Co-Captain Emily Rademacher ’11 sent Andover girls lacrosse into overtime against Brooks School last Wednesday with a last-minute tying goal in regulation. However, Andover lost possession in the overtime and ultimately fell 11-12. “We have played a lot of close games this year and sometimes we have gotten the bounce, the inch, and sometimes not; against Brooks we didn’t, but I admire the girls ability to persist and play on and fight to finish,” said Coach Kate Dolan. Andover and Brooks played an even matchup throughout the entire game on Wednesday. Brooks jumped ahead with a 4-2 lead within the first few minutes of the game, but Andover quickly answered to even the score 4-4. Andover went into the second half down 8-6, but came back with two goals to tie the game. Brooks advanced again, taking an 11-8 lead. Andover bounced back, closing the score gap to 11-10. With three seconds left on the clock, Rademacher netted an inside crease goal, tying the score and sending the game into a two-period overtime. “We are resilient and able to mount determined and dogged comebacks,” said Dolan. Brooks came out strong in the first overtime half, gaining and keeping possession from both draws. However, Andover’s tightened defense kept it from scoring, and the game went into the second overtime still tied. Andover took possession of the ball in the second overtime half, holding it until the last minute of the game. With 32 seconds left to play, Andover turned the ball over to Brooks, who capitalized and netted its final goal for a 12-11 win. “We struggled with a lot of turnovers in the midfield, but we worked really hard as a team; overtime just didn’t go our way this time,” said Lizzie Paul ’12. The previous Friday, Andover crushed Lawrence Academy with goals from every end of the field, including defenders Haley Scott ’12, Hailey Novis ’13, and Hannah Guzzi ’14. Defender Leah Humes ’12 also netted a goal, her first of the season. “Lawrence was a good team effort; everyone chipped in and we dominated the game,” said Dolan. Andover wasted no time stealing an early lead from Lawrence, scoring eight goals in the first half and only allowing two. In the second half, Andover claimed an additional ten points, maintaining possession of the ball for almost the entire half. The team’s unfailingly tight defense only allowed one more goal from Lawrence, securing Andover’s blowout 18-3 victory. “Lawrence was a good game for us to work on practicing our offensive plays against another team’s defense,” said Co-Captain Summer Washburn ’11. The team will take on Exeter today at 5:15.
