Dillon Strike Earns Girls' Soccer Rivalry Stalemate

EXETER - Big Red girls’ varsity soccer ended the season with a impressive 1-1 tie against Andover on Saturday. Coming into the game, Exeter looked to keep Andover under .500 on the season, and get Exeter their first win of E/a, as this game was kick-off to E/a.With lower Jacie Lemos leading the offense and senior co-captain Susannah Grey anchoring the defense, Big Red used a defensive 4-5-1 formation against Andover, after experimenting with various tactics throughout the season.Lower Charlotte Dillon put Big Red on top in the first half with a finesse shot into the top right corner of the net. “Charlotte was super composed even though it was a chaotic game and took a wonderful shot,” senior co-captain Dani Sim said. The ball arched over the Andover goalie’s outstretched hands, and into the back of the net.Andover tied the game up with less than fifteen minutes remaining in the second half. Sim said that Andover’s late goal was a direct result of Exeter’s loss of concentration. “In the first half, we were marking really well and getting lots of shots, but in the second half we started ball-chasing a little bit, which was probably why they scored on us,” Sim said.Players believed that the team’s final game against Andover was one of their best performances of the season. “We played really well, possibly the best we’ve ever played this season,” upper Hannah Fuller said. “It's been a season of huge growth and overcoming lots of obstacles, and the Andover game really showed how hard we have worked.”Throughout the game against Andover, Soxie focused on using the wings on offense and marking on defense. “Game after game, practice after practice, we worked on making the wide runs up top, marking on defense and getting 50/50 balls,” Sim said. “And against Andover, we made well use of these offensive and defensive skills we’ve honed during the season. Our performance against Andover in general showed how much we’ve improved as a team.”Tying against Andover on Saturday, girls’ soccer ended its season with a 5-11-2 record, its worst in years.Sim attributed the team’s overall performance to the players’ lack of experience. “With six preps and six lowers on the team, we could not have expected to fare too much better against much more experienced teams,” she said. “Having the new players get experience was great. We had a lot of new players, and despite the losing record, I think this season helped them grow as players and as a whole team.”Fuller believed that Big Red ended the season on a high note. “It was hard to have them come back and tie it up in the last fifteen minutes, but it was a good game and after the season we have had, it was a wonderful way to end the season.”