It may not have been a win, but Andover girls’ soccer coach Tracey Griess was still pleased with what she saw on the Huskies’ Senior Day. 

“We played pretty well,” Griess said after a 1-1 tie with Maple Grove on Saturday afternoon at Andover High School. 

“We had a lot of opportunities, and I’m proud of them for what they did,” Griess added. 

Despite their chances, Andover managed only one goal and the Crimson were able to respond in the second half. Maple Grove (10-2-3, 9-1-2) junior midfielder Shelby Handberg's poked a loose ball past Andover keeper Aly Cole to erase the 1-0 Huskies' lead, forcing the eventual scoreless overtime. 

The tie gives Andover (12-2-1, 10-1-1) 31 points in Northwest Suburban Conference play, tops in the league as the season draws to the close. 

“We definitely would’ve liked the win, but we’ll go with the tie and we have to take care of Osseo on Thursday,” Griess said. 

Junior attacker Erin Becker scored the lone goal of the game for the Huskies, ranked No. 8 in the latest coaches’ association Class 2A poll, giving her a conference-leading 21 on the season. 

“I just go out and play my game,” Becker said simply after the game. 

“She’s scoring like that against everyone,” senior midfielder Joli Daninger said, who had a firsthand look at Becker’s goal by recording the assist. 

As a senior, Saturday’s game carried a little extra weight for Daninger. 

“You think about Senior Day or Senior Night for so many years, and then it’s finally here, so it’s kind of crazy,” Daninger explained. 

Injured senior midfielder Veronica Mangio was also able to participate in the game, albeit with a little help from Maple Grove.

Magio was a leading scorer for the Huskies last season, but tore her anterior cruciate ligament in a preseason scrimmage. 

“I contacted (Maple Grove coach Ben LeVahn), and said I have this senior that’s been hurt all year, and we’d really love to get her on the field in the starting lineup one time,” Griess said. “And of course, he said yes.”

Mangio started the game, directing the kickoff to a Husky teammate before making her exit. 

“That was awesome,” Daninger said. 

“For Maple Grove to work with us and for us to make it happen, seeing how happy and excited she was to take part on Senior Day, I was really happy to see that.”  

Maple Grove's junior midfielder Shelby Handberg scored in a scrum of players resulting from a crossbar-rattling free kick to force a 1-1 tie with Northwest Suburban Conference rival Andover on Saturday afternoon at Andover High School.  

Handberg’s goal came midway through the second half for the Crimson (10-2-3, 9-1-2), ranked No. 16 in the latest coaches' association Class 2A poll. 

No. 8-2A Andover (12-2-1, 10-1-1) took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Erin Becker, who touched the ball past a Maple Grove defender before placing a low shot to the opposite post that cleanly beat Crimson keeper Sophie Kloncz.