Katherine McIntire ’19 plays midfield and scored four goals for Andover against Northfield Mount Hermon.
With just under a minute left in Andover Girls Lacrosse’s game against Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH), Kelly McCarthy ’19 drove to the middle, rolled back to the left and fired the ball past the NMH goalie. McCarthy’s crucial goal secured Andover’s 13-12 win over NMH this Wednesday. In addition to this win, Andover also beat Groton 15-7 on Saturday, bringing its record to 3-3.
On Saturday, Groton put the first goal on the scoreboard, but Andover took control from that point on by responding with a quick goal and holding this lead for the rest of the game.
Head Coach Kate Dolan wrote in an email to The Phillipian, “Against Groton, we were able to take control of the game from beginning to end. While Groton scored first, our girls responded by scoring right off the following draw. That response set the tone for the game.”
Andover’s offense was sharp and efficient, moving the ball around expertly and scoring a season-high of 15 goals. According to players on the team, Andover was successful in implementing offensive plays it had practiced in days leading up to the game.
Co-Captain Jordy Fenton ’17 said, “We succeeded offensively in both halves. Our offensive did a great job working off-ball and scoring from different positions, cuts and plays.”
Coach Dolan added, “Our defense was solid. We can still do a better job maintaining possession, having longer possessions in our offensive end, and continuing to improve our shooting percentage. With greater confidence and communication, we can keep improving our consistency and level of play, and there is no question that the team is just beginning to tap into its fullest potential.”
Against NMH, the team battled through a constant backand-forth game. Andover started off slow, allowing NMH to score three goals in the first six minutes of the game. However, Andover responded by scoring four goals in a row to take the lead, 4-3. Towards the end of the first half, NMH scored three goals, bringing the score to 7-4 with Andover trailing at half. Goals in the first half were scored by Ananda Kao ’18, McCarthy, and Katherine McIntire ’19.
Andover started the second half with two quick goals from McIntire and Lilly Feeney ’20. With the addition of goals from Kao and McCarthy, the game was tied at 8-8 seven minutes into the second half.
Aside from a goal from Brooke Keough ’19, NMH scored four goals, leaving Andover trailing 12-9 with only ten minutes remaining in the game. Andover received two yellow cards just 30 seconds apart, forcing it to play two-players down for 90 seconds. However, Andover was able to hold NMH scoreless throughout that period. Goals from Co-Captain Beth Krikorian ’17, Feeney, McIntire, and McCarthy all came in the last six minutes of the game and clinched Andover’s narrow victory.
Annie Lord ’19 said, “NMH was down in our defensive end, but we really pulled together, talked to each other, and we were able to stop the ball and get possession. We definitely saw how well we can do under pressure — protect the ball, take smart shots, talk to each other, [and] get defensive stops.”
Andover will square off against Governor’s on Wednesday on the back of a two game winning streak.
Editor’s Note: Ananda Kao is a Managing Editor for The Phillipian.
