Just fifteen minutes into the first half, Aaron Mentos ’11 opened up the game with a blistering strike from inside the box to give Andover the early lead in Andover’s impressive 3-1 win over Kimball Union Academy. Mentos said, “Everybody was on their game this past Saturday. Everyone played well, and it was a great experience playing under the lights in front of the Andover fans for my first time.” Andover was firing on all cylinders in the first half as Mike DiFronzo ’11 fired in a truly magnificent goal later in the half to put Andover up by 2. “It was really cool to score in front of a home crowd, especially on my birthday” said DiFronzo. Led by Difronzo, the midfield was unstoppable throughout. With Tim Marchese ‘11 and DiFronzo in the middle, the Andover midfielders were able to contain KUA’s dangerous midfield. Working hard up and down the flanks, outside midfielders Andrew Woonton ’11, Connor Hickey ’11, Noah Le Gros ’12, and Jon Westling ’12 all had great performances. Not only did they provide great support on the attack, but they also provided Andover with key stops on the defensive ends. With a well played first half under their belts, Andover came out confidently, hoping to send KUA home with a loss. KUA wasn’t ready to concede the victory just yet though. Making a very dangerous run into the Andover box, a KUA forward ripped a searing shot past goalie William Poss ’12. The goal was an eye-opener for Andover, as they quickly stepped up their energy, controlling the flow of the game through DiFronzo and Marchese in the middle. With time ticking down, the KUA attack was unable to penetrate Andover’s refocused back line. KUA turned up the heat late in the game, sending the majority of their players into the attacking half to try to score the equalizer. This worked well on the offensive side of play, but truly backfired when Mentos was released behind the defense on the counter attack with a brilliant lofted ball from Hickey. With Mentos’ second goal of the game, Andover was able to put away KUA and secure the win. The boys traveled to New Hampton this Wednesday, to take on the New Hampton squad. In a heartbreaking game, the boys lost 1-0 in a very uneventful game. Twenty minutes into the second half a New Hampton attacker was able to break free from the Andover defense, and scored the go-ahead goal. The boys pushed hard, with great effort coming from Mentos and Tebs Maqubela ’11 up front, but they were unable to come up with an equalizer. The boys look forward to taking on a very talented Exeter squad this Saturday at 1:00.
