ANDOVER — It’s the kind of tournament performance Danielle Hartford craves from her Beverly High Panthers.
Wednesday night in the MIAA Round of 16, Hartford’s crew went toe-to-toe with the state’s elite Division 1 field hockey program, No. 4 Andover High School.
At one point in the fourth quarter, 13th seeded Beverly had the hosts in full scramble, forcing Warrior goalie Lucy Baker to make a pair of tough saves in the crowd.
In the end, the result, a 1-0 Andover win, still spoke volumes as to how far the Beverly program has progressed. The Panthers ended their best campaign in 11 years with a 17-3 mark and shared the Northeastern Conference title.
“We knew they would be one of the hardest teams we would see this season. They’re ranked No. 4 for a reason. We know how good they are,” Hartford said of Andover. “I’m so proud and impressed at how well I think my team kept up with them. Just a one-goal game, it speaks volumes to how far they’ve come.
“We’ve been told we got so lucky this season, and it’s definitely not luck,” she added. “You could see it on the field. They left everything out there.”
A Vivian Aloi rebound goal off an Andover corner late in the second quarter was the lone ball to beat Beverly goalie Charlotte Stevens. The junior finished with 12 saves, giving her 102 for the season. She allowed just 10 goals all year.
But Beverly was by no means under siege.
“This was not one-sided,” said Hartford. “I’m so excited, already talking about next year. Maybe we will see them again, and we could get redemption.”
Senior captain Elliot Lund anchored the defense for Beverly, which refused to give in to a powerful Andover attack. Junior Morgan Linskey also had a big night in the midfield for the Panthers, while Nola Redman came up huge with a defensive save.
Andover (17-2-1) will now host No. 5 seed Belmont in the state quarterfinals later this week.