The Girls Varsity Water Polo Team finished off its regular season this past week with two solid wins over Worcester and Northfield Mount Hermon, and an unfortunate loss to Exeter. In the first game on Saturday against Worcester, Andover fought through its closest match all season to come out on top in the final quarter with a score of 9-7. Although Andover had expected Worcester to be an easy win, the team was surprised to find that its opponents had improved since the beginning of the season. However, Andover still dominated the game and secured the win in the last quarter as the Worcester opponents clearly tired out. The game was tied throughout the first three quarters. Both teams played strong defense, rarely allowing breakaway drives or easy one-two shots during ejections. But it seemed that nothing could keep Andover from scoring as Kim Chang ’08 and Emily Brenner ’06 scored a goal each. Captain Laura Benca ’05 and Kelly Chang ’07 both netted two, and Parla Alpan ’06, once again leading the team in the offensive zone, scored three goals. The Andover starters overpowered NMH right from the start. Before NMH even had time to claim its defenders, the intimidating sound of ball-against-canvas resonated throughout pool after Alpan made an easy goal. In the first quarter alone, Andover scored nine goals and had barely broken a sweat. The final score was 18-6 in Andover’s favor. Although the scores never came close, the game was still an exciting one for Andover. Scorers included Kathryn Uhl ’06, Bridget O’Sullivan ’05, Sarah Pucillo ’08, Caitlin Feeny ’08, and Devon Zimmerling ’07. While other member’s names may not be recorded in the stat book, players such as Liz MacMillan ’08 contributed to the win just as heavily by making numerous steals and intercepts in the defensive zone. Only a week later, Andover traveled back to New Hampshire with high hopes to finally overtake its most closely matched competition, Exeter. However, Andover could not pull off the victory, ending the game with a final score of 4-14. The Chang sisters accounted for all of Andover’s goals with Chang ’07 scoring three, and Chang ’08 netting one. Overall, Andover’s reluctance to shoot once again prevented a closer game.
