RallyNorth.net

A-B corners previously-unbeaten Andover, earns North finals rematch against Knights

Friday, November, 09 By Chuck Frye
Staff writer

Andover knew it had a tough task taking on an experienced, playoff-hardened Acton-Boxboro squad in the Division 1 North semifinals. Two short minutes into the game, that task got much tougher.

Sophomore Alexa Sikalis settled the Colonials' first penalty corner pass at the top of the circle for Hayley O'Brien, with the senior drilling the ball into the open lower left corner of the net just 2:20 into the contest. At that point, everything changed for the second-seeded Golden Warriors.

Playing defensively to counter a swift A-B front line worked well, but it kept the ball in Andover's own zone, hindering any kind of counterattack. O'Brien added another score off a second-half penalty corner, and No. 3 Acton-Boxboro handed Andover its first loss of the year, 2-0.

Saturday at 1 p.m., top seed North Andover, 22-0, will host the 18-1-2 Colonials in a rematch of last year's sectional finals, which was won in overtime by the Scarlet Knights. Andover finishes its season with a 17-1-3 mark.

"Their scoring a couple of minutes into the game changed the whole pace of the game," said Golden Warrior head coach Maureen Noone. "It's tough in field hockey where not that many goals are scored. I think it sets the tone."

With defenseman Erin Murphy's powerful blasts kick-starting the attack and the deft passing of Sikalis, O'Brien and Maggie Ashton applying additional heat, A-B had the game's first five penalty corners, finishing with an 8-5 advantage. In response, Andover pulled all 10 of its players inside the circle against six or seven Colonial attackers, effectively keeping sticks and bodies between the ball and the net.

"Andover did an excellent job breaking up our pass plays," said A-B head coach Mae Shoemaker. "They seemed to be everywhere we were."

Noone said, "I think (A-B) might have had an advantage with a couple of quicker forwards. Our defense is strong but there's not a lot of speed. Most of our speed is in the midfield. It could have effected our offense, who knows? I just think they're a good team and we weren't on our A game. One break one way or another could have made a difference."

The Warriors slowly started to muster some scoring opportunities in the second half, with junior Catherine Gross and senior Brittany Isenhart testing Colonials goalie Kaitlyn Curtis (five saves) in the first five minutes.

But hopes for a comeback were effectively dashed 9:21 into the half on another corner. Sikalis sprinted five yards to her right to stop a wild pass for O'Brien, who powered another blast through the defense to the left corner of the cage.

"Passing has been our strength all season but our corners just sort of came together over the last three or four weeks of the season," Shoemaker explained. "Andover is a great team from a great conference and we know why they won 17 games. Our girls adjusted well and played smart."

"I'm very proud of our kids," Noone said of the season just completed. "I wasn't sure where we'd be but we meshed together. This was a great team as far as bonding and we had great senior leadership. I'm proud of where they're at, and with a lot of younger kids, we'll get stronger and stronger as a program."