The Andover Field Hockey team defeated BB&N under the lights in a close game, 2-1. Carly O’Leary ’07 scored two goals in the victory, and Andover improved to 8-1-3 on the season. It took a while for Andover to adjust to BB&N’s new and fast turf field. The Andover passing game struggled at the beginning of the first half with the fast surface. Finally, near the end of the first half, Andover found its passing rhythm, and the offense started to receive scoring chances. With under one minute to go in the first half, Lauren Jackson ’07 received the ball in the BB&N zone. She passed it to O’Leary, who beat the BB&N goalie for the first goal of the game. The Andover defense kept the lead in the final minutes of the half, and Andover headed into halftime with a 1-0 lead. The second half was back and forth, with both teams receiving good chances but failing to capitalize. As the half progressed, BB&N gradually seized the momentum and started to maintain possession in the Andover zone. The Andover defense was able to continue holding off the BB&N attack for most of the half. With under nine minutes remaining in the game, BB&N was finally able to beat the Andover defense and scored to tied the game 1-1. After the BB&N goal, the Andover Field Hockey team regrouped, received the center pass, and started their attack. Andover started to control the game after the BB&N goal. Three minutes after the BB&N goal, Andover’s O’Leary scored her second goal of the game. The goal gave Andover the 2-1 lead with just 5:45 remaining in the game. With the two goals, O’Leary increases her season total to six. The Andover defense continued its strong play, and BB&N could not score the tying goal. Andover held onto the lead, 2-1 as the game ended. Yet again, Andover won in a close game decided by one goal. Andover is now 4-0 in one-goal games. With the win, Andover’s record improves to 8-1-3 on the season. This Saturday, the Andover Field Hockey team will go on the road to face Cushing. Cushing boasts a 6-4 record and is on a five-game winning streak heading into Saturday’s game. Andover boasts a similar streak, having not lost since September, so Saturday’s game promises to be a good one. Andover will close the season with the annual Andover-Exeter contest. Exeter is 8-3, similar to Andover. Unlike Andover, Exeter is not heading into the game with momentum, having lost last Wednesday to Hotchkiss. They have one game scheduled before Andover, so Andover will benefit from a game’s rest against Exeter. However, Exeter always provides a good game, and it will be a good test to close the regular season.
