With two minutes left and the scored tied at two, Lindsey Weiner ’08 ripped a low, well-placed shot at the corner of the net to give Andover a 3-2 victory over Brooks. Andover came out flying after the opening whistle and controlled the puck in the opening minutes of the game. Jamie Harisiades ’08 put Andover on the scoreboard first, beating the Brooks goalie with a shot off a rebound in front of the net. After Harisiades’ goal, neither team could generate many quality chances and the period ended with Andover on top, 1-0. In the second period, Brooks took advantage of its power plays and scored two goals. However, Andover redeemed itself and came out flying in the third. Andover’s passes connected and the team played with heart. Weiner scored her first goal of the game to tie it up after receiving the puck off a rebound from a shot by Kaitlyn McInnis ’09. Andover kept the puck in the offensive end, and with two minutes left in the game, Weiner scored for a second time. “Since Brooks is such a big cross-town rival, there was even more of an incentive to score and win. It was even better to get the game-winning goal,” said Weiner. On Saturday, against St. George’s School, Andover’s offense hit a rhythm and won 5-0. Less than five minutes into the game Lindsay Newman ’09 sniped a shot from the point off a pass from Weiner to make the score 1-0. Just minutes later in the first period, Newman scored again, as a puck popped loose from the slot, to give Andover a two-goal lead. Throughout the remainder of the game, Andover played tenaciously, keeping the puck and setting up scoring opportunities in the offensive zone. Moving through the neutral zone, Andover raced past St. George’s players and passed the puck to teammates in stride. With six minutes left in the second period, Harisiades scored off a pass from McInnis, and just moments later Jade-Isis Lefebvre ’08 scored off a rebound from Captain Stephanie Clegg ’08. The period ended as McInnis capitalized off a rebound from another shot by Clegg. Andover did not score in the third period, but preserved its 5-0 lead as time expired. On Wednesday night, Andover lost 2-1 to league powerhouse Cushing Academy. At the end of the first period with less than five minutes to go, Cushing scored from the point off an assist from former Andover player, Megan Shea ’07, a post-graduate at Cushing. Only minutes later, Cushing scored again, collapsing in front of the net and taking advantage of a rebound. Andover came out hesitantly, knowing that Cushing would be a strong team. However, during the second period, the team began to create opportunities for itself. Nancy Ann Little ’08 scored after a flurry of Andover shots to pick up a crucial goal and narrow Cushing’s lead. During the third period, Andover tried repeatedly to score, tirelessly pressuring the net. Weiner barely missed the net as Clegg set her up for a great one-timer and the offense crashed down on rebounds from the Cushing goalie. Still, Andover couldn’t pick up the game-tying goal and lost 2-1. Coach Martha Fenton said, “The team surprised itself in a good way with the way it played, and in many ways Andover could have won the game. Hopefully our success will give us confidence going into Saturday’s game against Deerfield.”
