Carolyn Brown ’09 finished a shot attempt by Jade Lefebvre-Isis ’08 to secure a huge win over Bates College on Tuesday October 3rd. This win was a “big confidence builder,” says Jenna Castellot ’08, especially after Friday night. Andover’s game Friday night against Tabor did not have such a satisfying outcome. PA came out playing strong right away on Friday, September 29th. Andover dominated the first half, creating tons of opportunities, but unfortunately at the half the score remained 0–0. Several Andover girls got through the defenders and were able to fire off shots, but the ball just never made it in the goal. One opportunity that almost yielded a goal occurred in the first half when Katie Michaelson ’08 dribbled through the middle, right past two defenders, only to be stopped by the right defender just as she was looking for the shot. While Tabor was rarely on Andover’s half of the field, Andover’s back four did an amazing job of stopping them quickly. Emily Little ’09 played a fantastic game, blocking every attempt to get past her. With excellent ball handling skills, she fed plenty of balls to the offense. Andover played the second half of the game just as intensely. With much more urgency to score a goal, the girls’ offense never stopped. Unfortunately Andover’s effort was just not enough, and the game ended in a 0–0 tie, Andover’s first tie of the season. The offense often broke through Tabor’s defensive line, but it just never turned into a goal. One of the closest goal attempts was by Dana Feeny ‘08. She played an amazing game with strong ball skills, crisp passes, and many shots. Dribbling across the top of the eighteen, she uncorked a missile off her left foot. The shot was barely off target and hit the crossbar. Tuesday’s game against Bates College was not as well played, but the outcome was much better. Andover beat Bates 4–0. While it was only a scrimmage, the game was still a good “confidence builder.” In the first half the girls came out playing slow in the first half, making poor decisions and not creating many scoring opportunities for themselves. Nonetheless, Rosie Raymond-Sidel ’08 still managed to score before the half was over. Her goal came from the eighteen off of an amazing pass from the left corner by Feeny. The half ended with Andover leading 1-0 with the girls determined to play better in the second half. Andover came out of the half playing much better than in the first half, which was demonstrated by the three goals scored. Eliza Nguyen ‘09, Lefebvre-Isis and Carolyn Brown ’09 combined to net the three goals for the Blue. Lefebvre-Isis ran through a loose ball for one of the goals. Eliza Nguyen’s goal came from a shot from the top of the 18. Carolyn Brown had several opportunities to score, beating her defenders but narrowly missing the goal on her shot. Her opportunity finally came when Lefebvre-Isis’ attempted shot bounced back towards her. The shot bounced off the crossbar, and then Brown finished it by heading it into the back of the net. Bates College gave the team a lot of space offensively, which allowed it to create lots of scoring opportunities. Unlike what happened in the game against Tabor, the scoring opportunities in this game actually turned into goals. Andover hopes to continue playing hard throughout the season, especially in the game this Saturday against Choate.
