Racing down the field, Talia Rockmore ’15 threaded the ball through Worcester Academy’s defenders to Caroline Garrity ’15, who slammed the ball into the back of the net to cap off a decisive 3-1 win for Andover Girls Soccer on Wednesday.
This win avenged Andover’s previous 4-1 loss to Worcester last season.
An uneventful first half ended with a score of 0-0. Possession remained relatively even, and both teams created a handful of offensive opportunities.
The pace picked up in the second half, however, as Andover finally cracked Worcester’s defense 16 minutes in. Sarah Humes ’16 touched the ball to Caroline Shipley ’16 inside the 18-yard box, and Shipley buried it in to put Andover up 1-0.
Worcester responded only minutes later off of a counterattack to even the score.
The scoreline tipped again in Andover’s favor with ten minutes left, when Andover won a corner kick. The ball bounced around the box several times before Jeanine Moreau ’16 got her foot onto it and tucked it away to make the score 2-1.
Four minutes later, the referee awarded a penalty kick to Worcester. A crucial save from Antonia Tammaro ’17, who lunged to her left and blocked the shot, preserved Andover’s lead. Garrity scored Andover’s third goal, immediately after the penalty.
“We really wanted to get back at them for last year. The focus was that we wanted to create a lot of offensive pressure. I’m really proud of the girls and all the offensive stress they put on the other team with numbers on the box. We could’ve scored another couple goals, but to put three into the net is great,” said Head Coach Lisa Joel.
Earlier in the week, Andover fell to Lawrence Academy in a 3-0 loss on Friday, Andover’s fourth loss of the season.
A relatively quiet first half saw a lone goal from Lawrence, but the teams remained even throughout.
Possession changed sides countless times, and the ball bounced back and forth between the opposing halves. Andover created several offensive opportunities but struggled to finish in the final third of the field.
Ultimately, Andover was not able to handle Lawrence’s unrelenting offensive pressure and allowed Lawrence to score two unanswered goals in the second half.
“We created ample offensive opportunity, with chances deep into their box, but struggled to convert. Lawrence’s skilled frontrunners played relentlessly, which wore hard on our team as time ran out for us to score,” wrote Tessa Peterson ’15 in an email to The Phillipian.
Lawrence began to box Andover into its own half, and the midfield struggled to distribute the ball forward.
Although the final scoreline was rather lopsided, Andover’s spirits remained high and the team was confident about bouncing back from the tough loss.
“I think the score did not reflect the competition between our teams. The most important takeaway from the game will be to work on being first to every ball. It is always remarkable to me that our team can walk away from an unfortunate loss like that without blaming one another,” added Peterson.
On Saturday, Andover will welcome its perennial rival Exeter to a heated matchup at Andover-Exeter 2014.
