RallyNorth.net

Fri, Apr 23, 2010 06:00 PM @ Andover

Team	1	2	Final
Pinkerton	2	4	6
Andover	2	5	7

Beucler stops nine shots to deny Pinkerton

Friday, April, 23 By Christopher Smith
Staff writer

ANDOVER — Andover sophomore Jill Beucler never played goalie until last year.

And the only reason she tried it was because a sprained ankle and strained Achilles' tendon limited her mobility.

“I was injured so I couldn’t run,” she said. “So I started playing goalie and I just loved it. I really took to it. I just love being in the cage.”

Beucler has taken to the position in a brief time. She was strong yesterday, making nine saves in a 7-6 victory over interstate rival Pinkerton.

Beucler, who has been playing lacrosse since seventh grade, said she always refused to play goalie in junior high.

“It’s scary,” she said. “I could never see myself doing that.”

Beucler and Andover are off to a 7-1 start. Their only loss came in the first game to Needham, 8-7. 

Beucler has shared time in goal with Brianne Deyermond and Nora Huntley.

“She said she wanted to try it (goalie) and obviously she’s gotten pretty good," Andover coach John McVeigh said. "It was definitely something that was a question mark coming in but she’s really done a nice job.”        

Beucler made a nifty stop on a low shot during the second half soon after Pinkerton tied the score 5-5 with 9:13 left.

“She really made a big save,” McVeigh said. “It let us catch our breath a little. We ended up getting the ball and we ended up taking the lead and obviously held on.”

Rosie Forster, who came off the bench to score twice, added about Beucler: “Amazing. She’s brought a lot to the table. She made a lot of feet saves today. I love that.”

Ally Fazio broke the 5-5 tie with her third goal of the game. It came with 4:14 left to play.

Fazio also made a nice assist on Forster’s second goal, which increased the score 7-5.

“I think the thing that she (Fazio) has improved the most on is her passing,” McVeigh said. “She had a huge assist on Rosie’s goal at the end whereas last year as a freshman I think she was good at being able to go one-one-one but maybe not as good a passer. And now she’s starting to see the field and make other people better.”

Coming off the bench

Forster came off the bench to score two goals in the second half.

“That can be a tough thing (coming off the bench),” McVeigh said. “I’ve asked all of them to just buy into the idea of just sharing the ball and being ready for their moments and she was ready today. She’s a very good shooter and she got the ball and had two really important goals down the stretch for us.”

Forster added: “We have a lot of athletic girls on the bench. We can outrun any team.”

Crossing the state line

This is the second time Andover and Pinkerton have met in girls lacrosse.

The first meeting was last year when Andover won 12-9 in overtime.

“That (last year’s overtime game) made us really excited for the game today,” Fazio said. “We were really pumped up to play them. It’s really great to go against them because it’s really good competition.”

McVeigh added: “I hope we can keep (playing yearly) because it’s a real good matchup.”

Grady scores four 

One highlight for Pinkerton (3-1) was the play of senior attack Kelsey Grady, who scored four times, giving her 10 on the season. 

“She’s pretty handy around the net,” Pinkerton coach Bryon Murphy said. “When she gets in close proximity, she usually puts it in or gets a good shot off. She’s been pretty opportunistic this year. It’s her first chance of playing a lot."