Girls' Soccer Ties Andover
Coming off a tough 1-3 loss during last year’s Exeter/Andover games, Exeter girls’ varsity soccer managed to tie the blue 2-2 last Saturday. Having not won a game this month, the girls hoped to finish their season with a win that would redeem themsevles for their losing streak, but the tie ended their season with a 4-11-2 record.
Within the first minutes of the game, captain senior Jacie Lemos scored the first goal against Andover. After getting through several defenders, Lemos found herself one on one with the other team’s goalie. Lemos sent a beautiful ball to the back corner of the net. No goalie could have defended her perfect shot. This goal built up the energy of both the crowd and teams for the next 70 minutes of the game. Lower Samantha Weaver commented on how the bench stood for the whole game, screaming excitement and support for their fellow athletes on the field. “We came out strong with a goal right away which really set the pace of the game,” Weaver said.
Minutes after Lemos’ goal, Andover managed to score off a cross into the middle. Exeter’s half was densely populated with Andover’s offense, and a break in Big Red’s defense allowed Andover to send a ball toward the center. The ball landed at the feet of a Big Blue striker who skillfully sent it into the back of the net. With the scoreboard flashing 1-1, both teams passionately fought to score the next goal and win the high-stakes game.
Towards the end of the first half, Andover scored again—this time off a corner kick. As their offense stormed the goal, Andover sent the ball to the center. The assist was perfectly placed and just needed to be tapped into the goal.
The score remained at 1-2 until the last 10 minutes of the second half when upper Hannah Gustafson, nicknamed “Gus,” dove to head a ball into the net. Andover had given Exeter a corner kick, and thus upper and future captain Daniela Nemirovsky sailed toward Big Red’s offense. Lower Louisa Bartkovich commented on how at this moment the team realized all their hard work during the game paid off. The squad was determined to not lose to Andover again. “When Gus scored everyone went crazy and started hugging each other,” Bartkovich said.
Over the past three months, the team has grown closer and stronger. Each day the girls came to practice looking to improve. As a team that considers each other family, next year everyone will miss the five seniors: Courtney Gibeley, Bridget Higgins, Hailey Hudson, Lucy Weiler and Jacie Lemos. “We all wanted to play our best game in order to win because it was our last game with the seniors,” lower Jennifer Zecena said, “[They] will be really missed next season.”
The squad has already voted on next year’s captains—Daniela Nemirovsky and Grace Pratt. The leaders both have high hopes for next fall. “Next season, I hope we can improve our record as well as eliminating the little mistakes we have in our play sometimes,” Pratt said. Nemirovsky agreed with Pratt and added how she hoped next season the girls would bring as much energy as they did to the Andover game to every regular season game.
“For next year, as a team, I’d like to see us come out at the beginning of games with the same energy and rhythm we establish toward the middle of the first half,” Nemirovsky said. “It’s a huge testament to the amount of spirit and determination on this team that every single player—whether or not they started—plays with so much heart in every game.”