DYNASTY GAME: Warriors and Holyoke to Battle for State Title

Andover is looking for its third state title in three years today.

Today at 5:45pm, the Andover High School Lady Warriors will take on Holyoke High School with the MIAA Division 1 state championship on the line. Worcester's DCU Center will host the festivities.  It is no ordinary game for the Warriors. "There's so much pressure on these kids with people going 'three-peat, three-peat,'" said Andover head coach Jim Tildsley after his Warriors beat Central in the North semifinals.  Andover is going for its third title in a row. In honor of their courageous pursuit, today we look back at the last two state championship games that Andover won.  March 13, 2010 Natalie Gomez-Martinez dropped 25 points on helpless East Longmeadow as this core group of girls came together to win its first state title. Led by …

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GARDEN PARTY: Warriors Advance to State Finals

Andover beat Braintree at the TD Garden to advance to its third straight state championship game.

For the third time in three years, Andover used the TD Garden as a stepping stone to the DCU Center. With a come-from-behind 54-39 win over Braintree, Andover advanced to its third straight state championship game. "It's good to win here at the Garden," said Warriors head coach Jim Tildsley. On Saturday in Worcester, the Lady Warriors will try to win a third state title in as many years. "We pulled through again," said Nicole Boudreau after her Warriors saluted the Garden's parquet floor. Boudreau scored 22 points in a game that she made sure wasn't her last. "We told each other that we didn't want this to be our last game," Boudreau said. "We wanted to play with as much heart as we can," she continued. The Warriors trailed by six after …

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Warriors Crush Central, Advance to North Championship

The Lady Warriors remained undefeated and advanced to their third straight North title game.

"It doesn't get old," said Andover head coach Jim Tildsley after his Warriors thumped their rivals from Central Catholic to advance into their third consecutive Division 1 North Championship game. It was the fourth time this season that the Warriors have been able to put the clamps down on the Red Raiders. Andover's record remains unblemished at 23-0. "These kids are pretty focused," said Tildsley, whose squad is eyeing a third straight state title. "There's so much pressure on these kids with people going 'three-peat, three-peat,'" Tildsley said. In last night's semi-final Andover ran away with a 56-36 victory at Whittier Regional Technical High School. Senior Nicole Boudreau dropped 17 points and Devon Caveney added 16, but the story …

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Undefeated Soccer Warriors Crowned MVC Champs

The Andover girls beat Tewksbury 4-1 on Wednesday to clinch the regular season title.

The Golden Warrior girls completed their regular season with a 4-1 win over Tewksbury on Wednesday. More importantly, the win clinched the Merrimack Valley Conference regular season championship.  Jackie Alois and Gabby Cappello scored two goals each. Devon Caveney added two assists. Andover finished the regular season undefeated. Their 14-0-3 record may strike some fear into opponents during the upcoming playoffs. Andover tied their first, eighth, and thirteenth games against Chelmsford, Westford Academy, and Central Catholic. Otherwise, the team rattled off win after win against touch opponents from around the valley.  The MIAA has announced the seedings for the Division 1 North playoffs. Peabody checks in with the number one seed at 16-…

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Girls Swim Team Looks to Repeat

Andover hits the pool Friday after bringing home a state title last year.

Welcome to the eighth installment of our Golden Warriors fall sports season preview. Today we look at the Andover High School girls swim team. It will be very difficult for Andover to reach the level of performance that they did last year. The girls will have one of their best swimmers back, Rachel Moore, so the possibility of repeating as state champions is a reality for the Golden Warriors in 2011. Last year, the state championships took place at Blodgett Pool at Harvard University, and records were broken. Moore set the state meet record for the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 57.27 en route to Andover blowing the competition out of the water. Her time of 53.56 in the 100-yard butterfly was also good for a state meet record. That …

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Top 10 Athletes of the Spring

Patch counts down the top Golden Warriors of the spring season.

This week’s Athlete of the Week column features ten extraordinary athletes who participated in spring sports at Andover High School. 10. Kate Farnham – Lacrosse Kate was part of a field hockey team in the fall that brought home a state title. In lacrosse, her and the Warriors fell just short of earning a berth in this year’s state tournament. Back in April, Farnham said the keys to her success were teamwork and good relationships. 9. Alex Driscoll – Baseball Driscoll was one of six seniors from the baseball team who graduated this year. All six of the seniors graduated with academic honors. Driscoll was an MVC ball All-Star this season. He said staying focused and present gives him an upper hand on the field. 8. Rachel Ochs – Girls Tennis …

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Golden Warriors’ Report Card: Volleyball and Tennis

Andover Patch gives the AHS volleyball and tennis teams their final grades for the season.

Andover Patch will give each AHS varsity spring team a report card grade throughout the week. This is part three of a three part series. The Andover High School baseball volleyball and tennis teams all had strong runs in the MIAA playoffs. Let’s take a look at how they did on their report cards. Volleyball The Warriors volleyball squad started off the season on fire. They won their first four matches without losing a single game. They wound up winning six of their first seven. Then came the first of two separate three match losing streaks for Andover. The Warriors dropped consecutive matches to Chelmsford, Lawrence, and Haverhill in late April. In mid May, Andover hit another bump in the road losing to Chelmsford, Lawrence, and Haverhill …

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Golden Warriors' Report Card: Lacrosse

Andover Patch gives the AHS lacrosse teams their final grades for the season.

Andover Patch will give each AHS varsity spring team a report card grade throughout the week. This is part one of a three part series. The Andover High School lacrosse teams combined for a season record of 34-10. Let’s take a look at how they did on their report cards. Girls The Lady Warriors brought the AHS girls lacrosse program into uncharted territory this year. For the first time in school history, the girls advanced to the MIAA Division 1 North Championship game. Unfortunately, the Warriors could not hang with second seeded Lincoln-Sudbury in the final. Andover finished its season with a record of 22-2. Four seniors have already graduated. Sarah Miller, Meghan Morris, Jen Caro, and Emily Shields are the newest Warriors alumni. “The …

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Battle of Warriors in North Lax Final Tomorrow

The Andover Warriors and Lincoln-Sudbury Warriors face off in the MIAA Division 1 North Final tomorrow.

After history was made on Wednesday night, the girls lacrosse team now sets its sights on the MIAA Division 1 North Championship game which will be held at Andover High School tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 p.m. The Lady Warriors are in uncharted territory as they have now advanced farther than any other girls lacrosse team in school history. Andover’s win over Westford Academy on Wednesday improved their record to 22-1 on the season. Meghan Keefe, Jen Caro, and Ally Fazio starred in the Andover win. Each scored four goals apiece. Sara Miller added three and Weezie Gross added a pair. Goalies Jill Beucler and Katherine Geffken combined for seven saves. Andover will take on Lincoln-Sudbury with a shot at the MIAA State Tournament on the line. …

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The O-Zone Sports Report

Tripleheader of Semifinal Showdowns Today

Andover Patch is providing complete playoff coverage of the Golden Warriors.

Girls Lacrosse The Lady Warriors will have their semifinal showdown this evening at 6:00 p.m. at Andover High School. The top seeded Warriors are 21-1, and they will face 11-8-1 Westford Academy. The winner of tonight's game will take on Lincoln-Sudbury in the MIAA Division 1 North Final. Should Andover advance, they would host the final and advance into the state tournament. Click here for a preview of tonight’s game. Boys Tennis The boys tennis team will have its semifinal showdown in Lexington this afternoon. The matches get underway at 3:30 p.m. Andover is the number four seed at 16-4 while Lexington is the number one seed at 21-1. Click here for three reasons why Andover has made it this far. Girls Tennis The Lady Warriors will have …

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