Magicians soar past Classical

LYNN – With the wind as fierce as it was Monday at Manning Field, it was important for the team that had it at its back to make the most of it.The Classical girls soccer team did not. And Marblehead did. That?s all you have to know about the Magicians? 5-1 win over the Rams Monday afternoon.Magicians coach Andrew Bub got to make the call, and he chose to have the tailwind in the second half. That pretty much put it on Classical to have a productive first 40 minutes. And when Jenn Ierardi scored, on a Shannon Magner cross, with 7:19 to go in the half, things looked pretty promising. To that point, even with wind, Classical had a tough time slowing down Marblehead?s speedy forwards. Keeper Jill Strileckis had to make some intense saves at a couple of points to keep the Magicians off the board.But in extra time, things unraveled for Classical. Marblehead?s Mia Bonjiorno was awarded a penalty kick after being knocked down in the box, and she beat Strileckis to make it 1-1 going into the break.?That certainly gave them a lot of momentum going into the second half,” said Classical coach Justina Alicudo. “They controlled the entire second half.”Bub knew that with the much-improved Rams, he had to be judicious about who he had his team mark. One of his club league players is Briana Silva, “who is a good little player,” he said. “Let?s just say we paid attention to where she was at all times.”The other player he paid close attention to, he said, was Franki Galeazzi.?She?s pretty tough to handle too,” Bub said.That?s the strategy that got the 6-2-1 Magicians through the first half with minimal damage. Once they got the wind at their backs, the Magicians didn?t miss. Not even four minutes in, Meghan McCarthy gave Marblehead its first lead, and in rapid-fire succession, it was Bonjiorno (who waited until Strileckis came out of the net, got by her, and shot it in), Sarah Cullen and McCarthy again scoring goals to put the game away.?Every time they scored,” Alicudo said, “it added fuel to their fire … and it put ours out a little more. We unraveled.”?My girls came ready to play,” said Bub.The Rams are off until Friday, when they travel to Gloucester.?We?ll think about this for a day,” said Alicudo, whose team falls to 5-3-3 and has lost two of its last three. “We have a 24-hour rule. After that, we start thinking about Gloucester.”