Receiving a through ball around the Choate right-back, Bobby Dall ’18 cut towards the inside of the box and smashed the ball into the back of the net. Dall’s goal, his first of the season, helped Andover secure its 2-1 victory over Choate last Saturday. Andover also claimed a 1-0 win over Tabor on Tuesday, boosting its record to 5-2-1.
Andover’s game against Choate was a highly competitive contest for the team. Andover played intensely from the first whistle until the last, displaying its grit and composure on defense.
After Dall’s first goal, Andover’s second came from Andrei Dumitrescu ’18. On a deflection, Dumitrescu slotted the ball just beyond the keeper’s reach.
Goalkeeper Max Levi ’19 said, ‘’We came out really, really strong; I think we didn’t lose a single header in the whole entire first half. Choate [sent] most of their balls over the top to their two main players [on offense] but our defense did a really solid job at the back.”
Will Raphael ’18 added, ‘’We were able to handle the pace of two really speedy strikers up top and limited their chances.”
In the dying minutes of the second half, Choate managed to get a goal back off of a cross in the 18-yard box and put the pressure back on Andover.
Although Andover played a strong game and had a successful result, the team focused on improving certain aspects of its defense before facing Tabor.
Co-Captain Henry Meyerrose ’17 said, “We attacked and defended well as a team, but we still need to work on cleaning up some of the mistakes defensively. That is what the team needs to improve the most on.”
After Andover’s second win in a row, the team was confident going into its game against Tabor on Tuesday. However, Andover did not start off strong in the first half.
Co-Captain Peter Heckendorn ’17 said, “Everything wasn’t going perfectly in the first half, we had a lot of possession but we weren’t creating many chances.”
When Andover was finally able to score, the highlight seemed to mirror a play from the previous Choate game. On another deflected shot from Dall, Dumitrescu was able to tap the ball into the net.
Describing his goal, Dumitrescu said, “It wasn’t the prettiest goal, but it got the job done and after the goal, our team did a good job defending, and we held it out for the rest of the game. It was good for the team to get this win and this will help us build confidence and momentum.”
After earning its lead, Andover players held off the opposition and sealed the victory.
Reflecting on the game, Head Coach Will Orben said, “For the 90 minutes the team kept the pressure on their opponent. We had a lot of possession and didn’t get frustrated, they just kept going and going to get the goal. As the season goes on, we have to find ways to be more dangerous on goal.”
Andover not only dominated the offensive portion of the game with 67 percent possession, but it also managed to keep a shutout on defense. Andover’s game against Tabor also proved the team could improve after working in practice.
Dumitrescu said, “The wingers came back and helped defend. This tactic from our practices and the high intensity were what really helped Max get a clean sheet for this game.”
Andover hopes to continue its winning streak in its next game against Tilton on Saturday.
