It was a difficult week for Andover as it lost to NMH under the lights at Phelps Stadium and then tied a talented Thayer Academy squad, 1-1. Last Friday night, the team played against a skilled and well-conditioned NMH squad. Playing through the rain and in front of a cheering crowd, the girls put on a good show, but ultimately fell to NMH 2-1 in a well-fought battle. Northfield Mount Hermon came out of the huddle at the beginning of the game with great intensity, scoring two goals in the first 15 minutes of the game. Keeping the ball in Andover’s defensive half, disaster struck when an NMH outside midfielder took the ball up the right side of the field. A lofted cross found its way over the Andover defense and onto the foot of an NMH striker on the back post, who finished the ball in the back of the net. The second goal happened when a talented NMH striker dribbled through the defense and had a one on one opportunity with Andover goalkeeper Alex Farrell ’10. The opposing striker attacked the goal with great pace and slotted the ball past Farrell to give NMH a two goal cushion, 2-0. Caught off guard by NMH’s passionate and skilled style of play, Andover was forced to increase its focus and level of play. Moving the ball quickly and confidently, the girls created many scoring chances and had many shots on goal. Three of these shots unluckily hit the post and the NMH defense managed to get the ball out of play. Hard work paid off when Andover finally scored towards the end of the second half. A ball was volleyed towards the NMH goalkeeper, who failed to handle the ball successfully. Emily Little ’09 was there for the rebound and calmly put the ball into the far side of the goal. Unfortunately, Andover was not able to score a second time and the game ended with the home team down, 2-1. Little was a definite bright spot for the team during this game, as she personally marked NMH’s best player with tenacity throughout the entire game. Also having an exceptional game was Katherine Sherrill ’10, who played in the back and really stepped up her game. Things fared slightly better for Andover as they tied a very composed Thayer squad, 1-1. Andover switched the starting lineup a bit by moving Little ’09 from back, where she has playing very well this season, to forward. The move proved to be beneficial, as the home team scored the first goal of the game. Receiving the ball in the offensive third of the field, Emily Little played a great to ball to Shannon Neschke ’08 in the Thayer goal area. Shannon received the ball calmly and shot the ball past the Thayer goalkeeper to make the score 1-0. Thayer then possessed the ball for quite some time after this goal, playing defense tenaciously while the midfielders consistently worked hard, but Andover stayed tough and continued with its great offensive pressure. In a quick counter-attack, a Thayer striker managed to get a breakaway opportunity, which she touched by Andover goalkeeper Alex Farrell ’10. The second half opened with both teams in a 1-1 bind. It was a struggle for both teams as they both played hard and had many chances to score. Andover was almost rewarded for its efforts when with less than 10 seconds left on the clock, a cross found the head of a diving Emily Little ’09. Unfortunately, the Thayer keeper managed to make the save, and the game ended in a 1-1 tie. Emily Little once again had a fantastic game, providing swift runs in the striker position. She was a key part in the only goal for Andover in the game, and was a dangerous offensive threat throughout the contest.
