
Although the team has improvements to be made, Murphy emphasized the team’s strong mentality and persistence. With the season coming to an end, Murphy hopes the team can find extra motivation in order to be successful in the final games.
Murphy said, “Communication on markings can still be a bit better, but there definitely was way more improvement in comparison to the start of the season. I believe we all held our heads high during the game, coming back from three goals down in the last fifteen minutes. We persevered to find the three goals that ended the game in a tie.”
Girls Soccer will play Lawrence Academy at home this Friday.
