With 17 minutes left on the clock, Katie Kreider ’14 dribbled down the field, blew by Choate’s midfield and sniped a goal from over 25 yards out. Kreider’s goal would decide Andover Girls Soccer’s 1-0 win over Choate. Prior to this match, Choate was undefeated, averaging four goals a game and boasting the impressive feat of having no goals scored against it. “We knew it would be a challenge to win against an undefeated team, but we used their record as motivation to prove that they could be beat. I’m glad I got to experience the game and overall am ecstatic about the team’s performance,” wrote Antonia Tammaro ’17, Andover’s goalkeeper, in an e-mail to The Phillipian. In the last 15 minutes of the game, Choate scrambled to score the equalizer and successfully created seven corner kick opportunities. However, Tammaro and Andover’s defense held their ground and blocked every attempted cross. Tammaro herself recorded eight saves throughout the game. Andover’s back four assisted Tammaro with defensive prowess and effective communication. “We finally were able to display our full capacity as a team. I have never seen [this team] rise to an occasion like this before, and I couldn’t be any more proud,” said Kinsey Yost ’15. The team’s midfielders, Caroline Garrity ’15, Sarah Humes ’16, Aly Wayne ’14, Caroline Shipley ’16 and Kreider, kept the ball away from Choate’s offense with effective attacks. Forwards Hannah Guzzi ’14 and Alex Thomas ’14 threatened Choate down the middle and on the edges of the field, helping Andover secure its victory. On Wednesday, Andover traveled to play its cross-town rival, Brooks. The team showed signs of fatigue, falling 0-1. The only goal of the game came in the last two minutes on a free kick initially saved by Elizabeth Kemp ’15, Andover’s goalie, but was then headed in by a Brooks forward. Andover went into the game with a focus on passing and bypassing the midfield, but the was unable to get the ball to Guzzi and Thomas consistently. On the occasions that Andover was able to find Guzzi or Thomas, the team’s shooting played right into the Brooks goalie’s hands. Brook’s two forwards were the backbone of the team’s offense and proved to be a challenge for Andover’s defense. Andover worked hard to manage them, allowing Brooks’s only goal to come on a set piece, not in the run of play. Natalia Suarez ’17 came off the bench to play outside midfield, creating two corner kick opportunities and sparking the team’s energy. Andover will take on St. Paul’s under the lights on Saturday night with hopes of improving its 3-5 record.
