Co-Captain Emily Mara ’25 is a forward for Andover Girls Soccer.
Defender Lily Keim ’25 looks for an open teammate.
Saturday 11/4 – Andover: 0, Lawrence Academy: 0
Andover Girls Soccer (7-5-3) tied to Lawrence Academy (Lawrence) under the lights on Saturday. Goalie Jill Reichenbach PG’24 saved an upper-ninety goal attempt, a standout performance during the team’s Senior Night.
Wylie Roossien ’26 credited Reichenbach for her quick saves and taking initiative against Lawrence. Although both teams did not concede goals, Reichenbach’s saves helped keep Andover in the game.
“Jill has continued to improve drastically from the start of the season. She was already amazing then, too. But to see her make several potentially game-altering saves was everything I could have hoped for her on Senior Night. One of those moments was early on in the first half where she came off her line to make an incredible stop off a breakaway,” said Roossien.
Roossien added that the team’s mentality going into the game was influenced by the fact that six teammates would be playing their last home game for Andover. Roossien emphasized the significance the team puts on its supporters, using it as motivation to work hard.
Roossien said, “We acknowledge the fact that we are the culmination of all of our support systems behind the scenes and so we approached yesterday playing for them too. This mentality allows us to push ourselves past what we might be willing to go on our own.”
Lily Keim ’25 noted that while the tie wasn’t the desired result, the team created scoring opportunities, held a strong defensive line, and prevented Lawrence from finding the back of the net.
“The outcome of the game was very disappointing because we were clearly the better team. We dominated most of the game. We had many chances that we couldn’t finish… They had a few good counterattacks, but they had few clear chances,” said Keim.
Murathime Daisley ’26 applauded the Seniors for their composure whilst facing a frustrating situation. Even if the outcome was not anticipated, the team upheld good morale.
“Walking away with a draw was hard for many reasons but above all, it was difficult to see a night worth celebrating a bit less joyful than imagined. In the midst of everything going on, it would have been easy for our Seniors to be consumed with every emotion, yet they continued to display leadership and kindness to everyone, showing why this group really is so special,” said Daisley.
Andover dominated the last 15 minutes of the second half with Co-Captain Emily Mara ’25 leading the offense, according to Keim. However, she noted that Lawrence’s defense was able to adapt to the team’s quick speed of play.
“Playing in the stadium under the lights with a good crowd is something I wish we did more of… I think the second half especially the last 15 minutes of the game stood out. We were taking it to them and it seemed a matter of time before we scored. It just didn’t happen. I felt the other team really stacked their defense back and just absorbed our pressure,” said Keim.
Although there were memorable moments during the game, Daisley mentioned areas of improvement for the future. Specifically, she hopes that the team can better maintain its composure in its next game.
“It was a really intense night… Even if we would win the ball, [we were not] not distributing it as quick as we would have liked or just being a little frantic in our decision-making. So hopefully in our next game, we’re more calm and collected,” said Daisley.
Andover Girls Soccer will travel to Exeter on Saturday for its annual Andover/Exeter rivalry game.
