Andover Girls Lacrosse secured a victory in their scrimmage against Austin Prep on Wednesday. The team was scheduled to partake in another scrimmage against Lexington High School on Saturday, but due to poor weather conditions, the match was canceled.
According to Ellie Parker ’25, Andover had the advantage for the entirety of the Wednesday scrimmage. She highlighted how everyone contributed to the success of the match.
Parker said, “We were out-competing them the whole time. After the first quarter, I think we were up 6 or 7 to 1. So from the beginning, we had the momentum, instead of them, that carried throughout the whole game… It was definitely a whole team effort. Everyone got in, we had a lot of different scorers, and everyone all the way from our defense to our mids to our attacks contributed to the game.”
In preparation for the scrimmage, Andover honed in on offensive and defensive skills, according to Quiana Bell ’26.
“On offense we wanted to work on our movement and making sure that we never kept our feet planted, working with each other, running different isolation plays from different parts of the eight-meter, setting picks off of each other. Then on the defensive end, we worked a lot on staying big, getting our sticks in the passing lane, and … working on our communication, crashing when s[omeone is coming] in the eight and especially defending the cutters when they are going through the middle…” said Bell.
The scrimmage was the first unofficial interscholastic game of the season, and therefore also the first time Andover was competing against another team as one unit. Though it was early in the season, Parker mentioned that the team had already begun to better understand each others’ playing styles and strengths.
“We worked on getting to know one another, and our style of play on the field because we’re a new team. So we just worked on the flow of new players and practice, and communication all over the field, not just on defense but on offense too, and playing towards each other’s strengths and just working off of one another to best set each other up in the offensive zone,” said Parker.
To help integrate new players and create a friendly environment, the team has ensured that everyone has had the chance to spend meaningful time with their fellow teammates. Bell noted many bonding activities that players do off the field along with a “buddy” system that allows players to form deeper connections with one another.
Bell said, “The new people are scattered all around different grade levels which I feel is helpful and I think in general we are just a very welcoming team, we always hang out with each other. As a team, we have a buddy on the team, which I feel is a great way to learn about somebody else you maybe don’t know as well. We’ll play different games before practice, we’ll walk down to dinner together. We’ll hang out in the locker room, and listen to music, so I feel like there’s not a chance for the new people to be by themselves…”
Although Andover won by a considerable margin on Wednesday, Bell noted the team could improve on its speed of play and off-ball movement as it looks ahead to the start of its official season. Moreover, Bell said that the team could work on defending fast breaks, from which Austin Prep scored their goals.
Bell said, “Especially at the beginning of the game on offense we struggled a little bit with not moving. We kept passing around because we were up by so much that we did not feel like we needed to move. But as the game progressed we started passing, cutting, [and] moving the ball faster, and that comes with team chemistry as well. And then the couple [of] goals they did have came off of fast breaks from the circle, so they would get the draw and they were able to beat our defense and score, so I feel like we will work on how to defend those fast breaks… ”
Parker also emphasized the need to continue to get better and develop team chemistry, as the team will very soon play stronger opponents.
“We will just continue to work with each other as it is pretty early on in our season. We play Nobles next Friday and they’re always a very strong team, so I think the next week of practice, we just need to focus on our strengths and keep improving on working with each other,” said Parker.
Girls Lacrosse will have its first official game of the season against New Hampton on Saturday.
