Keaghan Murphy ’27 controls the ball on the field.
Andover: 3, St. Paul’s: 0
Andover: 3, Governor’s Academy: 3
Girls Soccer dominated against St. Paul’s, earning its first clean sweep of the season. Governor’s proved to be a more challenging opponent, yet Girls Soccer still maintained its undefeated streak at home and came out with a tie.
Murathime Daisley ’26 noted that playing on Graves field, the team’s main practice site, proved to be a crucial advantage against St. Paul’s. She spoke on the team’s knowledge of the field and how Andover was able to gain a competitive edge.
“We worked on finishing in the final third a lot, which proved to be good because we finished much more than we do normally. We were playing on Graves, which is our practice field, and we know that field very well, and all of its imperfections. We were able to play very comfortably. We were playing how we would in practice, and our practices are pretty intense. We were just having fun, which was what helped us win,” said Daisley.
In an email to The Phillipian, Head Coach Lisa Joel described the victory against St. Paul’s as a strong defensive effort. She highlighted defender Lilliana Keim ’25 as a pivotal threat that could not be contained.
Joel wrote, “The 3-0 win over St. Paul’s stood out as one of our best eighty-minute efforts to date and led to our first shutout of the season. Three different players found the back of the net — [Co-]Captain Hayden Fischer [’25], [Co-]Captain Emily Mara [’25] and Upper Wylie Roossien [’26]. The back line of [Co-]Captain Ava Davey [’25], Keaghan Murphy [’27], Lily Keim [’25], Emily Decker [’26], and newcomer Nina Oswanski [’28] as well as Lower [goal]keeper Jackie Dill [’27] proved to be the difference makers in holding the St. Paul’s offense to few dangerous offensive opportunities. Of particular note was Senior back Lily Keim’s play attacking out of the back — a continuous threat that St. Paul’s struggled to defend.”
Wednesday’s game on Smoyer Field resulted in a tie. The team was down 3-1 at half-time but entered the second half ready to fight back with renewed energy, determined to turn the game around. Girls Soccer was able to score two goals and give up none in the remaining 40 minutes. While not exactly the result the team had hoped for, the second half of the game demonstrated Andover’s resilience, according to Daisley.
Daisley said, “Governor’s, they were a good team. Their main strength was that they had a very talented striker. We were down 3-1 in the first half, so I’m proud that we were able to get back in the second half, but it wasn’t necessarily the desired result.”
Daisley continued, “Our whole team, even the people who were on the bench, all contributed to the comeback, because we could have made a decision when we were down to just check out of that game, but we just kept high energy. It was a group effort that helped us come back, not just one player.”
Daisley believes that the team will work on improving the consistency of play throughout the whole 80 minutes, specifically entering the game with strong momentum and maintaining it.
“Our coach sometimes says that we’re a second-half team, and what she means is when we’re down in the second half, that’s the catalyst for us to start locking in. But just making sure that we’re not just starting with high energy, but also maintaining that and keeping that consistent throughout the whole game [is important],” said Daisley.
The team looks forward to traveling to and facing Northfield Mount Hermon on Saturday.