Led by Attar Hat Trick, Field Hockey Battles to Tight Win Against Andover

EXETER - Moxie was beyond psyched before their last game on their home turf against Andover this E/a weekend. Their high spirits allowed them to pull out an impressive 4 -3 win, chalking up another W for the 2013 season. This marked Exeter field hockey’s first win at E/a in five years, cementing their final record at 10-7-1.Big Red came into this game as the underdog; Andover was second seed in the league, while Exeter came in as the 13th seed. Despite the discouraging stats, Moxie stepped up their game, giving the seniors the chance to experience an E/a win that they have worked four years to get. “We were so motivated for the seniors for their last game at Exeter, we all knew how important a win would be for them, especially after not beating Andover for five years,” upper Kimberly Dawes said.“Everyone was psyched for the game from the get go. It was definitely one lower Bronwyn Shields said.This game was close for the entire 60 minutes, with the lead flitting back and forth from Exeter to Andover. Big Red’s senior co-captain Sammy Attar scored the first goal early on in the game, starting the contest off strong with high intensity from PEA. Then, Andover came back and scored two consecutive goals to give them the lead.“In the second part of the first half, we had a little lull and they definitely had some strong offensive players who carried the team,” Shields said about loss of momentum during the two Andover goals. Both Andover’s offense and Exeter’s senior Katy Kinnon scored one more goal, ending the first half with a 3-2 lead by Andover.Exeter kept up their excitement and came into the second half stronger than before, tying up the game by another beautiful shot by Attar. “Our offense was a lot more agile and quick compared to the Andover defense, thanks to the coaching of Melissa Pacific, which helped us gain multiple scoring opportunities,” Shields said. Attar scored the final goal of the game in the last ten minutes of the second half, putting Exeter in the lead that they needed to keep for the rest of the game.“The last four minutes of the game were really intense because we were trying to keep the ball from Andover but they had possession of it for a majority of the last five minutes, so we had to lockdown defense so they couldn’t score,” upper Marley Jenkins said.The win felt amazing for everyone on the team. “It was incredible. I’ve never felt so happy. The seniors deserved to win and they did. I’m so incredibly proud of all of them,” Shields said.“Last year we were winning by one goal but Andover scored with less than a minute left and the game ended in a tie,” Jenkins said. “It felt good to pull out the victory this year. I’m also glad because this was the first time our seniors had ever beaten Andover in field hockey, and they have all given so much for the past four years. It was an amazing way for them to end their Exeter field hockey careers.”The underclassmen look forward to another year of Exeter field hockey, but are sad to see a great and talented class of seniors leave the team. “Needless to say it’s going to be a rebuilding year,” Shields said. “We are losing a lot of valuable players.”