PEABODY– When you don’t make the most of your opportunities, it comes back to bite you.
That was the theme of the Peabody boys soccer team’s 3-1 loss to Beverly in a Northeastern Conference tilt Saturday afternoon at Coley Lee Field.
The Tanners were all over the field from the opening whistle through halftime. Peabody generated shots and kept Beverly’s attack fairly quiet, but couldn’t find the back of the net to grab the lead. The Panthers flipped the switch from the early stages of the second half and the rest was history.
“That’s been our problem all three games- scoring,” Peabody coach Stan McKeen said. “We average one goal a game. You won’t beat teams averaging that, not in this league. We tried a 4-5-1 formation (Saturday) and it didn’t work.”
Jackson Irwin, Joel Platt and Miles Vollmer each scored a goal for Beverly. Carter Shepherd dished one assist.
“They beat us to most of the balls and that was the problem,” McKeen said. “We weren’t winning the 50-50 balls and they were. Once they got the second goal, we just kind of deflated a little bit.”
Junior defender Nick Sablone scored Peabody’s lone goal in the final minute of the game. The assist came from senior defender Ben Kemp.
Peabody dominated the first half but had little to show for it. The Tanners kept Beverly goalie Finn Crocker on his toes through the first 40 minutes. But Crocker rose to the challenge and made several key saves to keep Peabody’s offense at bay. Sophomore striker Kyle Joyce just missed a shot from a few yards out in the fifth minute. A few minutes later, a Peabody corner kick resulted in senior striker Chris Fazollo sending a shot in Crocker’s direction but the ball landed in Crocker’s hands. Beverly didn’t generate a clean look at the net until the 23rd minute, when Nicholas Braganca sprinted down the sideline and fired one off. Tanners goalie Will Machado made the save and it was scoreless at the half.
It didn’t take long for Beverly to swing the momentum its way in the second half. Just 90 seconds into the period, Platt picked up Shepherd’s assist and snuck a header just inside the post to put Beverly up 1-0. Irwin’s goal midway through the second half boosted Beverly’s lead to 2-0. Vollmer put the game out of reach 10 minutes later with the Panthers’ final tally of the afternoon.
Sablone’s goal just seconds before the final whistle helped Peabody avoid the shutout.
“Aggressiveness wasn’t there for us, no question,” McKeen said. “They beat us to the 50-50 balls, especially in the second half. They have some big boys.”
Peabody, now 1-2 on the young season, hopes to avoid a 3-game skid with a win Tuesday (6) against Swampscott back at Coley Lee. The Tanners then visit St. Mary’s Friday (3:30) at Manning Field.
McKeen said offense will be the No. 1 focus as the Tanners turn the page.
“Offense is our biggest fight,” McKeen said. “The Gloucester game (3-2 loss last Wednesday), we had 17 shots on net and 14 of them were right at the goalie. We had 10 shots Saturday, five corner kicks. Most of these kids are first-year varsity players and that makes a difference.”
