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WOBURN — North Andover was knocked out of the state boys soccer tournament last night, but Scarlet Knights coach Bill Tarbox wasn't quite ready to believe his team's season was over.

Seeded third in the Division 2 North bracket, North Andover dropped a 1-0 decision to second-seeded Wilmington in semifinal action at Woburn High School. But Tarbox thought it was his squad which should have advanced to Monday's title game against top-seeded Concord-Carlisle, which defeated Danvers 2-0.

NORTH ANDOVER — He’s only a freshman, but Evan Dudney is making his presence felt for the North Andover boys soccer team. Yesterday, in fact, it was felt in a big way as he came off the bench to score North Andover’s  first two goals, fueling the No. 3 seed Knights to a 3-1 victory over Triton in the first round of the Division 2 North tournament. North Andover (16-1-2) advances to tomorrow’s 2 p.m. quarterfinals at home against Reading, a 4-2 winner over Tewksbury yesterday. “He (Evan Dudney) is a guy who I bring in as the third forward and he has really come on,” said North Andover coach Bill Tarbox . “He has that goal scoring aptitude — he scored our only goal against Rockport.” Dudney scored the game’s first goal after 30 minutes in the first half, from about 18 yards out, on an assist from classmate Dennis Graff, who is the only other freshman on the varsity roster, but Triton tied it up shortly thereafter on a Justin Paquette goal to make it 1-1 at halftime. Then, at the 22:12 mark of the second half, older brother Gareth Dudney fired a long direct kick to the left side of the goal to Jay Marchand, who directed it over to the right side. Evan took the ball in mid-air and kicked it in for the game-winner. “He (Evan) seems to be in the right place at the right time — he’s a hard-nosed player. He has a long way to go to develop the skills of Gareth, but he’s only a freshman and he has plenty of time.” North Andover controlled much of the field possession, particularly in the second half, and it seemed like just a matter of time before it scored. Following Dudney’s second score, Jay Marchand scored an insurance goal six minutes later when brother Ross Marchand sent a long pass down the field. With Jay ahead of the defenders, Triton goalie Dan Norton came out to try and get to the ball first. But Jay Marchand beat him and sent a crossing shot into the net from about 20 yards out. “This was an important win for us because we got eliminated (from the tournament) in the first game last year,” said Tarbox. “It’s important for the seniors and also for our younger kids to get a taste of what it takes.”

For the first time in eight years, North Andover has captured the CAL championship.

With last night's 1-0 win over Newburyport, the Knights dethroned traditional power, Masconomet, which has dominated the league for much of the past eight seasons. Gareth Dudney tallied the only goal of the game.

North Andover spotted arch-rival Andover a 1-0 lead early in the second half before roaring back for a 3-1 victory. Gareth Dudney, Jay Marchand and Evan Boudreau all scored for the Knights (14-1-2).

On Thursday, North Andover's Gareth Dudney was voted the Cape Ann League MVP and, yesterday, celebrated the honor by scoring two first half goals in North Andover's 4-0 win over Masconoment Regional.

Nine different players were involved in the scoring as North Andover's boys soccer team whipped Amesbury 7-1. Jay Marchand led the way with a pair of goals and an assist for the Knights (12-1-2).

Gareth Dudney and Evan Boudreau each scored in the second half to help North Andover erase a one-goal halftime deficit and win 2-1 over Billerica.
"We did control a lot of the play and we had better ball position," North Andover coach  The other team is used to the size of the field. The dimensions are smaller. But we possessed the ball far more efficiently and we put a lot of pressure on them in second."
Goalie Jack Hyman, who made seven saves, came out of the net to stop a breakaway in the second half. He got a hand on the shot and ball deflected over the net.

 North Andover erased three deficits before capturing a 4-3 win over Triton. Evan Boudreau netted a pair of goals for the Knights (8-1-2), who keep their hopes for the CAL title alive with the win. Boudreau's winning tally came with just under three minutes to go; it was the Knights first lead of the game.

Trailing by two goals 10 minutes into the second half, Taylor Beaton struck for two goals in the final 15 minutes to help Pentucket earn a 3-3 tie with North Andover. Goalie Paul Mansfield turned in key late saves for the Sachems.

Jay Marchand scoced his seventh and eighth goal, tops for North Andover, during a 5-1 win over Ipswich at North Andover's home coming day. Gareth Dudney, Evan Dudney and Evan Boudreau also scored for the Knights, who improved to 5-1.