10/16 – Andover: 7, St. Johns: 11
Boys Water Polo faced a tough match against St. John’s Prep this Wednesday, ultimately falling short with a loss. The team got off to a slow start but made a strong comeback effort in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to secure a win. Struggles getting possession over the ball also played a role in the team’s loss. Despite the outcome, the team remains undeterred and plans to continue focusing on improving.
In their recent game against St. John’s Prep, Andrew Cai ’27 noted the heightened atmosphere brought on by the opponents’ family weekend. The larger crowd added pressure, making the game more tense for the players, but they pushed through, maintaining their focus.
“The atmosphere was pretty intense because it was their family weekend, and a lot of the players’ families were there. There was a lot of cheering because of the increased number of families of players in the stands,” Cai said.
In their loss to St. John’s Prep, the team underperformed and did not play to their full potential. Cai remarked that they struggled with ball control and made poor decisions, particularly when it came to maintaining possession.
Cai said, “I will say that we could have been smarter with our choices. During the game, we played sloppily, but that’s also because St. John’s is not the most composed team, so that tripped us up.”
Sean Niu ’25 described how recently, in games, the team has been getting off to a slow start, but finds its flow in the second half. He highlighted how the team picked it up later on against teams in the past, such as Suffield Academy, and began to stage a comeback that they couldn’t fully complete.
“We could’ve started stronger because we started lackadaisical, and that got the best of us, especially given that we were down by three or four after the second quarter. It was close. It could’ve been anyone’s game, but we locked in and tried to make a comeback when we were down by three or four in the first half. We just couldn’t get it done,” said Niu.
Even though they didn’t win, goalkeeper Hugo Appen ’27 received high praise. Niu described Appen’s performance in keeping the game close.
Niu said, “I’d like to shout-out Hugo Appen. He made some crucial saves and crucial passes. and I don’t think the game would have been as close as it was had it not been for Hugo. I was the goalie in the past, but now I have transitioned to being one of the six starters on the field, so this change opens itself up for more opportunities for others.”
When asked about some of their weaknesses during the games, Brandon Xu ’26 described how their defense was leaving gaps and how they had trouble guarding the set player.
“In the first half, we just weren’t crashing properly on their set player. We would just stop once their set player got the ball, but we got better at that in the second half, and hopefully, we can keep doing that in our future games,” Xu said.
Cai noted that the team needs to improve on bouncing back from difficult situations. In practice, he believes they should focus on minimizing the impact of bad situations and preventing them from escalating further.
“We struggle with adapting to specific situations, so, for future games, we’re probably going to focus on how to turn around a bad situation or what to do if we’re in a sloppy position,” said Cai.
Boys Water Polo will face off Brunswick this Saturday.
