ANDOVER — It has grown to be as much a part of November in these parts as turkey, stuffing and frozen breezes that warn of what brutal weather lies ahead:
Andover vs. Walpole in high school field hockey.
For the fifth straight year, the two Division 1 powerhouses will collide, thanks to Wednesday night’s gritty, 1-0, Warrior win over Acton-Boxborough.
Unlike the previous four meetings which were in state finals — each school taking home a pair of championships — the 2025 version will take place in the state quarterfinals at top-seeded Walpole with a date and time to be announced.
“That will be fun. We should just schedule them as a league game at this point,” laughed Andover coach Bridget Morris.
“It was bound to happen. They’re one of those teams that every time we play them, I never know which way it’s going to go. I’ve seen some game film. I think we know what to expect. I just have to see what we can match and what we can do.”
Warrior Chloe Broderick picked the perfect time to score her first goal of the season with 1:26 left in the third quarter.
The junior took a penalty corner entry from sophomore Caroline Vaughan and unleashed a top-shelf blast that beat the A-B keeper cleanly.
“It was her first goal this year, and I had been ragging her all season that she hadn’t scored yet,” joked Morris.
“That’s not a corner we typically do. We don’t normally do directs. We like to do more passing … It was new for her to be taking (the shot). She was even shocked when I called the corner, but she did well.”
Broderick said while she was surprised, she was also ready for the big stage.
“When it got called, I knew what had to happen. It was getting late in the game. It was just good to get it in and give us the confidence to keep going,” said Broderick.
“She’s a phenomenal goalie. We had to find ways to get around her. It was definitely unexpected. I haven’t scored all season. I’ve just been waiting for that moment, and then it happened, and I just ran into my teammates’ arms.”
The goal was the only goal of the night because of some amazing work in the Andover net by Rayna Cozzaglio, who had at least three counts of highway robbery in the second half and also got a hand from Broderick, who about two minutes before her goal made a stop inches before the line to prevent A-B from taking the lead.
“They had a lot of really great chances, and my goalie made a couple great saves. Chloe Broderick saved one on the goal line,” said Morris. “Those things matter. We practice all of that. We practice making saves on the goal line. We practice things like that, so that was nice to see.”
And now the No. 8 Warriors get their shot to take down the top seed.