Peabody girls soccer ousts Chelmsford, wins North title

LYNN – Two years ago, the Peabody girls soccer team was undefeated entering the Division 1 North finals and was dispatched by Acton-Boxboro at Manning Field.On Sunday night, the Tanners returned to the same stadium with almost an identical record, only this time they got what they wanted ? the school’s first sectional title in girls soccer as Hayley Dowd scored twice and assisted on a third goal in a 3-1 win over Chelmsford.”This is a huge accomplishment for us,” Peabody coach Dennis Desroches said. “These girls have worked so hard in practice and the games that it’s nice to be able to get this.”It didn’t come easy for Peabody (19-0-2) on Sunday as the Lions (14-5-3) made life difficult in the early going. But once the Tanners were able to settle down and play their game, Chelmsford really had no answers.Dowd helped to alleviate the early worries when she took a beautiful feed from Victoria Digiacomo and finished off with a nifty shot inside the left post with 21:51 left in the half.”That goal did a lot to settle us down and let us play a little looser,” Desroches said. “Chelmsford came out flying and we were flat.”Less than three minutes later, Dowd netted a highlight reel goal.Shaking loose of a defender, she turned and launched a shot that Brianna Raymond had no chance of getting a piece of, staking the Tanners to a 2-0 lead. The play was set up by Digiacomo going to the goal and drawing the attention of the defense.”Hayley draws a lot of attention and when the defense collapses, Victoria is able to make her runs and they work so well together,” Desroches said.Peabody nearly got a backbreaking goal late in the half but Madison Doherty’s shot went inches wide of a wide open net, keeping it a 2-0 game at the half.The Lions again came out with a purpose in the second half and made things quite interesting in the 51st minute when Hanna Rachel headed home Emily Majeski’s corner kick to make it 2-1 with an eternity of time left.Not to worry for Tanner fans, though, as Dowd showed her passing prowess, making a nearly impossible feed to Digiacomo with 23:40 left for a 3-1 lead.”I thought that we played very well,” Dowd said. “We came out a little slow but we picked it up after the first goal.”Chelmsford would make a last ditch charge but Caitlin Lodi came up with a couple of key saves to preserve the two-goal lead and win.