Andover eliminated

Tue, Nov 10, 2009 07:30 PM @ Andover
Team	1st	2nd	Final
Weston	1	0	1
Andover	0	0	0

ANDOVER: Andover's, Jillian Manning (left) battles for the ball with Weston player in Division I North sectional field hockey semifinals. Andover was defeated 1-0. Carl Russo photo. 11/10/2009. » Staff Photographer

Andover eliminated

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Tuesday, November, 10 By David Willis
Staff writer

ANDOVER — For much of the final 20 minutes of the contest, Andover threw all of the pressure it could at its opponent. But, in the end, the Golden Warriors couldn’t find the back of the net.

No. 2 Andover allowed a first half goal, and despite controlling the pace of play in the second half, could not tie the game and fell to No. 3 Weston 1-0 in the Division 1 North semifinals last night at Eugene V. Lovely Field.

It was the second straight year the Golden Warriors were eliminated by the Wildcats, who move on to face the winner of today’s matchup between North Andover and Acton-Boxboro in the Division 1 North finals.

“Andover definitely held the momentum in the second half,” said Weston coach Laura Galopim. “We weren’t playing aggressive enough, and had to call a time out. But our goalie was great.”

The Golden Warriors held the ball in the Wildcats’ zone for nearly the entire second half, outshooting Weston 8-1 after the break. That all while a player down due to a penalty.

“I thought we played so hard,” said Andover coach Maureen Noone. “We just started running wild in the second half instead of trying to make the pretty passes. We were moving the ball up and just running really well. But it wasn’t enough.”

Firing shots after shot, the Golden Warriors saw one blast go wide of the net, and another sail up and over the net. And Weston goalie Julia Bernstein was up to the task, turning away all eight second-half tries on goal.

Andover fell behind in the first. Playing without standout back Nicole Giroux, who had left the game with an injury, Emily Quinn tallied the game’s lone goal.

Led by Sierra Zwerling, Emily Hook and Laura Dimitruk, the Golden Warriors’ defense did not break from there, but it was not enough.

“We didn’t play our best game,” said Noone. “Things didn’t go our way early, and we couldn’t capitalize on our corners. But we were still able to outplay them at the end, and we did very well. It was a great season and a great run, but not the ending I wanted.”