Andover Girls Junior Varsity Eight (yes, that’s right: eight) Lacrosse team’s game against Lil’ Sproutin’ Rompers Preschool from North Reading provided interesting challenges for both teams present on Saturday afternoon.
Before Saturday’s game could even start, Mona Lott ’14 quit the team because she “refused to play against her three-year-old niece,” according to Lott’s older sister.
The game, which was held in Mrs. Chase’s backyard, began with several Lil’ Sproutin’ Rompers simply refusing to use any other form of transportation other than the somersaulting around the lawn. Unexpectedly, instead of questioning the toddlers, Andover players proceeded to copy them and rolled around the yard with sticks in hand.
Confusing the ball with a teddy bear, a Lil’ Sproutin’ Romper fell asleep into the Andover net while hugging the ball and scored a last minute extra goal. Andover was unable to score.
The team has gotten off to a rough start this season, especially when you consider that the team lost to West Elementary School’s fourth period gym class with a score of 0-93.
Despite these brutal matches, the team has performed to expectations. The players “mainly spent the first couple weeks of practices learning how to get into a comfortable run without falling and breaking something,” Estelle Hertz ’15 wrote in an e-mail to The Phillipian.
Currently four of the seven JV8 players, including Captain Ophelia Payne ’12, are in some sort of cast or brace because of unintentional, self-inflicted injuries.
Although the team has never won a game, Girls JV8 Lacrosse remains optimistic for the rest of the season and those yet to come. According to Norma Leigh Fitt ’13, three members of the team, “just learned how to tie their shoes, which is a pretty big deal.”
