Clare Ashforth ’11 headed in a beautiful goal off a cross into the box midway through the first half to highlight a spectacular 3-1 win over Exeter on Saturday. Andover came out with lots of energy and started its threatening attack early. Off of a cross by Leah Humes ’12, Exeter committed an own-goal early in the half to give Andover the lead. Just minutes later Ashforth scored off of a brilliant header for Andover’s second score of the game. Andover beat Exeter to almost every loose ball and the defense remained solid throughout the remainder the game, only conceding one goal late in the first half. Andover added one more goal in the first half. At the very end of the first half, Nekele McCall ’14 responded with a goal of her own to put Andover up 3-1. Exeter did not go away without a fight and turned the tides in the second half by pressuring Andover’s defense with strong play from the strikers. Andover’s defense remained rock solid, however, and maintained their lead. No goals were scored in the second half, and Andover was able to come out on top. “I can’t even describe how happy I was,” said Co-Captain Courtney Macdonald ‘11. “We didn’t get to play them last year, and now we got to defeat them on our home turf.” Co-Captain Katherine Woonton ’11 said, “We are going to use this momentum to carry us right into the playoffs, and hopefully we’ll be able to go far.” On Wednesday, Andover’s season came to an unfortunate end as the team fell to Westminster in a 2-1 overtime loss. Westminster breached Andover’s defense in the first five minutes of the game, and appeared to be in complete control. After the half, the team picked up the intensity level in the second half. Scoring a quick goal to the tie the game up, Andover appeared composed to score another as the game went into overtime. Andover was unable to seal the victory, however, as Westminster scored the game winning goal. “It’s definitely sad to see the season end, especially since it’s going to be my last year at Andover, but we had a great run and we really turned a lot of heads,” said Macdonald. With five freshman on the team this year, Andover’s future looks very bright. “I’m going to come back and try to catch as many games as I can because they are going to be so exciting to watch,” said Woonton. “I was skeptical at first but they are so good that I know we’re leaving the team in great hands.”
