Andover Girls Hockey’s losing streak increased to eight games as the team suffered a 5-2 loss to Cushing this past Wednesday despite tying the game at two early in the third period.
Evagelia Toffoloni ’15 and Katerina Toffoloni ’15 scored to bring the score to 2-2, but Cushing pulled away with three consecutive goals in the remainder of the game.
Andover’s motivation in the game after a 3-0 loss over the weekend showed through improvements in offense.
“Our big strength was that we didn’t give up, even though they had four power plays. We ended up holding them off, and it was a definite strength that we came back from that. We stepped up in the third period and scored two really nice goals today,” said Coach Martha Fenton.
“It was a rough game but we played well. It was definitely a step in the right direction, and we’re on the road to improvement,” said Renee LaMarche ’14.
Earlier in the week on Saturday, Andover took on St. Marks and suffered a 3-0 loss.
Andover was away at St. Mark’s, and after a long bus ride Andover was lacking in energy.
Andover came out very slowly, and St. Mark’s was able to score midway through the first period.
“We went into Saturday really hoping that we would give them a good run for our money, but we just didn’t come out. We had a very slow start on Saturday. They jumped out in front of us pretty quickly,” said Fenton.
Despite Andover’s more aggressive defense in the second period, St. Mark’s scored again in the second period and a third time in the third period.
“We had a hard time generating offense and couldn’t crawl back into it after that start. We didn’t play as physically as we probably should have, and we just have to learn to play more physically,” said Fenton.
After the St. Mark’s goal, Andover picked up its play once again, but the team could not squeak out a goal.
“We really need to work on effort, and being in [the game] for all three periods. We also need to work on being consistent and having a strong defense,” said Eliza Quigley ’15.
However, multiple injuries over the season have not helped the team’s aspirations for improvement.
Elizabeth Kemp ’15 and Cara Daly ’13, previously out with concussions, returned to the lineup against Cushing. Hannah Sorkin ’14 has still not returned after her injury.
Andover competes against Deerfield away on Saturday, and main rival Exeter at home on Wednesday.
