In its first away game of the season, Andover Boys Water Polo suffered a 10-4 loss against an overwhelming Deerfield squad but rallied to narrowly defeat Brunswick 5-4 in the second match of the day. Both games took place at Williston.
From the start of the Deerfield game, Deerfield’s dominant two meter player outmuscled Andover’s defense and found the back of the net several times before Andover’s Travis Bouscaren ’14 fired the ball past the opponent’s goalie on a beautiful perimeter shot. Despite valiant efforts from goalie and Captain Andrew Wilson ’12 throughout the game, Deerfield solidified its lead after numerous shots from both two meters and the perimeter continually converted to goals. However, according to Nick Camarda ’12, Andover “continued to fight through to the end of the game,” and even cracked Deerfield’s lockdown defense several times with goals from Chris Nanda ’12 and Eric Benca ’12. However, these opportunities weren’t enough to propel the team back into the game, and Deerfield closed out the game in a 12-4 victory.
Drained mentally and physically, the team looked to bounce back in a battle against a scrappy Brunswick team in the second game of the day. Positive energy and encouragement helped the team overcome the first loss, as Camarda said, “We have a very close team, and we helped each other through the rough points of the day.” After wearing down Brunswick in the first quarter with physical play, active offense and numerous shots, Andover took the lead with a fastbreak goal on a quick shot from Michael Camarda ’14. A defensive lapse allowed Brunswick to tie up the game, but Nick Camarda sniped the upper right corner of the net to give Andover a lead going into halftime.
Derrick Choi ’12 took command offensively for Andover in the third quarter, as he fought off a defender to sweep a shot over the goalie’s head and later scored a shot from the corner under pressure. His efforts increased Andover’s lead to 4-1. Mental lapses and defensive errors allowed Brunswick to creep back into the game in the final quarter despite a fifth Andover goal from Benca. In a valiant defensive effort, Andover defended a one goal lead for the last two minutes of the game. The game ended when Andover forced a bad Brunswick shot that missed the net in the final seconds, solidifying the 5-4 Andover victory.
“It was back and forth, and both teams played well,” said Wilson. “We played our game, and thanks to some very strong defense that came down to the last play, we were able to win by one goal.” With a full week to hone defensive nuances and offensive moves, the team will be ready for their double header against Williston and Hotchkiss this Saturday.
