MALDEN — Three Swampscott players scored multiple goals as the Big Blue field hockey team took down Malden, 7-0, in a Northeastern Conference game at Pine Banks Park on Thursday afternoon. Sydney Faulkner, Maddie O’Brien and Natalie Domeniconi each scored two goals on the afternoon, with Sydney Cresta added the other goal for the Big Blue. Abigail Bruhm, Michaela Freddo and Ashley Marston each had one assist in the win, while goalkeeper Jillian Flanders notched the shutout win in net.
“We played pretty well today considering the circumstances,” said Swampscott head coach Jamie Spano, whose team arrived late to the field and had a short warm-up period. “I think we came out a little slow at first, but they got much better as time went on and really incorporated a lot of the things we’ve been working on in practice.”
Despite Spano’s assertion that the Big Blue started off the game a bit flat, Swampscott controlled the possession of the ball pretty much from the opening whistle. The Big Blue generated a bunch of shots on net early, then finally broke through when Faulkner scored on a loose ball with about 20 minutes left in the first half. A few minutes later, Domeniconi tipped in a shot from Bruhm to give the Big Blue a two-goal lead.
Cresta soon added a goal, then Domeniconi scored her second goal with about five minutes remaining in the first half to give Swampscott a commanding four-goal lead, 4-0, heading into the break.
“We did a good job of moving the ball around today, which has been a focus of ours,” Spano said. “I think our passing and our defense were our two strong points today, which says a lot considering how much we scored. But it was a great all-around effort.”
Faulkner opened the second half with her second goal of the game, then O’Brien scored back-to-back goals to stretch out the lead en route to the win. Swampscott continued to dominate the time of possession for the majority of the second half, and Flanders didn’t have to face a single shot at the Swampscott goal in the second half.
Now standing at 8-3-2, the Big Blue are facing a tough NEC test on Monday in a strong Danvers team.
“We’ve been working hard toward this game all week, so the girls are excited,” Spano said. “The girls are ready to go, and they’ll have to be because Danvers is a very good team. So we’ll see how it goes.”
Swampscott and Danvers will play at 4 p.m. on Monday at Blocksidge Field in Swampscott.
