RallyNorth.net

Andover hangs on to avoid upset

Tuesday, June, 01 By David Willis
Staff writer

ANDOVER — Even after the postgame handshake, Andover’s Anna Vecchi was still working to catch her breath.

“My heart’s still pounding like crazy,” she said with a huge smile. “Every minute we were up, then they were up. It was so nerve-wracking. But I’m just happy we pulled off the win.”

Trailing by three goals late in the first half, the No. 4 Golden Warriors rallied back to hold off  No. 13 Concord-Carlisle 14-12 last night in the first round of the Division 1 North tournament at Eugene V. Lovely Field.

The Golden Warriors (15-6-0) move on to face neighboring rival No. 5 North Andover in the quarterfinals tomorrow in Andover. The Scarlet Knights, the defending Division 2 state finalist, knocked off Central Catholic last night.

“Once we went down by three we finally started to make some plays,” said Meghan Morris. “We started to go back and fourth, they would score and we would match the goal. It finally started to get a lot better. We have played a lot of close games like that this season.”

After Concord-Carlisle (10-8-0) took a 7-4 with 8:41 to go in the first half, Andover called for a key time out.

“Three goals isn’t a lot in lacrosse,” said Warriors coach John McVeigh. “But when it becomes four or five it changes the dynamic. We needed to refocus and clean up our game. And we did just that.”

Andover surged back with three quick goals to tie the game with 1:04 left in the half, then again with 30 seconds left before the break.

The second half saw the two squads battle to five lead change and five more ties before the Golden Warriors took the lead for good with Rosie Forster and Sarah Miller each potting their second goal of the contest within 30 seconds of one another, each set up by Anne Farnham.

“It was a little closer than we would have liked,” said senior Alex Alois. “But once we tied it up we knew we could take control of the game. We have been in tough spots before.”

Morris led the way with three goals, including one set up on a stellar pass from sophomore Ally Fazio (two goals). Miller chipped in with a pair of saves to go with her two goals.

Goalie Nora Huntley turned in with five goals, including a pair of key stops to sustain the lead in the game’s final moments.

“We knew that Concord-Carlisle was not a true No. 13 seed,” said McVeigh. “They come out of a tough division and had injury trouble early. But we finally hit a groove, Anna (Vecchi) and the defense made a few big plays and Nora made some key saves.”

Andover next hosts North Andover (14-5-0), who the Golden Warriors defeated in their only meeting of the season 8-3 on April 21.

“It’s a fun rivalry,” said Vecchi. “We love to face North Andover.”