Andover Boys Soccer fell 2-0 to a skilled Hotchkiss team, capping a deep and emotional run to the finals of the New England Class A tournament. The day before, Andover captured revenge against rival Exeter, 3-1, with two crucial goals from Sam Hewat ’12.
After falling to Exeter on Andover-Exeter Weekend 3-1, Andover revamped its strategy and defeated Exeter 3-1 in the semifinals, toppling the first seed on its home field.
In the second minute, Jonathan Westling ’12 played a pass to Taylor Chin ’14, who then buried the ball into the back of the net to put Andover on the board.
Right before halftime, Exeter’s Brian Hart ’12 scored on a direct kick from beyond the penalty box to tie the game at 1-1.
Andover gained momentum in the second half, making several deep drives to Exeter’s goal, and eventually breaking through. Hewat evaded several Exeter defenders and passed to Michael Bloom ’12, who returned the ball to Hewat. Hewat then juked another defender and ripped a goal, giving Andover the 2-1 advantage.
In the 89th minute, Chin crossed the ball to Hewat near the back post, who then drove in the goal that sealed Andover’s victory.
The following day in the finals, Andover faced second seeded Hotchkiss. Coach Bill Scott said, “Hotchkiss is a very good team and has been in recent years.”
Both teams had opportunities to score. Bloom sniped a free kick to the crossbar of the Hotchkiss goal, and on the other end, Will Poss ’12 made some crucial saves. Hotchkiss broke through first when a Hotchkiss striker finished a strong shot from 18 yards out.
Hotchkiss scored again in the second half to seal the win.
Coach Scott said, “At the end of it, they had the ball more than we did, they possessed it a lot more than we did. At the end of the day they had five chances, and we had five chances. They scored on two of the five chances, and we did not score. We had two open headers at the back post, and we hit the crossbar twice.”
Despite the loss, Andover had much to be proud of in its deep playoff run. After graduating 10 of last year’s starters, the team found its way to a 13-1-2 record overall and a second place finish in the Class A tournament.
Summing up the successful season, Coach Scott said, “It’s not about winning or losing, it’s about trying. This team tried about as hard as any team I’ve ever had. One goal is ultimately to win the whole thing, but to me you’re trying to get better and to work as a team, and if you get better and if you work as a team, then good things will happen.”
