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Andover heads to North finals

LOWELL — Given a second chance, Andover captain Olivia Schwinn-Clanton was right on the money Monday afternoon.

Her free kick from about 30 yards out early in the second half curved beautifully over the head of the Acton-Boxboro goalie and into the back corner of the net to give the Golden Warriors what proved to be the game-winner in a 2-1 Division 1 North victory.

The Warriors (14-3-3) will now play in the finals Saturday for the first time in 16 years that Meghan Matson has been coaching.

Schwinn-Clanton had a an almost identical shot on the last play of the first half on another free kick and the ball hit the cross bar.

"I thought that first one was going in," said Schwinn-Clanton, who has now scored five goals on free kicks this year. "I like to try getting it over the goalie. I practice that."

 That goal gave the Warriors a 2-0 lead, which proved just sufficient as one might expect with Izzy Shih in goal. She has recorded nine shutouts this year and given up more than one goal in a game just once.

"I thought when we got the second goal, we would win the game," said Schwinn-Clanton.

And indeed they did, but it wasn't easy. A-B scored on a semi-breakaway with 23 minutes remaining and put on constant pressure over the last eight minutes of the game. But Shih, who finished with 15 saves, was up to the task.

"She (Shih) is such a good goalie, very smart and passionate, and she's been like that for four years," said Matson.

A-B actually controlled much of the play in the first half, outshooting the Warriors on goal 5-1, but Andover took a 1-0 lead with three minutes left before intermission on a beautiful unassisted goal by junior Emma Azzi. She deked one defender, went around another and then found the back of the net.

That gave Andover a bit of momentum and it responded with its best time of possession at the start of the second half leading to Schwinn-Clanton's goal.

But soon after that, A-B regained its control of the midfield and, especially after it closed the gap, put a ton of pressure on Shih, who fortunately was up to the task — again.

"I really don't know how we held them off," said Matson. "We didn't play that well overall and they're a good team. But I guess it's a good sign that we still won without playing our best."