The Boys Varsity Water Polo team outplayed and outworked the number one seed Deerfield, winning 7-5. But the elation was cut short on Wednesday. Exeter beat Andover 6-2. In a match-up earlier this season, Deerfield squeaked out with an 8-6 win. Captain and Goalkeeper William Faulkner ’09 started the game in goal, defending the deep end. The two teams played back and forth with neither scoring until Asa Harrington ’09 finally found the back of the net to give Andover the lead, 1-0. In the second period, Goalkeeper Dan Larson ’11 defended the shallow end. Deerfield stepped up its offense in the second period, netting three goals. However, Curtis Hon ’10 responded by scoring a goal, and Deveney contributed on offense with a goal of his own. At the half the score was tied, 3-3. In the third period, Faulkner once again provided strong goalkeeping. Conor McAuliffe ’10 scored his first goal to give Andover the lead, but Deerfield answered back. Hon scored his second goal to put Andover on top, and Parker Washburn ’09 led the defense for Andover with a great block. Faulkner made three tricky saves to keep the score tied 5-5 entering the final period. Larson entered as goalkeeper for the last period, and he played remarkably. Deveney scored his second goal to give Andover a 6-5 edge, and from there Larson did not let Deerfield score for the remainder of the game. Hon had a great deflection that led to a steal. William Falk-Wallace ’10 also had a deflection that led to a steal by Hon, and McAuliffe pressured Deerfield into several turnovers. Washburn had two steals, and his second one sealed the game, 7-5. On Wednesday, Andover faced Exeter. Larson started in the net in the shallow end, and had three adept saves, one on a difficult lob shot, to shut out Exeter in the first period. Hon scored the first goal of the game on a pass by Washburn, giving Andover the l-0 lead at the end of the first period. Exeter came out strong in the second period, taking advantage of its opportunities. Exeter proceeded to score three goals to take a two-goal lead. At the end of the second period, Exeter led Andover, 3-1. The third period was a defensive battle, with no goals scored by either team. In the final period, Exeter extended its lead with three goals. Faulkner made two great saves in the deep end, and McAuliffe scored Andover’s second goal of the game on an assist by Falk-Wallace. The final score was 6-2 in favor of Exeter. Andover will play in the New England Prep School Tournament next weekend.
