PEABODY — The Marblehead lacrosse team put together the right game plan and executed it to the fullest on Saturday, notching a 13-6 win over Northeastern Conference foe Peabody in a battle of previously undefeated teams at Coley Lee Field. The Magicians had to withstand a couple of rallies from the Tanners, but a string of five unanswered goals at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter sealed the deal.
A key part of the game plan for Marblehead was shutting down high-scoring Peabody attack Jack Houlden — the top goal scorer in the North Shore entering the game. The Magicians did just that, keeping Houlden to just one goal on the day.
“A lot of their stuff runs through Houlden, and he’s a great ballplayer who can shoot the lights out,” said Wilkens. “It was a tough game and I’m proud of the way our guys dug down deep on a hot day and pulled out the win.”
“We expected the heavy eyes on Jack, but the bottom line is that we just didn’t execute out there,” said Peabody coach Leo Shidler. “Credit to Marblehead, they came with the right game plan and they played well all day.”
Will Shull led the way with four goals in the victory, while Matt Thompson scored three goals. Josh Robertson and Mark Paquette each added two goals. Connor Cronin had one goal and two assists, while Carter Laramie had one goal and one assist.
But a big part of the story was Marblehead goalie J.T. Monahan, who made 12 saves against a normally high-scoring Peabody team.
“J.T. is tough and he’s a great goaltender, and I think he’s very underrated,” said Wilkens. “He’s a gamer. He’s a great three-sport athlete, a true leader and the guys love playing in front of him.”
For the Tanners, Cam Collins and Keenan Madden each scored two goals. Anthony Bettencourt had one goal and one assist, while Houlden scored one goal. Drew Lucas and Luke Buckley each added one assist, while goalie Derek Patturelli made eight saves.
“We had some really good looks (Saturday), but Marblehead is solid all around and there’s nothing we could really attack,” said Shidler. “We needed to play a perfect game, and we were anything but that in this one.”
It was a back-and-forth affair to start, with Shull getting Marblehead on the board less than three minutes into the game to take a 1-0 lead. Peabody responded three minutes later when Lucas hit Bettencourt for a goal to tie it at 1-1, but a quick strike from Thompson gave the Magicians a 2-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Marblehead stretched its lead to 4-1 in the second thanks to one goal each from Shull and Robertson, but then the Tanners notched two goals in a 22-second span to all of a sudden make it a 4-3 game.
But a defensive breakdown by Peabody with about four minutes to go led to a breakaway goal for Thompson, and the Magicians were able to add two more goals in the final three minutes to take a 7-3 lead into halftime.
After Marblehead opened the third quarter with a goal from Paquette, Peabody scored back-to-back goals and appeared to be making another run. But then, behind a run of five unanswered goals in a span of 12 minutes, Marblehead took control of the game and cruised to a victory.
“Lacrosse is a game of runs, and it was a good sign that our guys didn’t ever pack it in and they never let up,” said Wilkens.
Peabody (6-1) will try to get back to its winning ways Thursday (5) against Danvers.
“The boys will learn from this one, because a lot of them have never played in a big game like this,” said Shidler. “We can learn from a lot of things in this game, and I know they’ll be itching for another crack at these guys at the end of the year.”
Marblehead (6-0) will try to keep its unbeaten streak alive Monday afternoon (4) with a home game against Beverly.
