Danvers girls soccer hands Peabody its first loss

The Danvers girls soccer team can score goals with the best of teams, but on Wednesday at Dr. Deering Stadium, the Falcons used their defense to pull off a huge win over previously unbeaten Peabody, 2-1.”We came in with a game plan and the girls executed it to a ‘T,'” Danvers coach Jim Hinchion said. “We wanted to score early and defend for all 80 minutes if needed and it worked like a charm.”The Tanners came in ranked 12th nationally. Peabody (11-1-1) out-possessed, out-shot and outplayed the Falcons (11-2-1) for much of the game. But when it came to finding goals, Danvers netminder Alison Tivnan was like a brick wall.”From the opening whistle, we controlled the possession and pace of the game and outshot them like 2-to-1,” Peabody coach Dennis Desroches said. “We had our opportunities but (Tivnan) was outstanding for them in goal. She was able to make some great saves.”It didn’t take long for Danvers to get on the board as freshman Kylie Plaza took advantage of a turnover in front of the Peabody net to make it 1-0 just 67 seconds in. The Tanners would then take control of the game for the next 25 minutes, but Tivnan made several huge stops on Emily Manoogian and Hayley Dowd to keep Danvers in front.”I told Tiv before the game that she had the chance to take over a game (Wednesday) and she was fantastic,” Hinchion said.Peabody made another defensive mistake late in the first half and paid dearly for it when Corey Persson’s shot hit the goalpost but was unable to be cleared out. Delaney Zecha would score on a header following the scramble for a 2-0 Danvers lead at the break.Peabody continued to apply the pressure in the second half, outshooting the Falcons, 8-3, but found goals hard to come by until midway through the final 40 minutes. Emily Manoogian took advantage of a misfired clearout by the Falcons to beat Tivnan and cut the lead to 2-1.That was as close as Peabody got, though, as the Falcons defense slammed the door the rest of the way.”You can’t give that team open looks at the net because they have such talented strikers,” Desroches said. “But we made a good run at it in the second half.”NOTES: Both teams sported some pink in their uniforms in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The lines on the field were also painted pink and there was a pink ribbon painted on the grass.