At the Rivers Play Day Jamboree, Field Hockey opened its season with scrimmages against various other prep schools, including Rivers, Winsor, and Moses Brown. Andover defeated each of its opponents. The team returns from its second consecutive time both maintaining an undefeated record and winning the NEPSAC Class A Championship last season.
Maya Kou ’28 emphasized the importance of filling open roster spots left by the graduating class and how their progress showed up in the scrimmages.
“We lost 12 Senior [athletes] last year, so it’s important for our team to fill those gaps. It’s also important for other people to step up, and our scrimmages today were a good opportunity to take a good first step into our season. We won all of our quarters, so it was really good to see how different people play with others and to test out new team strategies,” said Kou.
Philippa Hoffmann ’29 shared strategies the team used in scrimmages and how they received feedback on what to improve going into the season.
“Our plan during the games is always to press and communicate a lot, and that’s how we win. We played against a few teams for a short time. We won everything, but we have some things to change. Overall, we had a good structure. We could communicate a little bit better, but for our first real game together, it went well. Our passing on the outside [allowed us] to get into the circle of the other team, and if we do that more often, we [can] really get a chance to shoot goals,” said Hoffmann.
Al Hartmann ’28 shared what the team energy and chemistry was like during the jamboree.
“This was the first time we were playing together against other opponents, so it was a great opportunity to support each other and play together as a team. [The team was] really supportive, and there was great communication,” said Hartmann.
Hoffman elaborated on her experience coming into this season, especially being new to Andover. She emphasized the motivating team spirit and how welcoming the team was.
“I was overwhelmed coming from Germany to America. The whole team spirit is so different. They’re all motivating, friendly, and welcoming. I felt at home immediately. We’re looking forward to building a really strong team connection and having a good time during the games, because you always need to have fun,” said Hoffman.
Field Hockey will compete at the Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter) Play Day Jamboree on Saturday.
