In their final home game of their Andover careers, the members of the Class of 2005 hosted an offensive showcase, and Lawrence Academy was invited to watch. Led by its outstanding senior class, the Andover Girls Lacrosse team pounded Lawrence 20-9. Andover scored 14 seconds into the game and dominated the entire contest. The Blue held leads of 3-0 and 8-1 in the first half before Lawrence resisted. The game entered half time with Andover holding a secure 10-5 lead. Andover came out firing in the second half and scored five goals in the first five minutes of play to finish off its opponent. Lawrence stood no chance against a motivated Andover squad that was determined to win its last home game. Co-Captain Laurel Sticklor ’05 set a career high in her final home game with six goals. Steph Krant ’05, the usual high scoring suspect, scored three goals herself and also dished out five assists. Lauren Seno ’05 had three goals and one assist, and Co-Captain Kelly Stecker ’05 and Kat Dix ’05 each had a goal and an assist. All the way from her defensive position, JeanMarie Gossard ’05 scored her first goal of the season. Skylar Washburn ’05 was the only Senior not to score, because she was too preoccupied with dominating the Lawrence offense from her defensive post. In a glimpse of the future, four lowers scored with Sarah Beattie ’07 scoring two, and Carolyn Pollard ’07, Annie Boylan ’07 and Ale Moss ’07 each scoring one. Moss’s goal was the first of her Andover varsity career. The win was a complete team effort. The scoreboard indicated a shootout but Andover’s defense also played phenomenally. Goalie Julie Wadland ’06 had a strong game with 13 saves and several passes that keyed goal-scoring fast breaks. “The defense did a very good job of clearing the ball quickly to our offense. Multiple times, we caught Lawrence off guard by moving the ball quickly and capitalizing in the offensive end. The offense put on a show,” said Caroline Moore ’07. The team closed out its home season on a great note after suffering through some tough times on its home turf. Andover had a 5-3 record at home for the season, and its home performance was inconsistent to say the least. In its five home wins, Andover outscored its opponents 72-26, while, in the three losses, it was outscored 46-26. Andover refused to end its season with a .500 record at home and left no doubt against Lawrence. The game looked more like a lacrosse tutorial than a competitive game with Andover’s players running circles around hapless Lawrence defenders. Andover faces its archrival Exeter on Saturday, looking to continue its winning streak against the Big Red, who have not been so big this year with a 5-7 record. However, in Andover-Exeter records are thrown out the window. Nothing that happened before matters when the two bitter foes meet. If Andover plays up to its potential, the Blue will close out the season with a fantastic 10-3 record.
