The winning could not go on forever. The Andover Girls Varsity Lacrosse team snapped its unbeaten streak in last Saturday’s defeat to the Loomis Pelicans. Not only did the Lady Blue fall, but they fell hard, with the final score standing at 15-7. Bouncing back from its heartbreaking loss, the Girls in Blue resoundingly defeated Nashua High School, 16-10. After PA’s two contests last week, the season record now stands at 8-1. The team is optimistic going into tomorrow’s tournament. Last Saturday was just not the Lady Blue’s day. Knowing the Loomis Chaffee would field a strong squad, the Girls in Blue did their best to prepare for to play their best. Unfortunately, their nerves got the best of them, and the girls were unable to work together to put forth a strong team performance. The Lady Blue trailed from the start, after the Pelicans delivered two quick goals. Not only did the defense struggle in stopping Loomis attacks, but the offense also had trouble creating scoring opportunities. The Andover team trailed 8-4 by the end of the half. Despite an inspirational half-time talk from Coaches Fenton and Dolan and Captain Barbara Badman ’03, the girls struggled to keep up in the second half. With an especially hard time with the draws and ground balls, most of the game was spent in front of Andover’s goal. Badman led the girls in scoring, as she added five goals to Andover’s trailing score. Upper star Mimi Hanley ’04 also tallied a goal, while senior leader Cortney Tetrault ’03 notched a goal and two assists. Danielle Vardaro ’03 helped out the team with 3 assists. While the players seemed disappointed with their loss, they were aware that there was much that could have been improved upon. Kelly Stecker ’05 said, “We really just didn’t come together as a team, and Loomis Chaffee was right there to capitalize on our weaknesses.” The Girls made up for their poor showing on Saturday with an excellent showing against Nashua High School. The Lady Blue had nine different people scoring goals and five people tallying assists, making what Coach Dolan deemed a “very balanced offense.” The girls came onto the field ready to avenge their previous loss, and that is just what they did. They focused on improving what they had had trouble with in their previous game, with Coach Dolan noting that their draw controls were their biggest improvement. In the second half, the girls continued with their success, with their lead allowing for everyone to get in some good playing time before tomorrow’s tournament. The fact that nine people scored simply illustrates the improved teamwork and communication. The lead scorers for this game were Captain Badman, who contributed with four goals and one assist. Kinnon McCall ’04, Vardaro, Anne Riordan ’03, and Hanley racked in two goals each, with McCall and Vardaro bringing one and two assists, respectively. Tetrault, Amanda Belichick ’03 Laurel Sticklor ’05 and Jessie Birecki ’04 each scored once, with Tetrault making three assists. Tetrault summed up Wednesday’s win, saying, “I think that today was a good game in that it was a good way for us to rebound from the loss. It was good because lots of people scored and assisted and our defense stepped it up. We played like a team and had a little more spark, and that was really a good thing.” Even though this week held their first loss, the girls still have an amazing record and look to do well in the EIL Invitational Tournament this weekend.
