In the regular season finale, Andover Field Hockey defeated rival Exeter 1-0 in a close game on a goal by Lindsey Weiner ’08. With the win, Andover extended their unbeaten streak to eleven games, and improved to a 10-1-3 record heading into the NEPSAC Class A Tournament. The game started with Exeter manipulating the tempo of play. Andover was forced to remain on the defensive for much of the beginning of the first half. The Blue’s defense, which included goalie Ale Moss ’07, captain Annie Boylan ’07, Kristen Macdonald ’07, Steph Clegg ’08, and Arielle Filiberti ’07, played well and kept Exeter from scoring. Later in the half, the momentum started to shift in Andover’s favor. The Andover offense saw scoring chances at the end of the half. However, Exeter’s strong and aggressive defense kept the Andover offense from taking the lead. The game headed into halftime tied at 0-0. The second half began with defense still dominating the tone of the game. Andover earned seven corners, but they were still unable to find the back of the net. About midway through the half, with the score still tied 0-0, Carly O’Leary ’07 received the ball in the Exeter end. She crossed it to Lindsey Weiner ’08, who beat the Exeter goalie to break the 0-0 tie and put Andover ahead 1-0. This was Weiner’s fourth goal of the season and possibly her most important. Exeter tried to tie the game in the last minutes of the half, but the Andover defense continued the strong play defense it has displayed all season and kept Exeter from tying the game, ending at 1-0. Wednesday, Andover won its quarterfinal 3-1, again against rival Exeter. Lindsey Weiner ’08 scored the gamewinner again off of a cross, as Andover advanced to the semifinals of the NEPSAC Class A tournament. Exeter seized an early lead with 14:22 remaining in the first half off a corner. However, this was the only goal the Red scored, as the Andover defense shut down the Exeter offense for the rest of the game. Just two minutes later Lauren Jackson ’07 jumpstarted the Andover offense with a goal off a corner, tying the game at 1-1. The assist came from Kristen Macdonald ’07. It was Jackson’s eight goal of the season. With just 1:35 remaining in the half, Lindsey Weiner netted her fifth goal of the season to put Andover ahead 2-1. Andover’s defense prevented the Exeter attack from tying the game, and the game headed into halftime with Andover leading 2-1. Just over two minutes into the second half, Andover’s offense scored again. Britney Van Valkenburg ’08 received a pass from Lauren Jackson, then shot and scored to put Andover ahead 3-1. This proved to be enough for the strong Andover defense, which shut the Exeter offense down in the second half, and the game ended 3-1. With the win, Andover advances to the semifinals of the NEPSAC Class A tournament. Saturday, Field Hockey will face Nobles for a chance to advance to the finals. Andover tied Nobles earlier in the season 2-2, and this weekend’s game figures to be a very close contest.
