Tim Marchese ’11 fired the ball into the back of the net midway through the second half to complete his hat-trick to propel Andover Boys Soccer to a 9-1 victory over Tabor this weekend. “It was one of those days where everything was clicking, and our possession was flawless. As a result, we came out with a big win,” Marchese said. After tying their last two matches, Andover came out firing, scoring four goals in the first half. Captain Mike DiFronzo ’11 scored the first goal off of a beautiful strike to give Andover the early lead. Just minutes later, Marchese trapped a ball in the box with his chest, juggled around two Tabor defenders and blasted a shot past the keeper for Andover’s second goal. Late in the half, Noah Le Gros ’12 jumped high above a defender to head in a great cross from Jake Rohwer ’11, quickly followed by Marchese’s second goal of the match. Tabor caught the Andover defense sleeping at the end of the half and added a goal of their own, their only one of the game. Andover did not hold back on the attack in the second half, pouring on four more unanswered goals. Five minutes into the half, post-graduate Aaron Mentos ’11 added his third goal of the season and Andover’s fifth on the day. Le Gros made another brilliant run through the Tabor defense to add his second goal of the game and put Andover up 6-1. In the 70th minute, Marchese scored the seventh goal of the game, completing his hat trick . Marchese controlled the midfield, switching the ball left to right and creating chances for the forwards with great balls from the center of the pitch leading to strong Andover attacks. Andover added one more goal late in the game to cap off an 9-1 victory. Andover started their second game of the week against Taft with great energy and tenacity, scoring within the first 10 minutes. After a great cross from Andrew Woonton ’11, Connor Hickey ’11 one-timed the ball to Tebs Maqubela ’11 who tapped it in to beat the goalie. The offense continued testing the keeper when Hickey received a ball on the right flank, beat his defender and ripped a shot under the arms of the outstretched goalie and into the back of the net for Andover’s second goal of the day. Mentos continued his success, scoring his fourth goal in just six games to start the season. “This game was a great confidence booster for the team, and we look forward to carrying this momentum further into our season,” Mentos said. The defensive line of Rohwer, Peter Lee-Kramer ’11, Brian Woonton ’11 and post-graduate Dylan Hawkins ’11 played a strong game in the back, and despite conceding two goals, they were able to get forward on the attack and add two goals of their own. Off of a free-kick from Rowher, Lee-Kramer settled the ball and finished strong into the bottom corner to make it 4-1. Later in the second half Brian Woonton was fouled inside the penalty box after beating his defender. With great confidence and prestige, Woonton cleanly put the ball into the back of the net on the penalty kick. The Andover midfield, led by DiFronzo and Marchese, played another great game, shutting down the Taft’s midfielders. Marchese also chipped the keeper late in the second half to top off another outstanding performance with his fourth goal in two games. At the end of the half, Le Gros scored his third goal in two games with a laser from outside the 18-yard-box, solidifying another convincing 7-1 win. Andover looks to continue its win streak this Friday against St. John’s Prep and Saturday at Choate.
