RallyNorth.net

Wed, Sep 09, 2015 07:00 PM @ North Andover

Team	1st	2nd	Final
Andover	2	1	3
North Andover	1	2	3

STALEMATE: Andover, North Andover girls soccer battle to draw in season opener

Wednesday, September, 09 By By Mac Cerullo

NORTH ANDOVER — At seemingly every turn, the Andover girls soccer team had an answer for their counterparts from North Andover. Twice the Scarlet Knights tied the score, and twice the Golden Warriors came right back with a goal to retake the lead.

Then North Andover played its trump card.

Samantha Neyman, a Brooks transfer and a University of Miami commit, made her presence felt from the opening tip, and in the 61st minute the sophomore midfielder capped off her impressive debut with a highlight-reel goal from outside the box, lofting it over the goalie's head to help North Andover salvage a 3-3 tie in their season opener.

"I knew the goalie was off her line," Neyman said after the game. "So I just felt like if I chipped it over far post it would go in, and it did."

The game-tying chip was Neyman's second goal of the game, with the first coming on a breakaway just before the end of the first half. That goal was one of the few early highlights for the Knights, who struggled to penetrate Andover's stout defense for much of the opening 40 minutes.

Andover took the lead in the 20th minute after senior midfielder Meredith Van Antwerp found the ball in a scrum and put it away to make it 1-0. That came right after senior forward Veronica Alois stole the ball near the corner and had two or three shots blocked before it found its way to Van Antwerp's foot.

Though Alois was denied on that play, she wouldn't be for much longer. Mere moments after Neyman scored her first goal in the 38th minute, the reigning Eagle-Tribune MVP fired off a shot from eight-yards out to put the Warriors back up 2-1 going into halftime.

Andover continued to dominate the opening minutes of the second half, but then about 15 minutes in, the Knights started to turn things around. North Andover had several good scoring chances, including two corner kicks and a shot by Neyman that ringed off the crossbar.

Finally, in the 58th minute, the Knights broke through. Senior midfielder Abbie Karalis found sophomore Danielle Maguire in front of the net, and Maguire headed the ball in to knot the game up at 2-2.

Then, just like before, Andover responded. The Warriors took possession off the tip, marched right down the field, and junior midfielder Lydia Rankin scored to give Andover its third lead of the game.

"It's one of those things, you talk about it at practice, your adrenaline is up after you score a goal, and you can't let them come back in it," said North Andover coach Lisa Rasanen. "You have to stay focused, you can't backpedal and let them score, and then they do it twice. That's why after the third goal I called a time out and said 'breath, relax, go out there and play.'"

Neyman's second goal came only two minutes later, and from that point on both teams played the remaining 20 minutes just about even. North Andover had a great scoring chance in the 64th minute, and Andover got a pair of corner kicks in the final minutes, but neither could get the go-ahead goal.

"We're both very offensive teams, and I knew going into this it would be a big test for us, it's like a baptism by fire playing the first game of the season against North Andover," said Andover coach Meghan Matson. "I would've liked a win, but I saw some good things that we can build on."

Andover will be at Methuen on Friday at 3:45 p.m., and North Andover will host ex-Cape Ann League rival Masconomet on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.