Led by the two goal performances of Tebs Maqubela ’11 and Jake Rohwer ’11, Andover breezed by an overmatched Cushing team 7-2 on Wednesday. Andover got off to a quick start in the cold and rainy conditions, as Rohwer netted the first goal of the game. Andrew Woonton ’11 assisted the goal on a beautiful centering cross to Rohwer who buried it. Shortly after, Maqubela built on the lead with his first goal of the game. Andover’s new all-time leading goal scorer and Co-Captain, Garnet Hathaway ’10, kept the goals coming with another score, putting Andover up 3-0. The ball was played right in front of the net, into the six yard box, directly at the point of attack. There was a brutal scramble for the ball, but in the end, the Cushing defenders were no match for the physicality of Hathaway, who came out with the ball and knocked it in. Cushing did light up the scoreboard as well, however, scoring both of its goals in the first half. The more notable of the two came on an excellent free kick from 20 yards out that was lofted into the upper left corner of the net. “[That player] was definitely their best player, and had very good skills. There was really nothing we could do about that one,” Coach Steve Carr said. Shortly after, Andover re-established its lead when Maqubela scored his second goal of the game. Rohwer then netted his second of the game as well, making it five for the half. Andover went into halftime freezing and wet with a 5-2 lead. “We were just a slightly better team than they were. We didn’t do any one thing well in particular, but we were just a little more skilled,” Carr added. Going into the second half, Coach Carr decided it was safe to pull goal keeper Spencer Macquarrie ’10, and put in backup keeper Will Poss ’12, marking his first ever varsity game. About mid-way through the second half, Andrew Woonton scored a goal of his own off an assist by Hathaway. With six goals under its belt already, Andover’s offense was still not done. Andover added the seventh and final goal of the game, when Tim Marchese ’11 sent a soaring corner kick into the box where Noah Le Gros ’12 knocked in the first goal of his Andover career. Poss shut out the Cushing offense for the entire second half, a great start to his varsity career. The rain and wet field conditions did play a role in the game. Said Coach Carr, “We were overall, a little more skilled than them, which played to our advantage especially with the conditions we were in.” Playing on the wet turf, the ball skipped and bounced very quickly, but Andover maintained control and pulled out a dominating victory. “Everyone played well for us. Jake especially had a good game, but everyone played great,” Carr said. Andover heads off to Deerfield this weekend on Halloween to play an always tough Deerfield team. The weather conditions again look grim, but as shown this past Wednesday, Andover can more than hold their own in sloppy conditions.
