After pulling off a spectacular victory against Deerfield this Saturday with a score of 8-2, the Boys Varsity Water Polo team lost 8-4 on Wednesday in an intense game against its long time rival, Exeter. Traveling out to Deerfield this Saturday, the team was feeling very confident for its upcoming match. During the first quarter, Andover established the pacing and outlook for the rest of the game with the team controlling the ball very well and forcing its opponents to follow Andover’s strategy. With the strong defense keeping Deerfield from having any scoring opportunities, Andover quickly took the lead with Howie Kalter ’07 driving the assault. After Kalter whipped the ball into the goal from the two-meter, he took advantage of a man down situation, snapping the ball in from the perimeter. During the second quarter, Andover continued with the barrage, scoring three more goals while Deerfield only managed one. After a nice shot by Dominick Dejoy ’07, Deerfield managed to respond with a goal of its own, taking advantage of the scrabble after a man down situation. Not even breaking its stride, Andover retaliated furiously, scoring five unanswered goals before the end of the game. After a quick steal, Andrew Faulkner ’07 received a nice pass on a fast break, slamming the ball past the goalie. Captain Jamie Neuwirth ’06 scored two goals from the two-meter. Kalter also scored two goals in the third quarter: one from the two-meter and the other a wicked skip shot from the left side. In the fourth quarter, Deerfield managed to sneak a goal in just before the game ended, leaving the score 8-2. On Wednesday, Andover went into the game against Exeter with high expectations. Even with focused intensity, Andover was never able to catch up to Exeter, who managed to speed ahead with an early lead. Everyone on the team still viewed the game as a success considering that this was one of the closest matches against Exeter. John Lippe ’06 recalled, “It was the small things that we did wrong that lost us the game.” Things like silly passing and defensive positioning errors kept Andover from coming out on top. Although Andover blasted down the pool and got possession first, Exeter managed to pull off a sneaky steal before the two-meter player backhanded the ball into the net. Exeter pulled the same trick, again, snapping the ball in from the two-meter. However, Andover retaliated during a man down situation, with Faulkner ’07 scoring from the perimeter. Rookie goalie William Faulkner ’09 managed to grab the loose balls, preventing Exeter from shooting, blocking a few hard shots. During the second quarter, Jeff Zhou ’06 slapped the ball out of the air and redirected it into the goal in one fluid motion, completely catching the Exeter goalie by surprise. Bogged down in the beginning by Exeter’s quick steals, Andover soon responded by making some quick turnovers of its own. Captain Neuwirth and Faulkner ’07 managed to work together and individually to steal the ball many times. Ryan Ferguson ’07, Zhou, and Kalter all made a few nice steals. Andover played solid defense with Rush Martin ’07 blocking many of Exeter’s shots. However, Exeter still scored many unanswered goals. During the fourth quarter, Captain Neuwirth scored a goal from the perimeter in a man down situation. Kalter slammed another goal into the upper right-hand corner on a man down. Exeter finished the game off with an amazing long-range bomber, skipping the ball from halfway across the pool, catching Andover unaware.
