Jazzy Cormier ’24 travels up the field, evading her Middlesex opponent.
Despite dominating the field for the first forty minutes of Wednesday’s game against Middlesex, Andover Girls Varsity Soccer struggled to find the back of the net. During the final minute of play in the first half, Co-Captain Emma Robinson ’23 whipped a free-kick outside the box to Emily Mara ’25 on the back post, and with a tap, propelled the team to another three goals in the second half. The team’s 4-0 win against Middlesex and 1-1 tie against Rivers on the previous Saturday puts its record at 2-0-1.
According to Jazzy Cormier ’24, the team entered the game on Saturday knowing it would be challenging and aggressive. However, Cormier believed a speedy offense allowed the team to outpace Rivers.
“Our team kind of revolves around pushing up the field and putting a lot of pressure on the other team. Basically the whole game was us trying to force them into our offense by using our really fast front runners, such as Wiley [Roosien ’26] and Emily [Mara],” says Cormier.
Kate McCool ’23 shared a similar sentiment to Cormier, highlighting the team’s focus on applying pressure to Rivers’ defensive line. According to McCool, although the pressure allowed the team to formulate numerous goal-scoring opportunities, only one of the opportunities was actually converted.
“Just like the game we played against Groton, our offense was pressing high in the final third on the field, which was very successful. We had a lot of great movement in the attacking third and a lot of crosses, which eventually resulted in Jazzy Cormier’s goal,” said McCool.
Under the leadership of Co-Captain Kelly Bu ’23, the team’s defensive line was able to withstand Rivers’ aggressive offense. The backline against Rivers consisted of Bu, McCool, Ava Davey ’25, Emily Decker ’26, Myranda Lu ’23, and Lily Keim ’25, alongside goalie Alejandra Alicea ’24.
“Our defense was very well led by one of our captains, Kelly Bu. She kept us in good shape through the entire game, and I think we really held our composure in the back,” said Cormier.
In contrast to the fast-paced game against Rivers, the game against Middlesex felt much more relaxed, according to Davey. Thus, Davey noticed that the team had more time to make decisions and passes, which allowed them to dominate possession.
“Our first touch on the ball was really good. We attacked the ball very well. We were the first team to the ball almost every time, [and] the ball was on their side of the field around 80 percent of the game,” said Davey.
Although the team’s persistence resulted in a sweep, Davey believes that the team still has much to improve on. For instance, she suggests that the team improve on its communication, especially when shifting the ball from one side of the field to another.
Andover Girls Soccer will play at Loomis Chaffee on Saturday and face Worcester Academy at home on Wednesday.
