Recapping Most Unusual Fall Sports Season

• February 8, 2021

By Camille Storch

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Almost a year ago, there was no hope for spring sports, let alone fall sports. Being able to find ways to allow athletes to safely play was a struggle and topic in question, with many state board meetings being held throughout the summer to decide the fate of these special fall sports. The MIAA board pushed back the start of the fall season to September 14 for all Massachusetts teams, Andover beginning on the 18th due to their delay of start of school. Three categories were created to determine to what extent each sport would be able to participate and what sports would have to be moved to a postponed “Fall II” season in the late winter. In the end, football and cheerleading, along with girls swim and dive were pushed back, deemed the most “high risk” sports for student athletes based on the amount of physical contact they required between player to player. Athletes playing in the normal fall season faced various challenges and difficulties based on the new COVID regulations, but in some cases, it brought the team closer together. 

Boys Soccer (Captains: Jared Moses, Anton Pace, Anthony Previte, Ryan O’ Sullivan):

The boys soccer team made it to the division 1 north semifinals last year in the playoffs and were going into the fall coming off a really strong previous season, yet COVID had a serious impact on how far the team could make it this year. Captain Jared Moses felt that “one of the biggest restrictions that impacted [the] team was wearing masks as [they] were playing. Running and playing your hardest is tough when wearing a mask.” Moses went on to say that the masks restrict players ability to get as much oxygen as they need, especially when playing competitive soccer. Some staples that were missing from the regular season were the annual New England Revolution games, no pasta dinner, and only playing around 4-5 different teams, not being able to leave the conference. Captain Ryan O’Sullivan rated the season a seven out of ten and added “the only reason I am not completely bummed out is because we had an amazing run last year and I’m just glad myself and the other captains had a chance to go as far as we did. I would have been happy with anything this season because of it.” O’Sullivans favorite memory was beating Haverhill on their senior night, after a 7 game losing streak, and Moses articulated this statement, adding that his favorite part was just “being on the field with some of the best kids in the school.”

Girl’s Soccer (Captains: Ashley Kendrigan, Colleen Shay, Ashley Smith)

COVID had a large impact on the girls soccer team, a powerful group of players who had almost made it to the state championship last year, starting with the number of players able to participate. The roster was shortened to 22 players, and the amount of team bonding the girls were able to partake in was also cut short, with the team unable to do their annual canning, banquet, and end of year celebration. Captain Colleen Shay took an optimistic perspective on the limitations, stating that “We were all going through the same unfortunate experience together, and [she’s] really grateful for the bonds [she] was able to make with [her] whole team this year.” An interesting limitation impacted the technical rules of the game itself; there were no throw ins, no headers, and no taking corner kicks. Also, the team could only play certain, selected teams in the Merrimack Valley Conference, which cut off various non-league rivals and participation in the state tournament. On a scale of 1-10, Shay rated the season a 6, explaining that even though she is normally a really positive person, it was tricky finding the “bright side” of the season. “The nine other seniors on [Shay’s] team and [herself] have been playing together for [their] whole lives, waiting for [their] senior year. After growing up in the sport, it felt really unfair having [their] final, most important year taken away,” commented Shay. A favorite memory from the season was simply having fun with each other at practice and spending time together as not just teammates, but as best friends. Shay ended with “In the long run, it’s not all bad because I know I’ll be friends with these girls for a long time and we’ll have plenty of time together after COVID!”

Cross Country (Captains: Charlie Beams, Kayla Dibennetido, Jenna Freeland, Kirsten Muscat, Zack Nepomnashay, Cam Kirn, Owen Salamone)

Cross Country is, and always has been, a no cut sport, meaning the amount of athletes that can participate are unlimited. This year, the team had over 85 kids running, so they put a lot of effort into abiding by rules and different limitations in order to make the most of their season, and they sure did! Many athletes reached a personal record in their races, despite the semi-altered course, and the team made the best of the season that they could. “Some of the restrictions against our training included wearing masks during runs and workouts, we were only allowed to race in dual meets, we were not allowed to directly race with our components, and we had to limit our access to equipment and lifting,” recalled captain Jenna Freeland. Runners were not able to participate in any pre-season training and there were no annual MVC or MSTCA races. Freeland, along with fellow captains Kirsten Muscat and Kayla DiBenedetto, spoke to the lingering disappointment that this was their senior year, stating “No matter how long we did the sport for, whether it be one season or four, we all worked extremely hard. Senior year is known to be the best year where we see all of our hard work pay off.” Big pasta dinners, large meets, post-meet food stops on the highway, and more will be missed next year for the seniors who are graduating. Lastly, the seniors are so grateful that they were able to have an awesome senior night. “We were able to race and celebrate our hard work with our family, friends, and entire time (socially distanced and outside),” reminisced Freeland. 

Field Hockey (Captains: Heather Graham, Paige Gillette, Hannah Medwar, Allana Miller)

The returning Division 1 North Champs had to adjust this season as they faced

difficulties with COVID, but that did not stop them from playing as well as they did and ending their fall season undefeated. The first adjustment the team had to make was shifting from a 11v11 setup to a 7v7 setup, meaning that only seven players were allowed to play from Andover at once, instead of the regular eleven. Captain Paige Gillette stated that “Every player on the roster was talented and hard working enough to play at a high level and make an impact on the field,” and was disappointed for younger players who might have not gotten as much playing time as they deserved due to the restrictions. Gillete and her team were heartbroken to hear the post-season was eliminated and Gillete added that she was sure that the team would have taken home the state championship again! “I do, however, understand we are living through unprecedented times,” acknowledged Gillete, “and woke up every morning grateful for another day where I would get to play field hockey with this team.” Gillette and her co-captains rated the season a 10/10, “because any time spent playing high school field hockey for Andover High School is amazing and ‘the best day ever’.”

Volleyball (Captains: Abby Ledoux, Alexandra Papazian, Tatum Shaw)

Girl’s volleyball captain Alexandra Papazian will always remember the team’s Senior Day as a favorite memory from this unprecedented season. Normally, the team practices and plays in the Dunn Gym, but the team practiced in the field house because of desks placed in the gym for lunch. The Seniors were able to play one last home game in the Dunn Gym thanks to the administration helping move the desks. Family and underclassmen were able to help celebrate the seniors and it made the season special since it was the last opportunity for those graduating. The team only played six games this year, instead of the normal 20-game schedule. There was a significant reduction in opportunity to compete, but this didn’t stop the team’s motivation to continue to grow as players. “Girls volleyball always tends to be very close and we have pasta dinners with all three teams, being able to bond with everyone,” Papazian said, adding that although much was missing from the season, she rated it an eight because having her senior season of volleyball is something she has looked forward to since freshman year and she couldn’t be more grateful to experience it.