MARBLEHEAD — After battling to a scoreless tie at the halftime break, the Marblehead girls soccer team netted two goals in the second half to notch a 2-0 victory over Lynnfield in a non-conference bout at Piper Field Wednesday afternoon.
The win was a special one, according to Magicians coach John Dormer, who said that the team needed a big rebound after a tough loss to Danvers Tuesday night.
“It was great to see us come back the way we did after a tough loss (Tuesday),” said John Dormer. “I thought we’d be tired coming off of a late game, but after coming out a little slow early on we were able to start getting into a rhythm.”
Carlin McGowan and Samantha Dormer each scored a goal in the win, while goalkeeper Catherine Comstock earned her fourth shutout of the season in net. Annika Haley, Lauren Stamnitz, Leah Schauer and Annie Sheridan also played well in the win.
For Lynnfield coach Mark Vermont, his team’s passing was not where it needed to be to pull out a win.
“We’re normally a very good passing team and we just weren’t finding feet out there,” said Vermont. “This game is based on passing and we have to be able to find each other if we’re going to be successful.”
While the Magicians came out of the gate a little flat, both teams were able to get runs at the net in the first half. Both Comstock and Lynnfield goalie Samantha Bunar turned away shots early on, and the two teams went into the halftime break tied at 0-0.
But early in the second half, Marblehead caught a break.
After Lynnfield earned a corner-kick opportunity and sent the ball into the Marblehead box, the ball ricocheted out toward midfield. Haley quickly got the ball on her foot and dashed up the field on a breakaway, sending a hard shot at Bunar — who turned it away with her right leg. But the ball bounced directly onto the foot of McGowan, who sent another shot on net. Although Bunar got a hand on the ball for a save, it bounced backward and found its way into the net for a goal to put the Magicians up 1-0.
Marblehead added a second goal about 10 minutes later, capitalizing on a corner kick of its own when Samantha Dormer got the ball on her foot and buried the shot for a 2-0 lead.
The Pioneers turned up the pressure in the final 10 minutes of play, but the Marblehead defense held strong and kept them off the board to seal the victory.
Lynnfield (5-4-2) plays on the road at Amesbury Friday (3:45).
“The good thing is that we have another game to look forward to, so we have to turn the page and come out better on Friday,” said Vermont.
Marblehead (7-2-1) is right back at it Thursday (4) with a home game against Winthrop.
“I’m sure we’ll be tired again (Thursday), but based on the way we played (Wednesday) I feel pretty good about where we’re at,” said John Dormer.
