Led by two goals by Garnet Hathaway ’10, Andover completely dominated Tabor, winning 8-0. Andover struck right after the opening whistle. In the sixth minute, Andover sent a cross into the 18-yard box from the left side. Hathaway headed the ball past the Tabor goalkeeper and into the upper left corner, giving Andover a 1-0 lead. Andover would quickly extend its lead. Just eight minutes later, Mike DiFronzo ’11 sent a through ball to Ethan Hirshberg ’09. Hirshberg beat the goalkeeper and finished the goal on the ground, giving Andover a 2-0 lead. Andover threatened to score again in the 20th minute. After some good ball movement in the midfield, Hirshberg fired a strong shot, but was unable to convert. Tabor followed with a good chance minutes later. From 40 yards out, a Tabor player beat goalkeeper Spencer Macquarrie ’10 but hit the upper left post. Andover responded by extending its lead. Adam Skaggs ’09 sent a cross from the right side. Andrew Woonton ’11 headed the cross and beat the goalkeeper, giving Andover a 3-0 lead. Andover was not finished, however. On a corner, Captain Matt Gorski ’09 received a rebound and fired it past the goalkeeper to give Andover a 4-0 lead heading into halftime. Andover continued to dominate into second half. Right after a good chance for an Andover cross, Hirshberg sent a through ball to Hathaway. Hathaway beat the goalkeeper and finished on the ground, giving Andover a 5-0 lead. The Andover offense was not finished however. Andover earned a corner and Trevor Gulick-Stutz ’09 sent the ball into the 18-yard box. Ruaridh Hamilton ’09 headed the ball and beat the goalkeeper, extending the Andover lead further to 6-0. Andover continued to apply pressure to the Tabor defense. Peter Lee-Kramer ’11 scored a goal with a shot off the crossbar and in. Tebs Maqubela ’11 finished the Andover scoring with a goal of his own. Wednesday, Andover weathered a long bus ride and a 20-minute rain delay to defeat a strong Taft team. Andover scored immediately in the first half with a goal from Gulick-Stutz. However, Taft tied the game soon after. Neither team was able to penetrate the opposing defense, and the game headed into halftime as a 1-1 draw. However, Andover took over the game in the second half. Andover’s DiFronzo and Gorski scored two quick goals at the start of the second half to change the tide of the game and give Andover the momentum and the lead. Gorski scored after Captain Brian Russell ’09 whipped in a curling ball towards Gorski. The goalie bobbled the ball and Gorski poked the ball past the keeper. Russell had his second assist of the game when he found DiFronzo just moments later off of a corner kick. DiFronzo, who was brilliant all day, buried the header. The two-goal cushion was more than enough for the strong Andover defense, which once again shut down the opposing offense and insured the win. Andover went on to win 3-1. After a two-win week, Andover is now 5-1-1 on the season. The team has a three-game winning streak after its loss at Loomis. Andover’s success has been due in large part to its strong defense. Andover has let up just five goals this season in seven games. Saturday, Andover will travel to Choate for a tough away game.
