Field Hockey (14-0) extended its season-long winning streak with wins against Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH), Buckingham Browne & Nichols (BB&N), Deerfield Academy, and Nobles and Greenough (Nobles). The team’s defense led shutouts against NMH, BB&N, and Nobles, only letting one goal in against Deerfield.
Meredith Southard Pantano ’27, who plays as a midfielder and forward, described the offensive and defensive prowess displayed against NMH and BB&N, which served as indicators of Andover’s own improved play.
“[In] our NMH game, we were still working on a lot of our aspects of passing, and we were really working on our defense. And then we saw it come together a lot more in our BB&N game, where we ran up the score. Our play is [of a] higher quality. It’s steadily increasing, and those games were markers,” said Southard Pantano.
Deerfield, being a strong and previously undefeated team, had been on the team’s radar since the beginning of the season. Additionally, according to Vanessa Hall ’28, Deerfield is one of the team’s best rivals. Pumped up to battle its opponent, Andover scored the first goal three minutes in, shifting the game’s momentum in its favor.
“We knew it was going to be a big game. They came out super obnoxious, and that fired everyone up to want to beat them. We [started] really strong and had the ball almost the whole first quarter and got up one to nothing. It was 3-0 by the end of the half,” said Hall.
Co-Captain Lucy Parker ’26 highlighted the team’s momentum from the start of the game to its pride after defeating its opponent.
“Finally getting [to Deerfield] after the bus ride, playing, and winning was definitely huge. As a whole, everyone was super proud of the work that we were able to put in and then get the results that we wanted,” said Parker.
Before facing Nobles, another noteworthy competitor, Pantano mentioned that the team demonstrated focus. They prepared with both excitement and discipline, a quality that set the tone for their match.
“There was definitely a lot of energy and excitement around it, but also lots of determination. There was almost like a buzz in [the air]. Everybody knew what they had to do and did what they needed to get it done,” said Pantano.
The team’s focus translated into its first two goals at the beginning of the game, and the third goal that came later in the first quarter, which Pantano determined as the turning point. She believed that this goal demonstrated the team’s season-long preparation, a culmination of their hard work.
“Because [our goal] came off such an interconnected passing sequence, it just really put into play everything we’d been working on this whole season. It was really a huge team goal,” said Pantano.
Field Hockey looks to continue its undefeated streak at home against Groton on Saturday.
