BEVERLY — The Marblehead boys soccer team had a number of scoring opportunities on the road at Beverly, but in the end the Magicians couldn’t find the back of the net in a 1-0 loss to their Northeastern Conference foe Tuesday afternoon.
The Magicians returned to the field for the first time in two weeks Tuesday following a forced layoff after Marblehead switched to remote learning and postponed all athletic events due to a house party that more than 50 students attended at the end of October.
“I think we were definitely rusty coming out of the gate, and that really affected us,” said Marblehead coach Elmer Magana. “You can tell that Beverly has been playing all season because they’re so consistent out there. We just took too long to get going, so even though we had a great second half it wasn’t enough.”
As for the game, Beverly came out early and put the pressure on, getting a number of scoring chances. That pressure ended up paying off when Teo Berbic earned a free kick from about 30 yards out with just over nine minutes to play in the first quarter. Berbic wound up and launched a bullet that found its way past Shevory’s outstretched hands and into the back of the net to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
But then, after Shevory made a big save on a penalty kick in the second quarter, Marblehead started to turn things around. The Magicians started to push the pace offensively and get a number of scoring chances, and despite not finding the back of the net, Marblehead was able to take the momentum into halftime.
Marblehead continued that momentum into the second half, earning a number of scoring opportunities. But the Magicians simply couldn’t capitalize on their chances, even when Baxter Jennings earned a free kick with about 12 minutes to play. After he missed the net, the game went on for about three more minutes before the officials called the game due to darkness.
Marblehead (0-3) returns to action Sunday afternoon (1:30) on the road at NEC rival Swampscott.
