Party crashers
No. 2 Lincoln-Sudbury 14,
No. 3 Andover 12
WESTON -- So much for that Framingham-Andover girls' lacrosse rematch.
Lincoln-Sudbury spoiled that party as the second-seeded Warriors fought back from an early three-goal deficit and endured four ties before an aggressive defense fueled by netminder Natalie Kerns lifted second-seeded L-S over third-seeded Andover, 14-12, in a Division 1 North quarterfinal.
"This was a total team effort," said L-S coach Debbie DeJesus. "They talked. They made adjustments and they were able to stay with them. It was a good team effort. They just hustled for every ground ball and put up a fight to win the draw."
Capitalizing on ground balls and having tremendous draw control is what keyed L-S in the win. Any lacrosse fan will tell you that, whoever wins the draw, tends to be the team to score. And that's exactly how it went all game long.
"I think it starts with ground control," said Andover coach John McVeigh. "We won those first couple draws, we had the ball down at our end and, you know, we're attractive when we have the ball, but [Lincoln-Sudbury's] girl Jess Griffin did a wonderful job, particularly on the draw.
"We responded back, but never came back fully. We'd find ourselves down a couple points, then coming back, then down again. We never had full control of the game and that's what hurt us."
No. 2 Andover (21-2) got itself rolling early after L-S scored the first goal of the evening courtesy of senior captain Christine Sinnigen. The Golden Warriors tied it up, then proceeded forward on goals from Catherine Gross, Fox (8 goals), and Briana Gross (3 goals, 2 assists), cushioning its lead to three.
L-S wasn't about to let Andover walk all over it, so in came the reinforcements. Alexa Rozelle (3 goals) added a score, followed by Kelly Cakert (2 goals) and Griffin (5 goals, 1 assist) to tie up the score at 6 as the first half concluded.
In the second half, L-S had the better advantages despite Fox scoring seven of her eight goals after the intermission.
"Rachel, she went on a run where she kind of took the game over and brought us back into it and it's just the kind of kid she is and player she is. She wasn't going to let us go down without a fight and she did a very good job of that," said McVeigh.
At one point, L-S went up 11-8 with 15:15 to play. It appeared that all hope was lost for Andover, but they never quit. The score would be tied twice more (at 11 and 12) until Cakert and Griffin scored to seal the deal.
In the end, the number 5 (Rachel Fox's number) fought.
"At the end, (Fox) fought," said DeJesus. "She was just an unbelievable player and Northwestern is so lucky to have her (in the fall). We did a good job at the very end. On three shots our goalie (Kerns) came up with huge saves keeping the score as it was."
Prior to the match, Andover's only loss was to the Flyers and it was only by a goal. But it will be Lincoln-Sudbury that gets the chance at taking down defending state champion Framingham in the sectional final.
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Look for updates from:
- Chris Forsberg: An Auburn native (Go Rockets!) and Northeastern graduate, Forsberg interned at the Globe from 1999-2003 before joining the staff at Boston.com in 2006. He's still fielding angry phone calls from Everett supporters after ranking Acton-Boxboro No. 1 following the 2001 season.
- Bob Holmes: A Reading resident (Go Rockets!) and Boston College graduate, Holmes is the Boston Globe High School Sports Editor. We remind you now that his weekly picks are often made in jest so everyone just calm down when he picks against Everett for 11 straight weeks.
- Mike Carraggi: An Everett native (Go Tide!), Mike attends Eastern Nazarene college and is entering his second year with the Globe. He'll focus on Division 1 this fall, which means he'll spend a lot of time in his hometown, which Forsberg thinks is cool because the Tide have that Fried Dough cart.
- Emily Wright: A Hyannis native (Go Barnstable Red Raiders!), Emily is a senior at Emerson College and has been with the Globe since the end of July. She'll cover Division 1A and will be the first intern we've trusted to navigate her way to Dennis-Yarmouth or any other school on the Cape.
- Mike Grossi: A Lexington native (Go Minutemen!), Mike attends Northeastern and has been with the Globe for two months. He'll cover Division 2 and 2A and unsuccessfully lobbied to include Lexington in the preseason Top 20.
- Jonathan Raymond: A native of Benicia, Calif. (a suburb of San Francisco), Jonathan attends Northeastern and has been working at the Globe since the end of June. He will be focusing on Division 3 and is likely woefully underprepared for covering a game in a foot of snow.
- David Carty: A native of West Bridgewater (Go Wildcats!), David is a senior at Emerson College and has been working at the Globe for a year. He'll cover Divisions 3A and 4 because, "small school ball is in my blood."
- The bench: You'll also catch updates from our regional contributors, including Globe North's Julian Benbow and South's Monique Walker. Correspondent Brendan Hall will have updates from the Globe West coverage area and will often try to sneak in Central Mass. news.
