Jeffery Lim ’27 prepares to pass the ball to a teammate.
Andover 13 – 2 Westminster
Andover 7 – 6 Deerfield
Backup goalie, Nathan Egbuna ’26 blocks critical shots during the second half against Deerfield, securing the Andover Boys Water Polo to pick up two huge wins against Westminster and Deerfield. These wins bounced Andover back from a rough start to the season and showcased the team’s capabilities.
Ethan Zhu ’26 commented on how the team relied on improving their fundamentals of shooting, egg beating, pacing, and counterbacks to succeed in the double-header. The team meticulously practiced possible plays and came up with offensive strategies for a fast paced offensive team.
Zhu said, “We had to make sure to position our body so that we wouldn’t get any fouls called on us or kick outs. Those are definitely things that we wanted to keep in our minds while we were playing them.”
The team’s mental composure and positive attitudes secured Andover the win, commented Oliver Stabach ’26. Regardless of the scoreboard, the team pictured it to be 0-0, a reset for each new offensive play.
Stabach said, “[We] just played like every goal was important, which is kind of important if we were up. And we would play the same as we would if we were down points, so we wouldn’t play cocky or we wouldn’t play nervous.”
The key to the Westminster win was communication and teamwork, noted Co-Captain, Jason Kokones ’25. Kokones discussed how Andover consistently passed to one another and anticipated each other’s moves which created great chemistry.
Kokones continued, “In previous games, we haven’t been necessarily on the same page, but definitely when it came to our Westminster game… We just came right off the bat and we were super strong. We were all on the same page and we got off to a super big lead. I think we were all super happy with how we performed and the work that we’ve been putting in.”
Playing together for four years, Co-Captains Kokones and Zach Godsey ’25 were applauded on their communication to callout upcoming plays and in noting the ball’s position in the pool. The captains’ vast experience helped them create numerous scoring opportunities and other offensive plays for their teammates.
Zhu said, “[They] make sure to yell out ‘Hey, this player is doing that!’ or ‘X number is doing that’ or ‘Watch this certain play, watch out for this’… Overall the team is always pretty excited to go to the games. And even if we lose, we come out with an open mind and we’re open to having improvements.”
Kokones noted that because the team had gone through adversities in its first few games, they were fueled to overcome their defeats by dominating against Westminster and Deerfield. Andover hopes to continue honing its skills and team chemistry to defeat Williston, who had previously beaten Andover at the beginning of the season.
Kokones said, “We had our morale beat down a little bit and we were a little upset and I think that kind of set a spark under us that we need to get it together so that next time we play a strong team, we’ll be more prepared and we can match them in regards to skill, teamwork, and all the things that play into playing good water polo.”
Water Polo plays Williston on Saturday.
