RallyNorth.net

Andover goes north for lacrosse victory

Thursday, April, 21 By Jeff Hamrick

DERRY — A cold and windy day might not be when most people think about heading north, but the Andover girls lacrosse team made the trip worthwhile yesterday with a convincing 12-5 victory over Pinkerton.
Jen Caro put the Golden Warriors ahead 45 seconds into the match with the first of her three goals. The senior attacker made it 3-0 a mere 41 seconds later moments after a goal by Ally Fazio. The rout continued as Andover (5-1) scored the game’s first nine goals in less than 15 minutes and led 10-2 at halftime.
It was the third straight year the Golden Warriors have defeated the Astros, but the previous two victories were by a combined four goals and included an overtime affair in 2009.
“We’ve had some great games (against Pinkerton),” Andover coach John McVeigh said. “(Pinkerton coach) Bryon (Murphy) does an unbelievable job, and this is a really good Pinkerton team. This was just one of those days where we played very well in the first half and we controlled the ball. And in lacrosse, when you control the ball, you can have a half like that.”
Andover has gotten off to its hot start despite missing junior goalie Jill Beucler (concussion) and midfielder Jaclyn Torres (knee), who  were injured in a preseason scrimmage against Westwood. Both, however, are back practicing and could return to the lineup soon.
In Beucler’s absence, Katherine Geffken has filled in admirably and stopped half of the 10 shots she faced yesterday.
“Katherine is a freshman and it’s her first year of lacrosse, but she’s had a heck of a season for us,” McVeigh said. “It was a challenge losing both of them, but it was an opportunity for Katherine and a couple of our young midfielders to come in and play, and they’ve done a great job.”
Before it was over, seven different Golden Warriors scored as Andover controlled the action with strong play on the draws.
“(Twins) Kate and Anne Farnham have been phenomenal,” McVeigh said. “There’s nothing more important in lacrosse than winning draws and winning ground balls. They make us go and are tremendous players.”
Pinkerton (2-1) got two goals from Sam Murray and a goal and three assists from Erin Coutts.
“They jumped on us really quick and we didn’t respond well,” Pinkerton coach Bryon Murphy said. “It’s a little disheartening. We play these out-of-state (opponents) for competition purposes. The win and loss thing is not the most important thing. It’s the playing against a good level of competition. You have to respond to it and we did not.”
Andover 12, Pinkerton 5
Goals: A — Jen Caro 3, Sara Miller 2, Weezie Gross 2, Ally Fazio 2, Meagan Keefe, Kate Farnham, Meghan Morris; P — Sam Murray 2, Erin Coutts, Callie DeLuca, Vicki Kuhn
Assists: A — Anne Farnham 2, Keefe; P — Coutts 2
Saves: A — Katherine Geffken 5; P — Diana Kraus 6
Andover (5-1):    10 2 — 12
Pinkerton (2-1):     2 3 —  5