Girls Soccer Roundup: Swampscott continues impressive showing

The Swampscott High girls soccer team hit a few ruts in the road in the early going this season, but it’s been full speed ahead lately.The Big Blue, with a 2-1 win over Winthrop Thursday at Winthrop, have now won three in a row and six of their last seven games. The unbeaten streak also included a tie against St. Mary’s. Making the feat even more impressive is the fact the last three wins have been against Peabody and Danvers, two of the top teams in the Northeastern Conference, and now Winthrop, which is right there in the mix with an 8-4-2 overall record (7-4-2 Northeastern Conference).”They (Winthrop) are very athletic,” Swampscott coach Fred Day said. “They’re big and they’re strong.”Marissa Gambale had the golden foot in this one for the Big Blue. She scored the first goal 29 minutes into the game, only to see Winthrop’s Amber Miller tie it up six minutes later. Gambale supplied the game-winner 13 minutes into the second half with Erin Langan getting the assist. Azra Dzino had the helper on the first goal. Tara Nimkar (12 saves) also came up big for Swampscott (8-2-3 overall, 8-2-2 Northeastern Conference). Alli Colson, Sarah Burnham and Monique Bleau all played well on defense.”It was really a good game,” Winthrop coach Tracey Martucci said. “We match up really well with them. They had beaten Peabody and Danvers, so we knew they would be ready for us.”Swampscott plays Central Catholic at home Saturday at 1 p.m. and Winthrop is home Monday against Danvers.Danvers 2, Marblehead 1At Danvers, this one was a battle to the finishing line with Danvers freshman Kellie Macdonald netting the game-winner off a corner kick with two minutes left. Jackie Gauthier, who scored the first Danvers goal in the first half, had the assist. Marblehead’s Juliet Munroe had tied the game with nine minutes remaining.Danvers is 12-2, 11-2 in the Northeastern Conference.Saugus 3, Gloucester 1At Gloucester, Christina Vernaci had a goal and an assist for the Sachems (7-4-3, 7-3-3 Northeastern Conference). Vernaci scored three minutes into the game (Alyssa Wilkie assist) and then had the helper on Jill Herr’s goal two minutes later. Gloucester cut the deficit to 2-1 by the half, but Kerri Quinlan gave the Sachems a little breathing room on a goal 11 minutes into the second half. Vernaci and Quinlan are midfielders and Herr is a wing defender.Beverly 4, Classical 1At Beverly, junior Danielle Jesoraldo scored for the Rams with the assist going to freshman Christine Francois. Katie Fitzgerald and Fallon Gaudet all played well despite the loss. Classical is 1-11-2.Peabody 6, Salem 2At Peabody, Erika DiGiacomo had a hat trick for the Tanners, who improved to 13-1 overall and 12-1 in the Northeastern Conference. Emily Manoogian, Linda Vitale and Alyssa Manoogian accounted for the other three goals while Stephanie Fodera anchored the defense. Keeper Amy Perkins had nine saves.Jamie Hanson and Ashley Maccario scored for Salem with Karly Henderson and Natasha Nieves getting the assists. Kristin Wyke (12 saves) was in net for the Witches (6-7-1, 6-6-1 Northeastern Conference).PMA 4, Tech 1At Manning Field, Tech’s Chanel Bird scored with 10 minutes left in the first half (Shaniqua Holcombe assist) to cut the lead to 2-1, but PMA put the game out of reach in the second half. Tech is 0-13.