Three Andover Soccer Association youth soccer teams played this past weekend in the Massachusetts Tournament of Champions, the annual state competition that ends the youth soccer season.
Shock penalty kick earns state championship
The eighth-grade Andover Shock won the Girls Division I trophy, after making the semi-finals each of the previous two years. Having stormed through their group-stage matches and the semi-finals, the Shock found themselves down 3-0 to an inspired Franklin team- yet managed to claw all the way back to tie the score, and then win on a penalty kick in the last five seconds of regulation time.
Just 2 minutes into the game, Franklin scored their first goal, and at 5 minutes in, the second. Their third goal at 25 minutes in would have had most spectators and players believing this dream run was over for the Shock. But the girls dug deep, and within 30 minutes, they rallied to tie the game. The team was set to go into overtime, with the score at 3-3 and just 30 seconds to go. A blatant hand ball in the Franklin box resulted in a penalty kick and the final goal for Andover, securing the championship win. This finish culminates an historic run of three Essex County Championships, a record of 72-5-1, and the first Andover Girls Division 1 state championship.
Players are Veronica Alois, Amy Bordogna, Wyllie Boughton, Jenna Davison, Grace Dever, Haley Driscoll, Tory Edwards, Meaghan Farrell, Brianna Knight, Erin Logee, Rachel Major, Emily O'Hara, Olivia Papapetros, Rafia Rehman, Isabelle Russo, Sophia Sherman, Caroline Shipley and Meredith Van Antwerp.
The team was led by Head Coach Nathaniel Boughton and Assistant Coaches Bailey Boughton, Ingrid O'Hara and David Sherman.
Warriors: Runners-up
The Andover Soccer Association's U-14 Boys Warriors were runners-up at this past weekend's Massachusetts Tournament of Champions.
The seventh-grade Andover Warriors, playing in this tournament for the first time, won their three group matches and their semi-final match by a combined score of 13-1 over Stoughton, Scituate, Athol and Dartmouth. They met Dorchester in the final for a hard-fought, physical match, with each team converting on a penalty kick. The Warriors had several good scoring opportunities but the game winner fell for Dorchester in the second half, following a scramble in the Andover goal mouth.
Over the course of the two championship tournaments, goal keeper Ben Andresen and his defense including Phil Amesoeder, Ethan Borenstein, Logan Bravo, Luc Pakey and Pat Hughes, recorded a remarkable six shut-outs. A platoon of midfielders, including Anjay Shah, dominated possession of the ball.
Warriors' scorers across five matches included Raini Huynh (4), Peter Heckendorn and Jeffrey Hunt (2 each), and Matthew Adams, Jeremy Chan, Santiago Jacome, Hugo Medrano, Tom Rockwell, and Daniel Teplow (1 each). Matthew and Daniel scored with their left feet; Jeffrey and Hugo scored with their heads, while Raini scored his several goals with multiple body parts, according to Head Coach David Heckendorn.
Attack: First MTOC berth
The U 16 Girls Andover Attack qualified for Massachusetts Tournament of Champions after the ninth and 10th grade team played an undefeated regular season and advanced to the Essex County YSA championship tournament. They progressed through the quarter and semi finals there, both with no goals that were scored against them. In the final game, the girls narrowly missed out on a win, but earned the MTOC wildcard spot based on their tournament performance.
The 2012 Andover Attack is the first U16 girls team from the Andover Soccer Association to ever qualify for the Massachusetts Tournament of Champions. The Attack fared well in the quarterfinals and narrowly missed the finals, according to ASA President Bill Souza.
Attack players were Emily Souza, Hannah Ameen, Caitlin Brown, Kailey Cullen, Julia Manty, Brianna Atwood, Farrien Khan, Emily Macdowell, Emily Hespeler, Gabby Goodwin, Grace Perigaut, Nara Norgil, Sarah Vrountas, Laura Morrisette, Monica Nowicki, Natalie Benson and Sabine Gang. Coaches were Bill Souza and Kelly Atwood.
