U14 Girls Are State Champions

The U14 Division 1 girls team, the Andover Shock, won the Massachusetts Tournament of Champions yesterday at the Mass Youth Soccer complex in Lancaster. 

The team had to advance through 3 round robin games Friday and Saturday in order to advance to the semifinals on Sunday morning.  They secured a 2-0 victory over a very strong Duxbury team, and advanced to the finals against Franklin. 

As one of the most memorable games in Andover Soccer Association history, the team battled back from a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3.  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 3 points to tie the game up.  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.