10/12: Andover: 10; Choate: 12
10/16: Andover: 14, Suffield: 15
This past Saturday and Wednesday, Andover Water Polo played Choate and Suffield Academy (Suffield), falling short in both games.
Jeffery Lim ’27 commented on how the team usually finds the rhythm of the game toward the end, and how its play missed key opportunities early on. However, he recognized the team’s streak at the end of its game against Choate.
“Our team always shines the most at the end of games and even this time around we had a little moment where it all clicked near the end, there are always times when we could benefit from that more but don’t get the chance to. In the fourth quarter on Saturday, I’d say is when we were able to get some efficient ball movement going,” said Lim.
Despite the lack of athletic finesse from Choate’s side, Simba Xiong ’28 noted that the opponent’s defensive strategies were fruitful. Although Andover was beginning to improve in coordination towards the end, the team was unable to make a comeback in either of the games.
“Right now we’re working a lot on defense, especially one on one defense because I think in the game the situation I noticed a lot was that some of Choate’s swimmers, though quite slow, had really solid, strategic defense, which set up some situations we couldn’t come back from,” said Xiognu.
Xiong added to his previous point, noting the team’s steady improvements in teamwork and speed and its shortcomings in terms of strategy and defense.
“Our strengths were definitely that our team’s swimming skills were really good, much faster than Choate overall, but I’d say we need to improve on our passing because compared to Choate we weren’t very efficient. Also in terms of strategy, Choate’s offense near our goal would make opportunities for them [and] our opponents would score continually that way. But we didn’t have as much strategic planning going into the game, which put us at disadvantage,” said Xiognu.
Lim shared similar sentiments, noting the team’s athleticism. Although falling short in tight games, Lim emphasized the team’s perseverance and composure, while noting areas of improvement for Andover.
Lim said, “Strength-wise the team definitely excels in individual skills but we work on communication and teamwork and that really showed during our games… We lost both games so we weren’t really happy about that but we tried to keep it together and play through… [We will work on] more teamwork skills and practices, that’ll just help us get better at communicating.”
On Wednesday Andover faced an unfortunately close game, losing 14-15. Co-Captain Zach Godsey ’25 credited Oliver Stabach ’26 and Daniel Seong ’25 for their remarkable performances, particularly on the offensive side.
“Oliver Stabach put in a lot of effort. He’s a very consistent player and he has a lot of speed which can really be used to advantage, so I thought he had a really great game overall. Daniel Seong ’25 also had some great goals,” said Godsey.
Xiong also spotlighted new players who had moved up from last year’s Junior Varsity team. Xiong credited the newer players for stepping up during a tough match.
“From our JV team, some of the new players scored, which was unexpected and surprising in a good way. We were proud of that too. We also tried to make a comeback near the end of the game and although we didn’t succeed I’m still proud of us for trying all the way to the end,” said Xiong.
Andover Boys Water Polo will play St. John’s Prep on Wednesday.
