After dropping an early season game to Nobles 9-7, Andover Girls Lacrosse rebounded with a 14-9 win over Deerfield on Wednesday.
Andover went ahead early against Nobles with a goal from Captain Hailey Novis ’13. But, relentless in its attack, Nobles was able to fight back and gain a 6-3 lead by the end of the first half. Novis scored all three goals for Andover.
Despite the combined efforts of Novis and the team, Andover ended up falling up short and losing 9-7.
“I think the more we get comfortable with each other the better we are going to play,” said Novis. “Also, after each game, our following practices are made to work on the parts of the game that we needed to work on so each game we can get better and better at those things.”
Novis has stepped up and taken her leadership skills to a whole new level, both on and off the field. In the last two games she has scored over eight goals.
“[Novis] has been a great role model both on and off the field,” said Eliza Quigley ’15.
“[Novis] is really consistent, and you can always count on her to make a something happen or score a big goal,” added Hannah Burns ’15.
Andover turned a corner, though, when it beat Deerfield 14-9 on Wednesday.
Novis, Cara Daly ’13, Burns, Quigley, Meredith Collins ’14, Nekele McCall ’14 all scored against Deerfield.
On the defensive side, goalie Ashlyn Aiello ’14 had made numerous saves for Andover. Facing pressure from both close and far shots, Aiello was able to keep her composure in net. Her quick reflexes from playing goalie in hockey as well as field hockey have allowed her to keep Andover afloat thus far.
Most of Deerfield’s goals came from fast breaks. Burns said, “Although we won, we can still work on protecting our net and looking to take more care of the ball when leaving the end of our field.”
The end of the game got chippy when Deerfield was doubling and tripling the ball carrier in hopes of causing a turnover. However, Andover displayed great teamwork, moving the ball consistently to maintain possession in the closing minutes.
Andover looks forward to its next game at Pingree on Friday, where it hopes to build on its success over Deerfield.
