It was a week of ups and downs for the Girls Varsity Soccer Team, as they won their Saturday game to NMH with a score of 4-0, and lost their Wednesday game to Thayer with a score of 3-1. The first half of the NMH contest started out with Melissa McDonald ’06 in net and Kara Hollis ’07 keeping her offensive position. Within the first ten minutes of the game, Rosie Raymond-Sidel ’08 took control of the ball and brought it up the field to score the first goal of the game. Shortly after, Katie Koh ’05 received a spectacular pass from Becca Howe ’06 and sprinted the ball up the field to score Andover’s second goal and bring the score to 2-0. Towards the end of the half, Margaret Moore ’06 scored her first goal of the season to end the half at 3-0. As the second half started, McDonald kept her position in the goal. Andover’s defense had a difficult half, as NMH’s fast offensive players had a number of scoring opportunities. Despite the shots from NMH, the Andover girls managed to not let anyone score. Within the last few minutes of the half, scoring sensation Ali Holliday ’06 took the ball up the field and scored Andover’s last goal and the final goal of the game, to end with a score of 4-0. Captain Jess Taggart ’05 was thrilled with Andover’s performance, and commented, “Saturday’s win served as a prime example of the girl’s soccer team at its best. Despite a long bus ride to NMH, we excelled with composure and resilience throughout the game’s entirety, and completely shut down our opponents.” On Wednesday the girls took on Thayer Academy. They started off the first half with Julie Wadland ’06 back in goal. Within the first few minutes of the game, Taggart got control of the ball, and as she was sprinting up the field, collided with Thayer’s most aggressive offender. The collision resulted in Taggart being escorted off the field by an ambulance, and Andover left one captain down. After the loss of one of their captains, the Andover girls had difficulty keeping their composure. By the end of the first half, Thayer managed to get past Andover’s defenders and score two goals. After halftime, the girls entered the game with Wadland still in goal and a more focused attitude. Midway through the second half Raymond-Sidel gained control of the ball and made a perfect pass to Charlotte MacMillan ’05. MacMillan received the pass and made a perfect shot, scoring Andover’s first and only goal of the game, bringing the score to 2-1. Within the last few minutes of the half, one of Thayer’s best offenders took a shot on goal, and despite Wadland’s admirable attempt to save it, her injured hand prevented her from doing so, and the shot resulted in the last goal of the game and a final score of 3-1. The girls were disappointed with the loss, said Holliday, “The Thayer game was difficult. It was hard when Jess [Taggart] got hurt and had to leave, but we tried to keep it together to finish out the game.”
