RallyNorth.net

Andover opens tourney in style

Wednesday, May, 28 By David Willis
Staff writer

ANDOVER | Andover wanted to open the tournament with a statement.

"We knew going in that we are the sixth seed, and that is a lot lower than we have been in the past," said Golden Warriors tri-captain Kelly Driscoll of her club, which was a top-3 seed the last three years. "We wanted to come out tonight and show that, even though we have lost a few more games, we're still the same team we have been."

Show it they did. Andover jumped out to a 10-goal lead late in the first and cruised to a 13-4 victory over No. 11 Salem (Mass.) in the first round of the Division 1 North girls lacrosse tournament.

Andover now travels to No. 3 Acton-Boxboro in the second round. The time and date have not yet been announced.
It was Driscoll who kicked things off, taking a pass from Katelyn Caro and scoring just 1:02 into regulation. Heather Sullivan scored 1:08 later and Jess Forster 1:28 after that. With 6:19 left in the half, the hosts led 10-0.

"That we took a 10-0 lead will get opponents thinking Andover is a very good team and the seed means nothing," said Driscoll. "Salem came in here pretty confident, and we wanted to squash that feeling early."

Forster led the Golden Warriors with three goals while Caro and Rosie Forster each scored twice. Driscoll added three assists, giving her 26 for the season. Also chipping in single goals were Catherine Gross, Kelly Fox, Ilana Cohen (two assists) and Sullivan.

All three Witches goals came well after the Golden Warrior starters had left the game.

Jules Konjoian started in net and made six saves, including a stellar stop from point-blank and a save on a penalty shot. Abby Cook and Brianne Deyermond split the second half.

"It was a great start," said Andover coach John McVeigh, whose wife recently gave birth to a girl they named Kelly. "We opened the game well with our lead attack. We spread the ball out and everyone played. We are very balanced and everyone is a threat. Its good to get the first tourney game jitters out of the way."

The Golden Warriors did not face Acton-Boxboro in the regular season. Andover beat the A-B in the tourney quarterfinals two years ago.