Connor Light ’13 sniped four goals in Andover’s game against Brooks on Monday. Light’s efforts were not enough for the team to win, however, and Andover lost 8-7 in an extremely tight finish.
This performance marked Light’s second breakout game in the past two weeks, as he scored six goals last week against Holderness. Co-captain Jay Dolan ’11 said, “Connor cuts off of the ball so well and he is fantastic at finishing to get the goal.”
Andover struck first against Brooks with an early goal, but Brooks took the lead with a few minutes remaining in the half. Andover came roaring back and tied the game at 3-3 just before the half.
Andover retook the lead to begin the second half and continued its strong play to hold on to a 7-5 lead with just five minutes left in the game. Brooks then scored two goals to tie the game with only a minute left. A Brooks defenseman then made a fantastic play to steal the ball from Andover and sprinted downfield to score the eventual game-winner. Andover was not able to score a goal in the remaining time and wound up with an 8-7 loss.
Andover could have played better to keep Brooks from being within reach of the win in the fourth quarter. Co-captain Will Walker ’11 said, “We didn’t take care of the ball well enough, and we had trouble clearing the ball.”
“Brooks played a very good zone defense that was assisted by the bad weather, so our offense had trouble moving the ball throughout the game,” said Dolan. “The conditions were very rough because the grass field was very wet.”
Against Kimball Union two days earlier, Andover was able to keep its strong offense consistent throughout the game. Andover scored first and then traded goals with KUA until the half finished with the score tied at five. In the second half, Andover’s defense tightened up and only allowed one KUA goal. Anthony Tedesco ’12 got the start in goal and played phenomenally behind the strong defense.
Andover scored three goals in the second half and ended up winning 9-6. Sam Lessard ’11, Joe Kruy ’12, and Joe Kuta ’11 contributed two goals each, and Light and Walker each scored once as well. Walker also had three assists in the game.
“On defense, the rotations were much better when we had to slide, but overall nobody was getting beat on defense,” Dolan said. “On offense we did a much better job moving off-ball which led to more open looks that we were able to convert on.”
This week Andover is preparing for its home game against Choate (5-8) on Saturday. “Choate is always good, and last year they had some very good defensemen and a very strong attack and midfield,” said Dolan. “The competition they play is top-notch and I expect them to bring it on Saturday.”
