Girls Lacrosse Sports Spring Sports

Girls Conclude Season With Close Victory

With the score tied 10-10 and three seconds left on the clock in the final game of the season, Hannah Burns ’15 drilled a shot past the Phillips Exeter Academy goalie and into the back of the net for Andover Girls Lacrosse. Her goal sealed an 11-10 Andover victory and finalized a 4-8-2 season record.

Andover’s Seniors played with the bittersweet knowledge that it would be their last Andover athletic contest. Captain Caroline Garrity ’15 said, “We had nothing to lose going into the Exeter game. We played for ourselves, our coaches and our teammates. There’s no better feeling than beating your rival school in the last game of your high school career.”

After Burns scored the first goal of the game, Exeter quickly responded to tie the game 1-1. A sustained defensive effort by Andover resulted in multiple turnovers and brought the score to 5-2 in its favor.

Refusing to let Andover take control of the game, however, Exeter reversed the momentum for the latter part of the first half. By halftime, the score of the game was 8-5 in favor of Exeter.

Many of Exeter’s goals developed when it sent two attackers into Andover’s defensive zone. Several of its goals also came from man-up fast breaks, since Exeter was very good at creating offensive pressure from its low attackers.

Andover matched Exeter’s intensity in the second half to keep the game close. The defense played a huge role as it only allowed two goals the entire second half.

As the back-and-forth second half began to wind down, Garrity tied everything up at ten goals apiece. The equalizer led the way for Burns to finish off the game.

Attacker Beth Krikorian ’17 said, “We all definitely had a good feeling after the game. It had all worked out in the end. It was definitely one of the most exciting sports games I’ve ever played in.” Despite a losing record, the Seniors felt great about their season and time on the team.

Tessa Peterson ’15, a four-year member of the team, said, “[The game] was unbelievable, and as a Senior, I felt this incredible sense of liberation, pride and reassurance that we did our job and did it well.”