Lucy Parker ’26 runs toward the opponent planning to intercept the ball.
Andover vs Exeter : 6-0 W
Andover vs Milton : 2-0 W
On Saturday, the number 1 ranked Girls Field Hockey team competed in its annual Andover/Exeter (A/E) game, claiming a victory of 6-0 and adding a 16th win to its undefeated season. This streak continued when, on Wednesday, the team competed in its first playoff game, facing number 8 seed Milton Academy, whom the team beat 5-0 earlier in the season, securing its spot in the semi-finals with a 2-0 win.
Regarding the team’s game against Phillips Exeter Academy, Kimberley Duplessis ’27 highlighted the skills of Co-Captain Molly Boyle ’25. She recalled her strong performance, characterized by many goals.
“I’d say Molly Boyle [stood out], because she scored three goals, or four, or something like that. She definitely got a hat trick. She was on fire the entire game and was amazing. She just killed it,” said Duplessis.
Additionally, Vanessa Hall ’28 commended Senior, Meg Stineman ’25. Hall noted that Stineman also scored an impressive goal, coming up with possession from the defensive area to the offensive area.
Hall said, “[her goal] was our third goal. Our midfielder Meg carried the ball up almost the whole field and just had a really good shot from the top of the circle that went in. It was a really good shot and just a good play overall.”
After the quarterfinal game against Milton on Wednesday, Quiana Bell ’26 noted that Milton brought out some tactics that forced the team to adjust its play and algorithm. Nonetheless, she praised the whole team for a strong, collaborative effort.
Bell said, “[Wednesday] was just a big, honest team effort. We didn’t score a goal until the third quarter and I don’t think it was any specific person because it literally took the entire team to get the ball from the defense all the way up to the offense to get that tip in by Molly Driscoll [PG ’25]. We worked really hard throughout the whole game to really just put that ball in the net. During the whole first half, we didn’t really possess the ball that much and we didn’t really have many scoring opportunities, so really having just that goal in the third quarter and everybody working together to get that goal was just important for our team.”
Following this win, Field Hockey looks forward to its semi-final game taking place on Saturday. Ultimately aiming to win the championship game, Bell reflected on the team’s challenges while facing Milton and shared the aspects of play the team plans to improve leading up to its faceoff against number 4 Greenwich Academy.
“We play [Milton] every single year in the playoffs, but I would say for our game we’re having a bit of trouble with our ball movement. Milton would crowd the ball; they would send four or five girls. We had trouble just keeping possession and making moves around the girls and would go through and they were there to stop us every time. We want to work on moving the ball quicker, like one touch to get up the field, and then having those elimination moves to get around those people. Keeping our composure and keeping our heads up to look forward to that space and not a passage where there’s like a whole group of people will help us for future games and against Greenwich,” said Bell.
Field Hockey will compete against Greenwich Academy on Saturday in its semi-final game at home on Saturday at 1 pm.
