Andover Girls Lacrosse fought hard to tie the game at four before halftime of its first game against Middlesex School on Wednesday, but Middlesex pulled away in the second half and won the game 8-5.
The loss will not deter Andover, however, as Middlesex is a team stacked with athletes committed to Division One colleges.
Andover emerged with a quick 2-0 lead after goals from Brooke Van Valkenburg ’12 and Lizzie Paul ’12, but after calling a timeout with 17:39 remaining in the first half, Middlesex responded with three goals in about two and a half minutes to grab a 3-2 lead.
Over the course of the whole game, Andover struggled with face-offs, and Middlesex won more time of possession.
“Middlesex’s domination of play possession resulted from their draw control. They won 12 out of 15 draws, which instantly put them on a strong attack,” said Catherine Anderson ’12.
Andover tied up the game before halftime. Goalie Mallory Tyler ’12 played a major role in preventing Middlesex from running away with the game in the first half.
“Mal [Tyler] had an awesome game, she did really well stopping some hard shots and she cleared the ball quickly and decisively. She also did a superb job of helping the defense mark Middlesex players down by the goal,” said Hannah Beinecke ’12.
Unfortunately, Middlesex scored the first three goals of the second half as Andover’s communication struggles on defense persisted.
“We are a fast, fit team, but there are times when we lack communication, which is key on defense. If a team doesn’t talk on defense, it will collapse. A lot of times, we were scrambling to find the ball or our girl. Middlesex talked and didn’t collapse, which resulted in us not having many opportunities,” said Beinecke.
Stagnant in its offensive zone, Andover only generated one goal in the second half.
“We definitely need to work on generating better offense. This comes from draw controls, but also from recognizing situations in the offensive zones,” said Anderson.
Andover only trailed by two after it scored with 10:24 left in the game, but a late goal by Middlesex ended all hope of a comeback.
Anderson said, “We really needed the ball in those last few minutes, but we couldn’t get it.”
Earlier in the week on Friday, Hannah Guzzi ’14 led Andover with two goals in a competitive scrimmage against St. Mark’s School.
Andover and St. Mark’s ultimately tied 8-8. Van Valkenburg, Cara Daly ’13, Nekele McCall ’14 and Captain Greer McBeth ’12 also contributed goals.
“Guzzi had two big runs during the game, both ending in goals, which was awesome,” said Leah Humes ’12, who will miss the entirety of the season due to injury.
This scrimmage was Andover’s first contest of the season, and while it didn’t count toward the standings, it certainly served its purpose.
“We played well, but it [the scrimmage] helped highlight the areas which we need to improve upon, such as stronger shots, better transfers and more communication on defense,” said Beinecke.
Andover will look to redeem itself in its matchup against Noble & Greenough tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.
