Led by Co-captain Thomas Armstrong ’11, Andover secured another victory against Concord Carlisle to start the season off 2-0. Just like the first game against Newton North, Andover started off the game slow and quickly fell behind. After a team time out called by coach Scott Hoenig, Andover was able to pick up its game and take a dominant 14-9 lead. David Russell ’12 threw a hammer to Lucas Christopherson ’12 in the endzone to score Andover’s fifteenth point. Since handlers Alec Weiss ’11 and Dylan Gully ’12 were both out of the game due to injury, many new players to the program were given the opportunity to play. The newcomers capitalized on the opportunity to play, showing great promise for the program. Playing in actual competition is key to developing game skills Russell said, “scrimmaging in practice is one thing, but gaining experience during games is key for the new players.” Two new players, Alec Tolentino ’14 and Tim Arena ’12, both stepped up and played great games. Arena played great on defense, making a great D-block on one of Concord Carlisle’s throws. “We’ve got a lot of really good younger players that are doing great making the transition to the game, particularly Alec Tolentino, who played a great game today and scored key points for the team,” said Russell. Tolentino was a major asset to Andover’s offense on Saturday, scoring the first point of his ultimate career. Tolentino said, “I felt enthralled to score my first point in a varsity ultimate game and I was glad I could help the team win. Concord Carlisle was a very solid team; they played hard and beat us a few times in the deep field. Luckily we were able to get a few stops and gain momentum.” Overall, Andover played a great game. Although two key players were out because of injury, Andover was able to succeed with the help of many new players who stepped up when they were needed. “We came to play ultimate and ultimately the way we played meant we came out on top. It was a great performance,” said Weiss. With two wins under its belt Andover looks forward to a tough match up against North Reading this Friday night.
