Sports

Girls Hockey Shuts Out St. Mark’s, Only Varsity Team to Play on Wednesday Due To Widespread Illness on Campus

Emily Mara ’25 is committed to Boston College for soccer.

Shea Freda ’24 was a two-season Co-Captain for Andover Field Hockey.

Saturday 1/20 – Andover: 7, St. Mark’s: 0

Wednesday 1/24 – Andover: 5, Cushing: 2

On Saturday, Girls Hockey (6-2) hosted St. Mark’s and earned a shutout, with six saves from goaltenders Avery Rodeffer ’25 and three from Codi Pickering ’27. On Wednesday, Andover Girls Hockey traveled to Cushing and returned with a victory. The team came out strong, with four goals in the first four minutes of the game. 

Head Coach Martha Fenton ’83 reflected on Saturday’s game and although the score was disproportionate, with Andover not letting in any goals and scoring seven, Fenton believes St. Mark’s put up a strong fight.

In an email to The Phillipian, Coach Fenton wrote, “St Mark’s was a gritty team who competed right until the end, so it was a great game despite the lopsided score.”

On Saturday, the team struggled with starting the game strong, but according to Boyle, Andover was able to improve upon this weakness in Wednesday’s game.

Boyle wrote, “On Saturday, I think that we struggled to come out fast which we really improved on today scoring four goals in the first four minutes. On Saturday, we were able to pick it up and cycle well throughout the offensive zone. This created a lot of space and scoring opportunities which we were able to capitalize on.”

Girls Hockey was the only team to play in its game on Wednesday. Due to 40 percent of the student body diagnosed with influenza or flu-like symptoms, all other sporting events were canceled. According to Co-Captain Molly Boyle ’25, the decision of whether Andover would be allowed to play in its game was up to its opponents, Cushing. 

In an email to The Phillipian, Boyle wrote, “We were very grateful and fortunate to be able to be the only Andover team to play today. The decision was up to Cushing and they said it was okay, so we were super excited for that opportunity.

Boyle highlighted Siena Glass ’27 as a standout player in the game against Cushing. According to Boyle, Glass was all over the ice, worked incredibly hard, and made some outstanding plays. 

“Sienna Glass played very well in [Wednesday’s] game. She played super hard on the puck and made some very impressive plays in the defensive, offensive, and neutral zone” wrote Boyle.

Andover was missing four players on Wednesday, which, according to Fenton, was not too much of an issue, as the team has many talented players. Moreover, as the only team to play on Wednesday, Girls Hockey was grateful for the opportunity to play, and the team’s gratitude was reflected by the team’s performance.

Fenton wrote, “We were missing four skaters today, but thankfully we have good depth on this team and the other girls stepped up… I think we were all grateful for the opportunity to play, so if anything, it made the game all the more meaningful.”

Girls Hockey will play BB&N on the road on Friday.