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Poise pays off for North Andover

NORTH ANDOVER — The temptation was strong, almost too strong.

Masconomet presented an enticing, run-and-gun playing style, one that a speedy North Andover squad certainly would enjoy. But discipline in the attacking end, not quick shots, is where the Scarlet Knights want to succeed and it worked well yesterday in a 10-6 victory.

“We have a lot of speed,” said Audrey Samuelman, who had three goals in the victory. “We like to get off the draws and use our speed advantage to push the ball, but we want to be poised enough to hold the ball, set things up and get a nice shot.”

Early in the contest, the Chieftains were starting to take North Andover out of its game and forced the hosts to use a timeout to regroup. And early in the second half, Masco’s Amy Arnold closed out an extended possession with a goal to close the gap to 6-3.

“I told the girls that just because (Masco’s) run-and-gun, we don’t have to be,” North Andover head coach Karen Lahey said. “It’s hard to do and it takes discipline and composure, but the team that can be composed will win the game.”

The Knights certainly took Lahey’s message to heart.

Driving the ball downfield after one of defender Caitlin Enright’s many steals, the Knights set up camp around the Chieftain net. For four long minutes, the ball buzzed between Samuelman, Pam Coufos (four goals) and Olivia Boudreau among others in a two-fold process.

“We tell the girls we rest on attack, not on defense,” said head coach Karen Lahey. “You need a rest? Take it then.”

And while the defense and midfield caught a well-deserved breather, the front line kept Masco on high alert by extended ball possession alone.

“We’ve been working hard at the end of practice, playing wall-ball to work on our stick skills,” Lahey said.  “We’ve been struggling timing-wise on offense but the girls are understanding the draw-and-dump better now, moving the defense and catching Coufos on backdoor cuts, things like that. Their diligence is paying off.”

It paid off big-time this time, too, as Samuelman was fouled driving to the net and skipped in a shot from 10 yards out — the only shot the Knights took during the possession. The goal was crushing for the fatigued Chieftains and opened the floodgates for scores from Coufos and Samuelman over the next three minutes to salt the victory away.

“They were doubling me and I saw that the weakside was open,” Samuelman explained, looping around the back of the net to freedom. “I had a full view of the net.”

Finishing as Cape Ann League Division 1 champion at 10-1, 13-1 overall, North Andover takes on a challenging quartet of non-league opponents to prep for the state tournament starting with Pinkerton Academy tomorrow.

“These are good games to have,” Lahey said. “With four sophomores in the starting lineup, we need the maturity from our senior leadership to control the tempo. We need to know when to push the ball and when we can’t. We’re a work in progress.”