Sports
Scarlet Knights' Report Cards: Soccer
The O-Zone hands out report cards for the NAHS fall athletic teams.
Welcome to the first part of a three part series that looks back on the 2011 North Andover High School fall athletic season.
Today we look at the soccer teams. Tomorrow we’ll feature the field hockey and volleyball teams, and on Wednesday, we’ll assess the football team.
Girls Soccer
Find out what's happening in North Andoverwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Comments:
This year’s edition of the girls soccer team hit its stride at the perfect point, and that is why they are given such a high assessment.
Find out what's happening in North Andoverwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
A regular season record of 9-4-4 was on par with the amount of talent that the Knights had, and few were complaining about a berth in the MIAA Division 1 North playoffs as the 14th seed.
What occurred in the playoffs was an unforgettable run that will be hard to top for next year’s squad.
North Andover crushed Chelsea in the tournament’s preliminary round.
Then, against undefeated Andover, the Knights pulled off an upset for the ages. Tied after double overtime, the Knights won 1-0 in penalty kicks, knocking off the previously undefeated Warriors.
The Knights shoved aside Medford 4-0 in the quarterfinals before facing another Cinderella squad, Chelmsford. Finally, the Knights were stymied and held out of the Division 1 North championship game thanks to a 1-0 loss.
Boys Soccer
Grade: B+Comments:
A team that has been steadily improving over recent years had one of its best regular seasons in recent memory. However, a disappointing playoff record kept this squad out of the “A” range.
North Andover’s regular season was a thing of beauty. The Knights coasted through their regular season opponents compiling a record of 11-3-3.
That ended up being good for the 5th seed in the MIAA Division 2 North tournament. North Andover enjoyed a bye before beating 12th seeded Dracut in the first round.
Then the Knights laid an egg in the quarterfinals. Twentieth ranked Wayland had upset 4th ranked Lynn Tech prior to facing North Andover.
Wayland continued its miraculous run by topping the Knights 1-0 in overtime. Wayland would continue its run all the way into the North championship game where it fell to Concord Carlisle.
