Team | 1st | 2nd | Final |
---|---|---|---|
Concord-Carlisle | 1 | 0 | 1 |
North Andover | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Thursday, November, 13 By Jeff Hamrick
CHELMSFORD — Despite coming off a seven-win season North
Andover girls soccer coach Lisa Rasanen was convinced her Scarlet
Knights could go far this fall.
"I told (the girls) when we came
into the season when we had our parent and player dinner that we could
do well," said Rasanen, whose 7-9-3 rookie campaign was the program's
only losing season since at least 1988. "And they came into the season
ready to go. They put a lot of work in the offseason. And within the
first week of the season, I knew this was a special group."
Unfortunately,
the road ended last night in the Division 2 North semis with a tough
1-0 loss to ninth seeded Concord-Carlisle. It was fifth-seeded North
Andover's deepest playoff sojourn since dropping a similar score to
Chelmsford in the 2011 Division 1 semifinals.
A pair of 2-1
early-sectional successes over Danvers (on penalty kicks) and Marblehead
proved the final victories in the Knights' 16-3-2 season.
"We
had some injuries last year, and some more this year, but we played
through them," said Rasanen, who spent 11 as the school's JV coach until
taking the top position last year. "This is probably one of the best
teams North Andover has ever had in terms of team chemistry.
"They
play together and most games, I'm playing 17-18 players. One through 18
on our team is very competitive, and I think that's led to our success
this year."
In last night's finale, Concord-Carlisle (13-4-3)
recorded the game's only goal 117 seconds into the match when a North
Andover defender fell chasing a loose ball that Patriot forward Meg
Wilson knocked in from a tough angle.
The Knights had several
scoring opportunities in a first-half in which they out shot the
Patriots. The best chance came with 8:30 remaining when a North Andover
throw-in resulted in a loose ball that slipped past CC goalie Lorin
DeMuth but was knocked back in play by defender Angela Ortiz at the last
moment.
After intermission, however, the offense struggled to find consistency with only four shots on net.
"They
went to five defenders in the second half," Rasanen said of CC's
strategy. "They were playing to not have us score and we just couldn't
break through in that second half."
While disappointing, this season-ending defeat won't dampen North Andover's optimistic future.
"We
came from a losing season, and we were able to turn things around,"
Rasanen said. "We have some great talent coming up in the program and
this is something we can build on the success we had this year. We're
more motivated and we're better prepared mentally."
Division 2 North Semifinals
Goal: Meg Wilson (2nd minute)
Saves: CC — Lorin Demuth 10; CC — Megan Collins 6
430 Osgood St.
North Andover, MA 01845
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