Goalie Hugo Appen ’27 comes up clutch in third and fourth quarters, helping Andover narrowly defeat Deerfield.
Boys Water Polo (3-1) won a close match against Deerfield this week, pushing the team to a strong 3-1 start. In the game, the team worked cohesively offensively, which allowed it to lead early. When Deerfield retaliated by closing the gap quickly, the team was able to hold onto the lead, clinching the game by one.
Brandon Xu ’26 elaborated on the events of the game and the triumph at the end, crediting the defense for its gritty end-of-game play.
“In the first half, we were up 6-3, and in the second half, we started rushing things. Our passes weren’t as great, and overall, we were disorganized on offense… We allowed them to catch up, but ultimately our defense played really well to hold them off,” said Xu.
One of the significant aspects of the successful defense was strategy. Coming into the game, the team understood Deerfield’s playstyle and strategies. Lincoln Tomlinson ’27 talked about the approach that ultimately helped secure the win.
“A lot of the team has had a history with Deerfield, so we knew the way they play. We knew they were going to try to feed this one player, so we focused our defense around dropping on this player. Every time the ball went to him, we would crash on him, which means two or three players getting on this one player, and we made sure he didn’t score. The whole team was on the same page, and that was great. We stopped a lot of goals that way,” said Tomlinson.
The other key area of the defense was individual play. An outstanding performance from goalie Hugo Appen ’27 was crucial in fending off Deerfield’s comeback. Jeffery Lim ’27 shouted out Appen as a vital part of the team’s defense.
“Hugo is one of the reasons why our defense is the best it has been in a few years, and why we were able to stay in the game. Later, in the third or the fourth quarter, there were many times where Deerfield could’ve taken the lead, and Hugo made sure that that didn’t happen, so big shout out to him,” said Lim.
One prominent challenge for the team was that Coach Howard Kalter was away for personal reasons. As a result, the team had to step up and rely on its communication and chemistry. Tomlinson noted players who stepped up to that leadership role.
“I want to shout out Jeffrey Lim, Ethan Zhu [’26], and Victor Hillier [’28]. The three of them worked really well in leading our team and making call-outs and shouts because our coach was out for surgery that game. We coached ourselves, and they did a great job of leading the team and keeping us together,” said Tomlinson.
Lim added to Tomlinson’s comment, talking about how much Coach Kalter means to the team. The team was not just playing a regular game; every member was playing for their coach.
“We came together and knew that this game was more than just a game. We played for [Coach Kalter] because he wasn’t able to be there for us. Although it was a one-goal game, we are still proud of what we did,” said Lim.
Boys Water Polo hopes to carry its momentum to its next game on Saturday at Williston.
