RallyNorth.net

Second half surge leads Golden Warriors

Thursday, June, 03 By David Willis
Staff writer

ANDOVER — After a frustrating first half, Andover High knew something had to change.

“We didn’t have a groove in the first half,” said Jen Caro. “But after the half, we finally got into the flow of things, and once the goals start coming it’s tough to break that chain.”

No. 4 Andover opened the second half with five quick goals, turning a one-goal halftime lead into a 12-6 victory over No. 5 North Andover in the quarterfinals of the Division 1 North tournament last night at Eugene V. Lovely Field.

The Golden Warriors (16-6-0) advance to the semifinals to face the winner of today’s matchup between top-seeded Framingham and No. 8 Lexington. Framingham has won the last six Division 1 North titles.

“We were having a very hard time getting it in the net,” said Andover junior Meghan Morris. “But we picked it up after halftime. Once we get going, we start feeling better and better and start making the right plays.”

After back-and-fourth play for most of the first half, a goal by the Scarlet Knights with a minute left in the first half cut the lead to 4-3 going into the break.

“We started standing around and watching the ball,” said Andover coach John McVeigh. “North Andover is such a good defensive team, we were glad we still had the one-goal lead, but knew we would have to build on that. Then we finally started to move the ball.”

The Golden Warriors then grabbed momentum as Ally Fazio struck for a goal 1:16 into the second frame, starting Andover’s string of five unanswered goals over the next 10:48.

Caro led the way for the Blue and Gold, tallying four of her game-high five goals in the second half. She now has 47 scores for the season, and the five were her second most of the year, following her seven against Westboro. Morris also added a pair.

“We knew there was a whole other half to play,” said Morris. “We picked it up and played well.”

The Golden Warriors controlled momentum in the second half, holding  the ball in the North Andover zone for nearly the entire 25 minutes, rarely allowing the Scarlet Knights a rush.

“We were much better in the second half,” said McVeigh. “We have played very well in the second half all season. We were doing a good job of limiting North Andover’s shots, so we felt like if we put some shots on goal and started ‘playing down hill, we could take momentum.”

The Scarlet Knights (14-6-0) were led by Maggie Samuelman’s two goals, while Ali Hughes added two assists.

The Knights also benefited from standout goaltending from junior Bridget Kitchen, who made eight saves including an outstanding point-blank stop on a Morris shot.

“We played a great first half,” said North Andover coach Karen Lahey. “We fought very hard. Girls like Emily (Samuelman) and Jenna (Armstrong) and Ali played inspired lacrosse. But Andover has so many athletes. They are a great team.”

Framingham (19-1-1) and Lexington (15-5-1) face off today at 4 p.m. to determine Andover’s next opponent. The Golden Warriors fell to Framingham 12-8 in the regular season finale, and did not face Lexington.