Led by a six goal performance from Julia Smachlo ’13, the girls water polo team cruised to a convincing 15-5 victory over Suffield Academy, improving the team’s record to 1-1. Molly Levene ’12 said, “I was really impressed with Julia Smachlo’s performance on Saturday. She really stepped up and scored a lot of points for the team.” The team jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first quarter of play before Suffield slipped one by goalie Kelly Powers ’11 to bring the score to 3-1. After allowing the goal, Andover consistently scored throughout the game to gradually build its ten goal lead. In addition to netting four goals, Julia Torabi ’12 played outstanding defense to prevent any offensive threats from Suffield. Amelia Danovitch ’13, who contributed two goals in the game, said, “We really look to Julia [Torabi] to steal the ball and start fast breaks. Her tough defense helps lead to important turnovers and eventually to goals.” Torabi’s defense led the collective team effort that limited Suffield to only five goals. Danovitch said, “On the defensive end, we were able to shut them down because we cut them off on most of their drives to the net. Since they were not able to drive to the net, they were not able to get off many high percentage shots.” The strong offensive play and resilient defense came from the explosive energy and determination the team played with throughout the entire game. Emily McKinnon ’13 said, “We were really good about playing our game and not letting the lead get to our heads. We kept up great energy for a full four quarters.” Even after this big win, the team looks to improve, as McKinnon said, “It is going to be really important to keep shooting well under pressure and not shooting directly at the goalie.” Torabi also noted, “We need to turn more attempts into goals and not waste our valuable opportunities.” Molly Levene ’12 summed up the game, saying, “We played well, but I am excited to see what will happen when we play Suffield again this Saturday. I think we can play even better.” The team looks to improve their record to 3-2 when they play Suffield and Hotchkiss this Saturday.
