MARBLEHEAD — In the regular season opener for both squads, the Marblehead Magicians field hockey team defeated the Peabody Tanners 2-0 at Marblehead High in what was a close battle.
The season-opening win for Marblehead was made even more special because its head coach, Linda Rice Collins, picked up her 300th victory.
Rice Collins was pleased with the win for several reasons and was happy with how her team came out and performed.
“I really liked the way they were putting the pressure on the goalie and moving the ball around — they did not give up — that was our weakness last year, and they knew it, so we had to finish our play,” said Rice Collins.
“Upfront, they were getting opportunities, and in the second half, they finally were doing what they needed to do,” she added.
From the very opening whistle, the Magicians put pressure on the Tanners’ defense and goaltender. In the first quarter, Marblehead threatened to score multiple times with great offensive possessions, but Peabody was able to stand tall.
In the final moments of the first quarter, it seemed like the Magicians would finally break through. However, Tanners’ goaltender Gianna DiGianfelice was like a brick wall shutting down the scoring chance to keep the game tied at zeros going into the second quarter.
While the game moved along, the story pretty much stayed the same. The Magicians had an unbelievable amount of time of possession in the offensive zone with scoring chance after scoring chance. However, DiGianfelice came up big for Peabody time after time — so much so that the game remained 0-0 into the fourth quarter.
The problem for Peabody as the game entered the fourth quarter was that it could not do much with its offensive pressure. While the Tanners’ did have some nice offensive possessions, they could not put shots on net — only having one the entire game.
Halfway through the fourth, the dam finally broke, and the Magicians took a 1-0 lead behind a goal from senior Capt. Kate Bickell, making her sideline erupt in cheers.
Only up by one, Marblehead kept its foot on the gas, and senior Capt. Kealy Satterfield scored, which proved to put the game out of Peabody’s reach and lock up the 2-0 victory.
In a losing effort, Tanners’ Head Coach Tawny Palmieri, was encouraged by how her team started the season, especially against a team like Marblehead.
“I was just telling them [the team] that is probably the best game we have had against Marblehead in a really long time,” said Palmieri.
She also praised her goalkeeper, DiGianfelice, who made nine saves on 11 shots and undoubtedly kept her team in the game. “The goalie — Gianna [DiGianfelice] has always been great — she is stepping up again for her senior year, which is awesome,” said Palmieri.
While Rice Collins was happy with her team’s offensive pressure throughout the game, she acknowledged that the team has to take another step in being able to finish.
“I was really happy with the way they were transitioning and moving the ball down the field and opening up and looking — we just have to take that last step in front of the net to put it in,” said Rice Collins.
After her 300th win, Rice Collins uttered an emphatic “That was my 300th win” and returned to the sidelines to do one of the things she does best — coach.
Michael Coughlin Jr. can be reached at [email protected].
