RallyNorth.net

Mon, Feb 18, 2008 06:00 PM @ Westford Academy

Team	1	2	3	Final
Andover	0	0	0	0
Westford Academy	0	2	0	2

Andover shut out of league title

Andover missed a chance to capture its first Merrimack Valley Conference/Dual County League Division 1 title, losing to Westford Academy 2-0 last night.

"Tonight is very disappointing," said Andover coach Mario Martiniello. "We have had a great season, but to lose like this with the league and Super 8 on the line, its hard to feel good about."

The loss leaves Andover with a 13-3-5 record in its first season in Division 1. The Golden Warriors moved up from Division 2 before the season.

The game, which featured two of the best goaltenders in the area, lived up to expectations. Westford goalie Curt Serafini stopped all 16 shots he faced, while Andover's Nick Drew stopped 25 to keep his team in the game.

"I can't say enough about Nick Drew," Martiniello said. "He's a tremendous player who works very hard. He was just named player of the year by the league."

Drew was only beaten in the second period, during which the Ghosts outshot the Warriors 11-2.

The first goal came just five minutes into the period. Pat Sullivan skated behind the Warrior net and found an open Paul Burns on the doorstep for an easy goal over Drew's left pad.

The second came just four minutes later, when Sullivan ripped a shot from the point that was stopped by Drew's right pad. But before he could cover up, a hard-charging Derek DiRubbo knocked the puck and the goaltender into the net to give the Ghosts the victory.

The win appropriately came on senior night for Westford, which features 14 seniors.

"It was a great game played by two good teams," said Westford coach Bob Carpenter. "Andover is a great team and they really made us work for this win tonight."

As the clock counted down, the few hundred Westford Academy students in attendance chanted "Super 8," and then gave the team a standing ovation as the buzzer sounded.

Westford has games Wednesday and Friday at the Woburn Tournament to make one last impression on the Super 8 Tournament selection committee, while the Warriors now prepare for the Division 1 Tournament.

"We feel like we have a shot in the tournament," said Martiniello. "We feel like we are one of the best teams in Division 1, tonight Westford just got the better of us."