After three scoreless first quarters, Co-Captain Travis Bouscaren ’14 ripped through the water on a fast break to nail a goal against Exeter in the fourth quarter on Wednesday. Despite radically improved play with another two goals from Nick Faulkner ’16, Andover Boys Water Polo fell 10-3 to Exeter. Andover hoped to take advantage of its rematch against Exeter after a close 7-9 loss in its first game of the season, but Andover struggled to recognize Exeter’s strategic plays and to capitalize on scoring opportunities. “We lacked intensity and struggled on offense. Overall, we were just unable to cope with their style of play, costing us many goals,” said Aaron Teo ’15. “We had one of our worse games of the season, which was disappointing, especially given the timing of the game, very close to the playoffs,” said Bouscaren. Wednesday’s game followed a 13-4 loss to Deerfield on Saturday. After Boys Water Polo took a detour on its way to Deerfield to pick up JV Football, Andover started slow and struggled to gain momentum. “Due to [the stop], our warm-up was very rushed and the refs started the game as we were still preparing,” said Bouscaren. “We were all feeling lethargic after the long bus ride and due to the lack of warm-up we came out in the second quarter not prepared for the physical game,” he continued. Despite two consecutive losses, Andover is still among eight teams in the play-offs for the Final Four Tournament. Andover remains hopeful after improvements in performance in both games. “Instead of going to Travis all the time, most of the kids are able to step up themselves and score now,” said David Cao ’14. After its game against Hopkins this Saturday, Andover will travel to Exeter once again to bid for a spot in the Final Four Tournament next Wednesday. “We are all excited about the possibility to play in the Final Four, something Andover has not done in a while,” said Bouscaren. He added, “We plan on working as hard as we can in these upcoming practices to do everything we can to come prepared and take revenge on the teams we have lost to, Brunswick, Deerfield and Exeter, which we will hopefully play again in the tournament.”
