RallyNorth.net

Andover falls short in North final

Saturday, June, 11 By David Willis
Staff writer

ANDOVER — Through plenty of pride, Andover’s Jen Caro couldn’t help but feel a little unfulfilled.

“It is amazing we could go as far as we did,” she said. “It has been an amazing season. But when you have done all of this, there is still part of you that wants more. It’s bittersweet.”

Top-seeded Andover rallied back from an early four-goal deficit, but could not hold on and fell to No. 2 Lincoln-Sudbury 17-9 in the Division 1 North final yesterday.

This was the Golden Warriors’ first trip to the North finals in the program’s 11-year history.

“This was a great game,” said quad-captain Meghan Morris. “We were close, then the broke it open at the end. But we were coming back. We were getting there.”

Andover found itself in an early hole, trailing 4-0 just 4:32 into the game.

“Putting ourselves in a 4-0 hole that early makes the rest of the game really tough,” said Golden Warriors coach John McVeigh. “We were never able to get comfortable and do the things we talked about before the game because we were playing catch-up from the beginning. But I am very proud of the way the girls came back.”

Andover was able to cut the lead to 5-4 with 6:22 to go in the first, and were a great save away from tying the game.

“Every time we were stating to get down we thought, ‘no, we want to win this,’” said Caro. “We had the desire. But that is a great Lincoln-Sudbury team.”

Lincoln-Sudbury offense quickly struck back, taking an 11-5 lead at halftime.

“It was a very new experience being here,” said Morris, who scored a goal. “We wanted it so badly and we were so pumped. We were ready.

“From my first year to this year, the improvement that we have had and the talent we have now shows how far this program has come and how good it can be.”

Andover’s 22-2-0 record was the most wins in program history, including a 19-game winning streak heading into yesterday.

“We knew we wanted to go out with a bang and play the best game we could,” said Caro. “I feel like we did that.”

Caro, a senior, led the Golden Warriors with five goals, tying Lincoln-Sudbury’s Rachel Saxton for the game-high.

“She is a warrior,” said McVeigh. “She was going to make sure she went down finishing. We are going to miss these seniors.”

Andover, however, graduates just four seniors from this season’s squad, creating plenty of excitement for next season.

“We have 24 players in uniform that will be back next season,” said McVeigh. “This doesn’t stop. We have a great group of underclassmen, but after watching Lincoln-Sudbury we have a lot to learn. They only have three seniors graduating, so we could see them again next year. Hopefully, we will be more prepared.”

Additional stories:

• VIDEO: Andover girls lacrosse pushes Lincoln-Sudbury to the limit in Division 1 North semifinal