4/26 – Andover: 6, Williston: 9
Girls Water Polo (3-1) were defeated in a hard fight against Williston Northampton (Williston), breaking its three-game winning streak. The team, having to adapt to an unconventional pool, was unable to regain its momentum.
Camden Schopler ’27 noted how the team came into the game with high hopes, wanting to extend its win streak. Team morale, though, changed throughout the game. Still, according to Schloper, the game will serve as a learning tool for the future.
“We went into it with such high spirits and then it wasn’t our best game. Towards the end of the game, everybody’s spirits were kind of crushed. We were all very disappointed to have ended our winning streak, but we are definitely going to use this game as a learning experience. Next time, we are for sure going to make sure to score as many goals as we can and also defend to get us up in the first quarter. In most of our other games, we have been able to do so,” said Schopler.
The team, according to Schopler, has prioritized building community prior to competition and meets for team breakfasts. Leading up to facing Williston, the team focused on simulating real games through scrimmages in practice.
“We all meet up for breakfast before games and boost our team spirit. Working hard during practices, helping out others who don’t know what they’re doing, who are new to the sport, and meeting up for team breakfast, to boost our morale have helped us bond as a team. We’ve also been scrimmaging a lot [in practice,] trying to set up to make sure everybody knows where they’re supposed to go. We’ve also been doing a lot of passing,” said Schopler.
Madelyn Esposito ’27 described Schopler as a player that strengthens the team bonds and is willing to help others improve. Even in her first year at Andover, Schloper has had a significant impact on the team’s direction in and out of the pool.
“Camden is a very good water polo player and I think she’s always working to communicate with the team and working to try to find ways that the team can better play during the game and at practice. I think she’s always a very good team player and she brings a lot of wisdom with the sport and as a new player she’s been very helpful. I think she really brings the team together, especially since this is her first year on the team,” said Esposito.
Additionally, facing Williston, the pool was unconventionally-structured, in which Williston defended on the shallower—around four-foot—part. Despite this setback, Esposito mentioned that the team tried its best to shift and will use what it learned in the game to help improve their future game.
“Williston also had a really shallow end and we started in the deep end, which meant it was technically easier for Williston to defend. We’re all used to playing in a pool where you can’t stand in it, but the Williston pool had a shallow end that was only four feet deep. So that was definitely a huge curveball for us. Even with that, we tried our best to adapt, but weren’t able to come back by the end,” said Esposito.
Audrey Baeten-Ruffo ’28 acknowledged that in the second quarter of the game team’s morale shifted and it leaned more heavily into its defense.
“After the first quarter, the score was five to one. We kind of turned that around in the second quarter, and we didn’t let them score on us. That was a time for us to calm down and try and turn it around and realize that we had a strong defensive base. It was a little bit harder to shift that into production on the offense, but I think everyone was doing amazing because Williston is a great team, and so it’s hard to score on them at all. Everyone in the pool did amazing,” said Baeten-Ruffo.
The team will face off against Choate and Loomis Chaffe at home on Saturday.
