Girls Soccer: Big Blue open new season with victory over Falcons

The Swampscott High girls soccer team got its season off to a rousing start with a 2-0 win over defending Northeastern Conference Small champion Danvers at Danvers.Megan Hartmann scored 18 minutes into the game with the assist going to Jaymie Caponigro. Caponigro added an insurance tally with 14 minutes left in the first half with the assist going to Anna Hunt.?Danvers is a good team,” Swampscott coach Ken Leeder said. “The last 25 minutes of the game, they really brought it to us.”Sam Rizzo was a rock in net for Swampscott with 13 saves.?We moved the ball well at times and we attacked pretty quickly,” Leeder said.Danvers coach Jim Hinchion said his team came out a little hesitant.?We?re a young team with a lack of experience,” he said, adding his team played much better in the second half.Danvers goalie Amanda Backe had 10 saves.Saugus 1, Gloucester 1At Gloucester, the Sachems (0-0-1) found themselves down 1-0 early in the game after Gloucester scored on a free kick, but they got the goal back when Mikayla Perella scored (Nicole Coluccio assist) 10 minutes into the second half.?We started a little slow, but kind of found our speed,” Saugus coach Chris Coviello said. “In the second half, we had quite a few shots on net and several corners.”The game marked the Sachems? return to the Northeastern Conference after spending last year in the Cape Ann League.Marblehead 4, Winthrop 1At Winthrop, three freshmen scored for the Magicians in their season opener. Freshman Kaetlyn Attridge gave Marblehead a 1-0 lead with the assist gong to Mia Bongiorno. Meghan McCarthy made it 2-0 by the half, and freshmen Gabriella Mark and Lexi Bostley found the net in the second half.Marblehead is coming off a 12-4-4 regular season that ended with a loss in the first round of the state tournament. Coach Andy Bub lost five players to graduation including two starters.Beverly 8, Revere 0At Beverly, the Panthers (1-0) made a strong opening statement with two goals apiece from the trio of Sarah Visnick (3 assists), Darcy McAuliffe (assist) and Megan Vien. Beverly got solo tallies from Maddie Curran, Emma Faulkner, Caitlin Munzing and Natalie Mellinger.