Led by the great efforts of the defense and goalie Kaitlyn Gaiss ’09, the Andover Girls Lacrosse team defeated host Pingree, 11-9. Friday’s victory brought Andover’s record to 2-1 on the season. After a week of heavy rain, Andover traveled to South Hamilton to take on the Pingree School. Despite the cold, wet conditions on Friday afternoon, Andover looked forward to getting back on the field after a solid win at Deerfield. For the third game in a row, Andover controlled possession in the opening minutes. After a series of good passes, Andover netted the first goal to go up 1-0. Almost immediately, Pingree came back with two goals of its own to take a 2-1 lead. As the first half progressed, both teams exchanged goals. After several great tallies by Captain Carolyn Pollard ’07 and Emily Little ’09, Andover pulled out in front by a score of 7-4. Pingree responded with a late goal, narrowing the gap to two at the half time break. Both teams came out strong in the second half, as Andover and Pingree both netted goals in the first few minutes. Andover went up 10-6, the resilient Pingree team responded and scored two quick goals. From that point on, the Andover defense took matters into its own hands. The senior trio of Jane Peters ’07, Kit Harris ’07 and Karen Schoenherr ’07 all held their ground in the defensive zone and shut down the Pingree offense. After time expired, Andover walked off the field with a well- earned 11-9 victory. Leading the team in goals was Little, who scored four on the day. Captain Pollard also had three goals, while Senior Kayla Lawson ’07 added two goals and an assist. Andover came away from Friday’s win pleased by the total team effort exhibited during the game. Coach Kate Dolan summed up the teams thoughts, stating, “Pingree was a really good win for us in that we had to play hard and well from beginning to end, and the players all rose to the occasion.” After another rough week of weather, it seemed questionable whether Andover would be able to play Wednesday’s game scheduled against St. Paul’s. However, the St. Paul’s athletic department secured use of the Hampshire Dome, a state-of-the-art indoor turf field. Andover took advantage of the situation, earning their 3rd straight win by defeating St. Paul’s, 10-8. Once gain, Andover outplayed its opponent in the opening sequences of the game. The first half was all Andover, as the team controlled the pace of play and won the majority of the draws. Coming up big for Andover was goalie Gaiss, who stopped several point blank shots. After goals by Pollard and Jane Anderson ’07, Andover held a 5-1 lead going into the halftime break. Andover dominated the first half, the St. Paul’s team refused to give up. The St. Paul’s offense finally started to click, narrowing the gap to one goal. However, Andover remained calm and responded with two scores to go up 10-6. St. Paul’s put together a brief flurry in the final minutes, but the game ended with Andover on top 10-8. Andover left the Hampshire Dome feeling good about its third straight win and the balanced scoring on offense. After a rain-filled week, the team was happy to get a chance to play St. Paul’s in such an excellent facility. Andover looks to continue its winning ways on Saturday when it hosts Groton School.
