Sports

Lazy Effort Enough for Girls Lacrosse Against Milton; Beattie ‘07 Leads Andover’s Sixteen Goal Offensive Effort

Looking ahead to its titanic battle with Loomis Chaffee on Saturday, the Girls Lacrosse team played sluggishly against Milton but still prevailed 16-9, led by a strong effort by Sarah Beattie ’07. Andover put in a very lethargic effort. The team had a sub-par week of practice, and the lack of practice carried over into the game. The girls were not mentally prepared to play, and it seemed as if the game was in slow motion. Luckily, Milton fielded a horrendous squad that never threatened. Offensively, Andover struggled throughout the game trying to refine a new offense to be used against Loomis. The girls did not space themselves very well and miscomunicated on multiple possessions. However, they did score 16 goals, more than enough to ensure victory. On defense, Andover played a solid game, certainly not one of its best efforts but good enough to keep control of the game. In the first half, when the offense was really not clicking, the defense, with good play by Tess Scott ’06, held Milton to only four goals and few quality scoring opportunities. The refs could have hurt Andover with their questionable performance but the Blue responded well. Margaret Moore ’06 said, “We didn’t want to antagonize the refs at all because they had really big attitudes and had it out for us. We just rolled our eyes and kept playing.” The first half was ugly. The offense struggled to have quality possessions and executed the new offenses poorly. Most of Andover’s first half goals came on individual plays. The defense repelled the lackluster Milton attack with ease and moved the ball up field quickly. Andover’s ability to keep the ball in the offensive end eliminated any chance for a Milton victory. At halftime, Andover led 7-4. The second half was better. The offense improved greatly as Andover refined their schemes and ran through their formations effectively. The schemes for Loomis finally began to take shape. Andover blitzed Milton with nine goals in the second half, putting the game away. Milton never seriously threatened; halftime marked the closest point of the game. Andover always held the upper hand but the extra energy and the killer instinct that the team has shown throughout the season was missing. It seemed like a different team playing, not the team that had dominated opponents on its way to a 7-1 record. Enough players had good games to overcome the team’s overall lackluster performance. Beattie was the leading scorer, with Kat Dix ’05, Co-Captain Laurel Sticklor ’05 and Carolyn Pollard ’07 also playing very good games. Andover now can focus solely on Loomis, an undefeated team who crushed Taft (Andover lost to Taft 16-9), Loomis is the best team in the league. Andover has the talent to win and will surely be prepared. While Milton was a speed bump in the Blue’s path, Loomis will prove to be a much bigger obstacle.