Sports

Changed Mentality Gives Mixed Results: 3 Wins, 3 Losses

With mud flying off his cleats, Graeme Henderson ’14 threw himself into the air to catch the disc, tumbling into the end zone and pushing Andover to a 15-5 win over Somerville.

Andover went 3-2 in a two-day tournament over the weekend. On Saturday the team won two and dropped one, beating Amherst Regional Middle School and Somerville both by a score of 15-5 and losing to Lincoln Sudbury 15-11.

A changed mentality gave Andover the edge in its matches. Consistently superb physical play complemented the team’s dedication over the weekend.

“Our Captains always tell us the game is all in our heads. If we can get into the mentality that, despite adversity, we can win a game, we will. It is tough to get into that mental state sometimes,” said James Wolfe ’17.

Ian Jackson ’16, “As our Captain Alec Tolentino [’14] says, ‘It’s an attitude.’ We have to give our all to get the disc even if it means laying out. And on both days, so many of us laid out to make a great block that [Anthony Kodis, Athletic Stockroom Coordinator,] was furious about how dirty our white jerseys got,” said Ian Jackson ’16.

On Sunday, Andover beat Andover High on Sunday 13-7, but fell to Concord-Carlisle 14-9 in a close game.

“When we played Andover High, we were mentally prepared [and] performed at the best level we have all season,” said Wolfe.

“Our strengths were definitely being able to work against a zone defense, which we saw a few times in the tournament. Our positions worked very well against the zone, and we were able to work the disc across the field and send it down. Also, what really worked was our intense defense,” said Jackson.

Despite the momentum from the weekend, Andover was overpowered last Wednesday in a 15-7 loss to Masconomet Regional High.

The team will hope to replicate its success against Somerville in a rematch this Tuesday.