Playing through her injury, Co-captain Emily Little ’09 scored three of Andover’s four goals in last Saturday’s 4-1 win over Choate. Later in the week, Amanda Brisco ’10 scored the lone goal in Andover’s thrilling shutout victory over an undefeated Governor’s Academy squad. After defeating Brooks and Tabor in the week leading up to this Saturday, the team remained confident that they could come out victorious against Choate. Although the game was away, the team kept the same level of spirit and enthusiasm that they play with on the Andover turf. In the first half, Andover’s offense was particularly strong, maintaining pressure on Choate’s half of the field. Little scored the first goal of the game off a perfect pass from one of her teammates, and then struck again as she snuck in a second goal just before half time, putting Andover ahead, 2-0. Choate responded immediately coming out of halftime with a quick goal. Soon after, however, Andover regained its momentum, as Brisco retaliated by scoring Andover’s third goal. Little ended the game as she started it, with fourth miraculous goal for Andover, and Andover’s defense settled in to preserve the lead. “Despite the high score, the game was a huge team effort, and everyone played really well,” Carolyn Brown ’09 said. Andover carried its passion and confidence into its second game of the week, against Governor’s Academy at home on Wednesday. Governor’s was undefeated before the game, so Andover was especially ecstatic to come away with the victory. Andover was at a disadvantage throughout the game due to many injuries that the Andover team has been dealing with recently. As a result, the vast majority of the starting players ended up playing the entire game with very few breaks in the action. One of those players, Ambika Krishnamachar ’11, had an impressive game, as she successfully shut down one of Governor’s crucial players in the midfield. The play went back and forth during the first half. Despite many scoring opportunities, neither team was able to build enough momentum to get on the scoreboard before halftime. Though Andover had seemed fatigued at the end of the first half, it started the second with a lot of enthusiasm and a determination to pull ahead of their opponents. Brisco finally broke the scoreless tie with a goal early in the second half, and following the goal Andover truly came together as a team. It was this cohesive, communal effort that ultimately won the game. Although Andover didn’t score again, its defense did a superb job at keeping the ball down at Governors end of the field. Goalkeeper Alex Farrell ’10 had an especially impressive game, with several crucial saves. Overall, this was an outstanding week for Girls Soccer. Both the Governors and Choate games were a “tremendous team effort for all 80 minutes,” Coach Lisa Joel said. The team now sports a 5-2 record, and hopes to continue its winning streak next week against Nobles and Greenough on Saturday and the against St. Paul’s on Wednesday.
