Goalie Alissa Fromkin ’09 proved that she is one of the biggest assets on the Andover team after her phenomenal play this past week. In the net for half of the Exeter match-up and the entirety of the Nobles game, Fromkin ’09 surrendered only one goal, leading the team to a 4-2 victory over The Big Red and a 3-0 blowout against Nobles. The Big Blue entered Andover-Exeter high-spirited and confident, as it played against Exeter earlier in the season and won 4-0. Nonetheless, the stakes of the game were high. Stephanie Clegg ’08 commented, “We needed to win that game to qualify for the tournament, so it was huge. The stadium was so loud with all the fans though, it was really exciting.” Alissa Fromkin ’09 was in the net for Andover for the first half of the game, and only let in one goal. Co-Captain Melissa Tetreau ’06 scored the first of Andover’s three goals in the first period, off of an assist from Lindsey Moramarco ’06. Co-Captain Tetreau received the pass while she was in the high slot and one-timed it straight past the goalie. In the following minutes, Andover was penalized twice, offering the enemy a clear five-on-three advantage. Pressure mounted as Exeter controlled the play in the neutral zone, but Meg Shea ’07 executed an impeccable interception and skated it towards the offensive zone to score the second goal. Jamie Hariasiades ’08 found the back of the net for the third Blue goal of the period, as she deflected a gorgeous slap shot from Co-Captain Julie Wadland ’06 from the top of the circle. Joy Joung ’07 stepped into the net for the second half of the game. The Big Red scored its final goal just moments before the period-closing buzzer, after it pulled its goalie. Co-Captain Wadland ’06 upped the score 4-2 with a crisp, top-shelf wrist shot from the slot. Andover struggled throughout the game with penalties, as Exeter consistently had a one player advantage on the ice. One Big Blue player expressed her opinion that many of the calls were “pity calls,” although wracking up penalties has been a problem for the girls throughout the season. On Wednesday, in an unbelievable game, the Big Blue pulled out a 3-0 victory against the Noble and Greenough School, last year’s New England Champions. Never before in the history of Girls Hockey at Andover has the team advanced to New England Championship semi-finals round. Everybody played exceptionally, executing crisp, tape to tape passes, pressuring the defender, skating quickly, and utilizing effective stick work. Andover’s first two goals belonged to Liv Coffey ’07, who found the back of the net after no more than five minutes into the first period. The first goal she one-timed past the goalie off of a pass from a teammate. Her second goal, also in the first period, came from a power play. Lindsey Moramarco ’06 scored the final goal on an open net shot in the last minutes of the game, as Nobles pulled its goalie in a futile attempt to get on the board, Co-Captain Tetreau exclaimed, “Afterwards, I just looked for the seniors; we have been waiting forever to do this. As of now, this is definitely the highlight of the season.” Going into the game, the girls were pumped, knowing that its entire season’s training came down to the next forty-five minutes. Coach Fenton laid it out to the team plain and simple before going onto the ice, as she stated, “You need to play three solid periods of hockey.” Although Andover still experienced difficulties with the number of penalties it received, it dominated the entire game. Once that final buzzer rang, the girls erupted into hysterics, screaming both on the ice and in the locker room, thrilled to beat a 20-1-4 team. This Saturday, the team heads off to the semi-finals at the Dexter School in Brookline, MA. The opponent is yet to be announced.
