SWAMPSCOTT — Wednesday’s game between the Swampscott and Peabody girls lacrosse teams turned out to be just as good as advertised. In the battle between two of the top teams in the Northeastern Conference, the Big Blue overcame an early deficit to notch an 11-8 win over the Tanners at Blocksidge Field. Swampscott had a streak of seven consecutive goals in the first half after falling behind early that helped the Big Blue earn the victory.
“This was just another example of us starting off the game slow, which has been a theme for us this year,” said Swampscott coach Al Eaton. “Then we were able to get into a groove and score a little bit, then Peabody made adjustments to slow us down, then we made more adjustments, it was just that kind of game out there today.”
Swampscott was led by Emerson Laundry and Grace DiGrande, who each tallied two goals and two assists. Mary Miles and Reese Robertson each had two goals and one assist, Harper Clopton had two goals and Elizabeth Green had one goal and one assist.
For Peabody, it was freshman Hailee Lomasney who led the way with four goals and one assist. Colleen Crotty had two goals and three assists, while Olivia Kiricoples and Maddy Lomasney each had one goal and one assist.
The Tanners played a solid game but it was the little things, mainly faceoffs and passing, that weren’t as good as they needed to be for Peabody to win.
“We got killed in the draw circle, and you just can’t give a team like Swampscott that many opportunities with a short field,” said Peabody coach Dennis Desroches. “We got things together a little more in the second half, but still we had some inconsistent passing and that gave Swampscott too many opportunities to possess the ball.”
Peabody jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after Crotty and Hailee Lomasney each scored. Robertson then got Swampscott on the board with a goal, but Hailee Lomasney got a goal right back to put Peabody up 3-1 less than 10 minutes in. That’s where Swampscott took over.
Over the next 12 minutes, the Big Blue scored seven times in a row. Miles and Laundry each scored twice during that time, while Green, Clopton and DiGrande each scored once. By the time the dust settled, Swampscott held a convincing 8-3 lead.
Peabody was able to retake some of the momentum before halftime, as Crotty and Maddy Lomasney each found the back of the net in the final three minutes of the half to make it an 8-5 Swampscott lead at halftime.
It looked like Peabody was able to take some of that momentum into the start of the second half, as the Tanners notched the first two goals coming out of the break. Kiricoples netted the first goal and Hailee Lomasney scored the second, slimming Swampscott’s lead to 8-7. The Big Blue got the lead back to two goals on a score from Clopton, but Peabody took that goal right back when Hailee Lomasney scored less than a minute later. But, when it was needed most, Swampscott bared down and got the job done. A goal each from DiGrande and Robertson pushed the lead back to three goals, and the Big Blue were able to play solid enough defense to to seal the win.
While this may have been the biggest game of the year to this point for both teams, there’s still plenty of work to be done. Peabody (9-2) and Swampscott (8-3) each need one more win to qualify for the state tournament.
Swampscott hosts Medford Monday, while Peabody visits Danvers Friday.
