Dowd’s five goals power Peabody in tourney opener

PEABODY – It was a one-woman show on Monday for the Peabody girls soccer team as its quest for a Division 1 state title kicked off on Monday under the lights at Bishop Fenwick’s Donaldson Field.Sophomore Hayley Dowd scored all five Peabody goals as the Tanners took a 5-2 win over Newton North. The effort pushed Dowd over the 100-career-point milestone (she has 103 points) in only her second year as a Tanner.”We got off to an excellent start,” Peabody coach Dennis Desroches said. “Overall our defense played very solid.”The Tanners (17-1-1) were in control most of the way except for a momentary lapse in the final seconds of the first half.Peabody didn’t waste much time getting going as Emily Manoogian sent Dowd in along the left wing off the opening kick. The sophomore fired a shot from a near impossible angle that banked off the right post and in at the 18-second mark.The lead doubled 15 minutes in when Maddie Doherty flicked a pass in the box for a Dowd header past North keeper Jamie Renner.Despite owning most of the first half, Peabody only took a 2-1 lead into the break when Maggie Smith got behind the defense and beat Brianna Griffin with 10 seconds left.Dowd didn’t waste long in restoring order as Manoogian set her up again at the 1:02 mark of the half for a 3-1 lead.Seconds later Angela Ellison sent Dowd in again for a 4-1 Tanners lead.She made it a handful of goals for the night off another Ellison feed, banking this one off the left post in the 51st minute.”We did a great job distributing the ball,” Desroches said. “I thought Angela had a fantastic game.”The Tigers closed the scoring on Evelyn Hurwitz’s goal with 15 minutes to go.