PEABODY — The Peabody girls lacrosse team earned its first win of the season Monday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium, knocking off Beverly by a score of 14-10 in a Northeastern Conference bout.
“We have a lot of new faces in new spots, so I think we were a little nervous last week,” said Peabody coach Michelle Roach. “You could really tell today how we settled in and it looked really good. I’m proud of the way they played.”
The Tanners offense had five separate girls with multi-goal games to give them the lift over Beverly, but it was Brooke Lomasney who led the charge with five goals and four assists.
“It was a huge game for Brooke. She’s going to be a real impact player for us,” said Roach. “We’re expecting big things out of her this year, and you can see how well she’s doing already, and we’re off to a good start.”
Captain McKayla Fisher had three goals and two assists, followed by Ally Bettencourt, Shiobhan Smith and McKenna Ferni, who each had two goals. Ferni notched two assists and Smith notched one.
The first half of the contest was hard fought between the two teams, but the Tanners were able to hold onto a slim 7-6 lead going into the halftime break behind two goals apiece from Bettencourt, Fisher and Smith. Lomasney’s first and lone goal of the first half was the difference maker.
The second half of the game mirrored the first half, as both teams battled back and forth. Beverly narrowed the gap on numerous occasions, however the “X-Factor” for the Tanners ended up being Lomasney, whose four second-half goals ended up being the difference maker, similar to the first.
After graduating nine seniors, with six being starters, the Tanners are coming into this season with a lot of new faces, as Roach puts it. But the first-year Tanners’ coach gave the team chemistry high praise and said that with every practice, the synergy gets better and the team’s bonds get tighter.
Peabody (1-1) is set to face off at home against Swampscott on Tuesday (4).
