DANVERS — St. John’s Prep soccer coach Dave Crowell had nothing but positive remarks after Thursday’s Division 1 North quarterfinal.
Although his No. 8 Eagles fell 3-2 to No. 16 Andover, St. John’s left it all out on the field in a double-overtime thriller at Fred Glatz Field.
Down 2-1 with a minute left, Ethan Ambrosh saved the Eagles with a crucial game-tying goal. Andover, who knocked top-seeded English out of the bracket Tuesday, recovered and sealed it three minutes into the second overtime.
“This was a great group,” Crowell said. “It’s hard. That’s the thing about high school sports in general, the high’s and low’s. We went from that goal in the 79th minute and 15 minutes later we’re sitting on the ground. That’s the way it goes.
“We had a great, great senior group. Our four captains were great. Guys like Garrison Jorge and Andrew Behling were phenomenal. Some of the guys that didn’t play a lot really stuck with the team. We didn’t have any issues. This was a great group. The seniors are going to be missed.”
For the second consecutive game, St. John’s found itself trailing shortly after the opening whistle. Andover’s Zoah Silva-Landry caught the Eagles’ defense off-guard, created an opening and buried one into the back of the net to give the visitors a 1-0 lead in the third minute.
This time around, it only took St. John’s a minute to steer things in the right direction. Zach Vlachos picked up a pass from Ambrosh and knotted the score at 1-1.
“I was really happy with the effort,” Crowell said. “Again, we gave up an early goal but we responded within a minute, which made all the difference in the world.””
Things quieted down from there until the Eagles regained their rhythm toward the close of the half. With 4:02 until halftime, Kuol Majok found an open Gabriel Najim but the latter put a bit too much on his attempt. Ambrosh’s header off a corner two minutes later sailed high and it was 1-1 at recess.
Ambrosh generated St. John’s first solid look at the net 14 minutes into the second half but Andover goalie Joseph Atwood swatted it away. Eagles goalie Joey Waterman returned the favor a minute later on Silva-Landry’s attempt.
Anton Pace’s header off a corner gave Andover a 2-1 lead with 16 minutes remaining.
With their backs against the wall, St. John’s extended the game on Ambrosh’s tally in the final minute. Atwood denied St. John’s initial shot on the play before Ambrosh raced in, found the rebound and sent the game into overtime.
“They never stopped fighting,” Crowell said. “I’ve known Andover coach (Jim Saalfrank) for years. He came down and said, ‘You have to be kidding me.’ It was the 79th minute. There wasn’t a lot of time left.”
It took a picture-perfect shot from Allen Gao three minutes into the second overtime to end St. John’s season.
“It wasn’t like we lost on a crappy goal,” Crowell said. “Obviously Andover’s making a run.
“We created a lot of chances. Even in the overtime we had chances where we could’ve, would’ve and should’ve put it away.”
St. John’s finishes the year 13-4-3.
“This was a great group of kids,” Crowell said. “I’m really going to miss our seniors. But we’ll regroup for next season.”
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BOYS SOCCER
Manchester-Essex 3, Fenwick 1
Sean Kern scored Fenwick’s only goal on Ryan Noci’s assist as the Crusaders’ season ended in the Division 4 North quarterfinal.
GIRLS SOCCER
Acton-Boxborough 8, Revere 1
The Patriots fell in the Division 1 North quarterfinal to finish their season at 14-2-3.
