After a tough preseason loss to Nobles, Andover Boys Soccer dominated St. Paul’s 3-0 on Friday with the help of goals by Noah Le Gros ’12, Taylor Chin ’14 and Jonathan Westling ’12
Andover’s first goal came early in the game after Le Gros narrowly slipped by St Paul’s big center back and tucked the ball past the keeper and into the back of the net. “Noah’s goal was a strong start to the game, shifting the momentum to our side,” said Jack McGeachie ’13. Co-captain Myles O’Neil ’12 and the rest of his back line, consisting of McGeachie, Taylor Perkins ’12 and Conor Soules ’13, fended off the St. Paul’s strikers for the rest of the half.
In the second half, Andover took the field determined to score more goals. Soon into the second half right back Perkins played a beautiful forty-yard ball diagonally down the field to left midfielder Chin. Chin received the ball, turned his defender,and chipped the ball over the keeper and into the goal to pad the lead.
On a corner kick towards the end of the half, O’Neil headed a cross back into the six yard box, where center midfielder Westling slammed the ball into the back of the net.
Andover’s defense, led by O’Neil, played fantastically the entire game, denying St. Paul’s any opportunities “The defensive shape was compact, and we didn’t step too early to opposing offenders. We were communicating well,” said McGeachie.
In another away game on Wednesday, the squad suffered its first regular season loss to a talented and physical Brooks team. In a 1-0 loss in sweltering heat, Andover fought valiantly but to no avail.
Brooks’s goal came early in the first half when a miscommunication resulted in a break-away for the opposing striker and ultimately a Brooks goal.
Looking to level the score, Andover created many good scoring opportunities but was unable to finish on any of them.
On the defensive side, O’Neil did his best to organize the back line, but the Brooks strikers proved to be a challenge. Goalkeeper and co-Captain Will Poss ’12, invaluable to the team’s effort, kept Andover in the game with countless crucial saves.
Right back Soules played his heart out until he was fouled by a Brooks left midfielder and taken off the field for medical attention. Though fired up over its fallen teammate, Andover was still unsuccessful in tying the game.
In the end, Brooks’ size advantage was the deciding factor, and Andover boarded the bus with a 1-0 loss. The team is anxious to get back to practice so it can prepare for its home opener against Loomis Chaffee this Saturday.
