RallyNorth.net

Central dominates Andover in North Quarterfinals

Sunday, November, 05 By By Mac Cerullo

LAWRENCE - It hardly took any time at all.
Central Catholic girls soccer didn't have much difficulty with Andover in its regular season finale, but playing the same team back to back with a nearly two week break can sometimes trip up even the best teams. Perhaps with that in mind, Central senior Elayna Grillakis made sure Andover never had a chance to get in the game, scoring two of her four goals in the opening minutes en route to a 6-2 blowout at home in the Division 1 North quarterfinals.
"I'm proud of the fact that we came out early and brought it right to them," said Central coach Casey Grange. "We knew they were going to try and pull the offsides trap so we worked on that for a few days, and Elayna was on her A game today."
All four of Grillakis' goals came in the first half, the last of which came on a breakaway in the final seconds before the halftime whistle, providing an exclamation mark on a dominant performance. Freshman Sydney Wnek also scored in the first half to help build up the 5-0 halftime advantage, and senior Caitlin Regan scored four minutes into the second half to finish off the scoring.
Andover didn't go down without a fight. The Golden Warriors scored twice in a three minute span midway through the second half, both on corner kicks by Maddie Rhodes. One of the corners was headed in by Jessica Shay, and the other just curled in on its own to give Rhodes the score.
By that point, Central had largely turned the game over to its reserves, but the team seemed re-energized after the two quick Andover goals. Central had several near chances to extend its lead, but Andover goalie Izzy Shih had a couple of terrific saves, including one stuffed breakaway that looked like a sure Raider goal. Shih finished with 12 saves before Scarlette Gillette came in to finish the final 15 minutes, and Gillette made one more big save before the final whistle blew.
In addition to Grillakis', Wnek's and Regan's goals, Central also got a pair of assists Brooke Hernon, along with helpers from Layal Khartabil, Lizzie Dankert, Bailey Marzec and Grillakis. Goalie Mary Gerard made four saves in the win.
Andover finishes its season 10-7-2, while Central Catholic improves to 17-0-1. The Raiders are now riding a 41-game unbeaten streak dating back to the start of last season and will look to continue their run to a second straight state championship in the Division 1 North semifinals against Acton-Boxboro on Wednesday. That game will be played at Cawley Stadium in Lowell starting at 7 p.m.