Girls soccer tourney pairings released

The MIAA North sectional girls soccer pairings are out and the mad scramble to find out what makes the opposition tick is in high gear.While some coaches will head into their games with little to work with, others, like Swampscott’s Fred Day, already know they’ll be in for a battle. The Big Blue play Wakefield Saturday (2) at the high school in a Division 2 North first-round game, and if there’s a little sense of déjà vu, it’s because this is a rematch from last year. The two teams battled to a scoreless tie and the game eventually went to penalty kicks, with Wakefield coming out on top.Day is expecting another battle, but he’s also confident because his team is battle-tested thanks to a tough regular-season schedule. Swampscott’s four losses (two to Northeastern Conference South champ Danvers, one to NEC North champ Peabody and one to rival Marblehead) came against some pretty tough competition.Marissa Gambale (20 goals, 4 assists) and Jen Cleary (8 goals, 5 assists) will lead the attack with Erin Langan (4 goals, 6 assists) shoring up the midfield. Tara Nimkar (10 shutouts) has been a rock in net with senior defender Sarah Burnham, sophomore Lisa Gambale and senior Megan Dawley all providing protection. Skylar Sabbag, a senior captain, will join Erin Langan in the midfield.Division 2 North will feature several other local teams, including top-seeded Danvers (16-1-1), Bishop Fenwick, which is at Belmont Saturday (1); Saugus, which travels to North Andover Friday (3); and Marblehead, which plays at Arlington Catholic (Spy Field) Friday at 2 p.m.Saugus coach Ted Moriello is expecting North Andover to be tough on defense. The last time the two teams played each other was two years ago, when they met in the semifinals in Chelsea.The Sachems, the No. 13 seed at 9-7-2, have their work cut out against North Andover, the No. 4 seed at 14-3-1. Moriello will be counting on Alyssa Wilkie (18 goals, 3 assists) and Gabby Cogliano (5 goals, 14 assists) to provide some firepower while senior Lauren Garchinsky mans the net and stopper back Jackie Strangie keeps things in order on defense.Fenwick, the No. 9 seed at 10-5-3, finished its season with three tough games, Newburyport, Danvers and Peabody, and fared fairly well, losing to Newburyport, defeating Danvers and tying the Tanners.Fenwick coach Karen Guillemette will have a few weapons at her disposal, including team-leading scorer Kristin Verrette of Saugus, who finished with 21 goals and three assists, and Bianca Gallo. Maura Doyle and Brittany Dolan also give the Crusaders a leg up at sweeper and defense, and Jill Dean has been tough in net.Marblehead coach Sam Yawson is happy with the way his team has been playing, particularly the defense, but he’s hoping to see a little more offense in the postseason. Mary Keroack, with seven goals and five assists, and Lizzy Whitehill (6 goals and nine assists) have been leading the attack, with several other players checking with four or five goals each. Silvie Cohen has been tough in net with Sarah Forward the key on defense. The Magicians (10-6-2) missed qualifying for the tournament by one point last year.Any team that aspires to do anything in Division 2 will have to get past Danvers, and if last year is any indication, that’s no small feat. The Falcons reached the state semifinals in 2007, where they lost to Oliver Ames, 1-0. Although 15 players graduated from that team, coach Jim Hinchion reloaded and this year’s team has been nearly unstoppable during the regular season.The Falcons’ only loss came against Fenwick, 3-1, and their only tie was against Marblehead, 2-2. If Fenwick defeats Belmont Saturday, the Crusaders and Falcons will play Tuesday at Danvers.The Falcons have a devastating one-two scoring punch with sophomore Brittany Russo (24 goals, 9 assists) and freshman Corey Persson (24 goals, 13 assists). Add center midfielder Becky Landers, the NEC South Player of the Year, and defenders Kellie Macdonald and Gabby Vega to the mix, and w