3/28 – Andover: 14, New Hampton: 4 W
Girls Lacrosse (1–0) kicked off their season with a commanding 10-point victory against New Hampton School this past Saturday. Following a successful last season in which the team won the Prep Cup Tournament, the team had high expectations for its home opener.
Andover’s defense was the backbone of the victory, consistently disrupting the New Hampton’offensive flow. Vanessa Hall ’28 credited captain Quianna Bell ’26 for her lockdown defense, ability to anticipate drives, and execution of well-timed double-teams.
“When New Hampton tried to drive the ball, she would make good slides and double-team. There was one play specifically where she slid and double-teamed a girl that was driving and checked her, and then she got the ball, and we had a quick transition upfield,” said Hall.
The third quarter is often considered the most important part of a game, as the energy and momentum right after halftime can snowball into a plethora of goals. Hall recalled how the team clinched its victory with quick goals after allowing their opponents to climb back within reach.
“The beginning of the third [period] was really big because we were up 5–0, but then we sat back and got down to 5–3. At the beginning of the third [period], we came out after halftime and scored three or four goals right off the bat, so we solidified our lead, and got us good momentum for the rest of the game,” said Hall.
In lacrosse, a “ride” or “re-defend,” as Regan Driscoll ’28 calls it, is when the team loses possession in its offensive side of the field and tries to gain possession back by applying pressure and playing full-field defense. Regan Driscoll ’28 stressed the importance of the team’s ride to its success.
“The re-defend on the other team’s outlet made them turn the ball over, which gave us more offensive possessions, just overall, throughout the whole game, giving us more opportunities to score,” said Driscoll.
Despite the dominant victory, the team identified areas for improvement and has much to work on in its upcoming practices. Hall anticipated that as the team progresses deeper into the season, the work put in during practice will allow the team to be more successful, even against stronger opponents.
“I anticipate that we do some ground ball work, and maybe we’ll continue practicing a ride, and our clears, so offense and defense can work at the same time. We will continue working in pairs, because we could have used each other a little better than we did on offense, and to work off each other more,” said Hall.
Despite the team’s overall success against New Hampton, Charlotte Dorman, PG’26, shouts out Emma Morrison ’28 as particularly outstanding on offense.
“Emma Morrison came out with, I believe, three goals against New Hampton. She definitely killed it. Coach Wall sent us an email after, saying that we had 8 different scorers, so the goals really came from a lot of people, but Emma Morrison definitely stood out,” said Dorman.
Girls Lacrosse looks to secure their second win of the season at an away game against Noble and Greenough this Saturday.
