WOBURN — With the chance to make history, Andover freshman Lauren Adams was battling some mean butterflies in her stomach as she took the ice on Friday.
“I was really, really nervous!” said Adams. “I was excited, but I was so worried about losing. I was scared, but going into the second period, I shook off the nerves some.”
Once she calmed down, the youngster delivered the performance of her life.
Adams tallied her first career high school hat trick, leading No. 4 Andover to a 5-2 comeback victory over No. 5 Franklin in the Division 1 state quarterfinals on Friday.
“This feels amazing,” said Andover captain Emma Gilmartin. “We have such an amazing team, and we knew if we played our hearts out we could come out on top. And to make it past the state quarterfinals for the first time is unbelievable.”
The victory sends Andover (19-2-1) to the state semifinals for the first time since the Golden Warriors made three straight Division 2 semis from 2004-06. They moved up to Division 1 the following season.
The Warriors advance to face the winner of Saturday’s matchup between top-seeded Austin Prep (21-0-0) and No. 8 Braintree (17-4-1) on Monday, back at O’Brien Arena in Woburn.
A win Monday would send Andover to its first state championship game in the history of the program, which began varsity play in the 2002-03 season. Another victory would also match the 2004-05 team (20-3-0) for the most wins in team history, according to Eagle-Tribune records.
“This is the furthest we have been (in Division 1), so that’s pretty unbelievable,” said coach Kevin Drew. “The girls are so excited. We didn’t play a great first period, but we told them that we knew we had better hockey in then. And they delivered.”
After a sluggish start for Andover, Franklin led 1-0 after one period on Friday. But that was when the Golden Warriors — and Adams in particular — took over.
Just 0:48 into the second, Adams corralled a rebound and fired it home from an impossible angle to the left of the goalie.
Then, only 3:24 later, she scored her second goal to give Andover a 2-1 lead.
“The first one was a rebound off a teammate’s shot that I put in,” said Adams. “I was so excited that we tied the game. Then, the second, I wrapped around the net and put it through the goalie’s legs.
“We always knew we were still in the game, but I think those goals really gave us our confidence back. We were ready to go.”
Franklin tied it with 5:06 left in the second to make it 2-2 heading into the third.
But 53 seconds into the final period, Adams struck again. She attacked the net, had her first shot was saved, but gathered the rebound and flipped a backhand home.
“She was amazing,” said Gilmartin. “She has stepped up this year and has done an amazing job. She’s a great all-around player, she has great hands, she can pass. She can do it all.”
That marked Adams’ first high school hat trick, after three two-goal games in the regular season. She now has 20 goals for the season, tied with Gilmartin (20) and behind just Callie Wiley (21) for the team-high.
“For a freshman to come in and do this is unbelievable,” said Drew. “She is great ever day. She’s a little pit bull. You can’t say enough about her. She’s amazing.”
Senior defenseman Laura Olson extended the lead with 7:20 left, flipping a pass in from the blue line that eluded the Franklin goalie. Gilmartin then iced the win in the final seconds with an empty-netter, setting off a wild celebration.
“This feels amazing,” said Adams. “It’s so exciting, especially to do it with my sister (senior defenseman Kathleen Adams) on the team. We know we have a lot on our shoulders in the next game, but we can keep winning.”
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