The Andover Ultimate Team fought hard Wednesday and beat rival Exeter at home in a 15-10 decision. After a steady exchange of points for much of the second half, Andover grabbed the victory. This outcome followed Tuesday’s 15-5 home win over Masconomet. Still carrying the memory of its second place finish in the New England Tournament, Andover entered the Masconomet game with confidence. Andover got off to a slow start, though, and allowed Masconomet to strike first. Andover remained calm, however, and it took the lead with a few quick points. “It was unexpected and a little scary for [Masconomet] to take the first point,” said Captain Guerrin ’07. “But we took control immediately and never looked back.” Despite the shaky start, Andover regained its usual rhythm. The team broke through Masconomet’s person defense with strategically chosen cuts. On defense, Andover used a zone coverage strategy, which worked especially well against the offensively weak Masconomet squad. Andover remained in control and took an 8-2 lead into halftime. After the break, Andover built on its first half performance and kept playing well. Andover kept up the momentum on Wednesday against Exeter. Similarly to the Masconomet game, Andover started slowly. The scoring went back and forth for the first part of the contest, and at one point the score stood tied at three. Exeter used a zone defense, a strategy which Andover handled comfortably. Andover again used the stack offense, putting to work its four primary handlers—Captain Guerin, Miles Silverman ’07, Justin Waite ’07 and Eli Grober ’09. This offensive core brought the disc down the middle of the field, using short, mostly conservative passes. Occasionally, one of the four would send the disc to someone farther away. Sam Weiss ’09 would often pop down field to receive such a pass. Near the end of the contest, Andover led 14-8. On the next two points, Andover moved up the field well but made mistakes in the end zone. Exeter capitalized and scored twice, but Andover quickly struck back and took the 15-10 win.
