Guided by an aggressive effort in net by goalie Kaitlin Gaiss ’09, Andover girls lacrosse started its season strong with a 6 – 4 win over Middlesex. Early in the first half, Emily Little ’09 had a great defensive play, forcing a Middlesex player to drop the ball. Little regained possession for Andover, and saw Dana Feeny ’08 open after making a great cut. Feeny caught Little’s pass and scored. With Middlesex missing several players, Sara Bakrow ’10, Andover’s JV lacrosse goalie, played in goal for Middlesex in the scrimmage. Summer Washburn ’11 scored Andover’s second goal after winning the ball out of the air at midfield and beating several Middlesex defenders. Middlesex established its offensive play and moved the ball quickly to find open players to score against Gaiss. Middlesex led the game at 3 – 2 midway through the first half, but after a quick timeout, Andover came out with more intensity. Washburn passed the ball to Katherine Sherrill ’10, who challenged her defenseman and scored to tie the game up at 3 – 3. Andover’s defense kept Middlesex players at bad shooting angles, and Gaiss’s aggressive play in intercepting passes and saving shots helped Andover to stay in the game. “Gaiss had an amazing game, keeping the score down, and only letting in four goals,” said Feeny. Captain Lindsey Weiner ’08 played well in the first half helping to settle offensive play. Sliding down to provide support for a teammate, Weiner was injured and, unfortunately, was unable to finish the game. Coming into the second half with the score tied at 3 – 3, Washburn had another goal to pull Andover ahead at 4 – 3. Andover settled the ball offensively, and Nancy Ann Little ’08 scored the fifth goal off a pass from Emily Little. Little made another assist for Feeny, who scored the sixth and final goal for Andover. However, Andover could not keep Middlesex off the board in the second half, and with five minutes left in the game, Middlesex scored. “The game showed several areas that would be valuable to work on and will take a lot of progress to get where we want to be, but it was great to start with a win,” said Captain Jen Downing ’08. Andover played well for its first game of the season, and the team had several great plays. Speaking on the team’s goals, Lisa Lian ’08 said, “We have a lot of potential, but we need to stick to the fundamentals and build up team communication.”
