SWAMPSCOTT — It wasn’t the outcome that either team hoped for, but both the Magicians and Big Blue girls soccer teams came away with a point each in a scoreless contest at Blocksidge field Monday evening.
The final score was a bit deceiving as Marblehead dominated possession for most of the game and had multiple scoring opportunities that they failed to capitalize on. Time and time again, Marblehead pushed the ball into Swampscott’s half of the field and continuously pressured Big Blue’s defense and goaltender Lillian Gosselin. Frustrations for the Magicians mounted with each and every failed scoring chance as they knew that they had played the better game.
“We had the better of the play today,” said Marblehead coach John Dormer. “The energy level was much higher than our Beverly game. We came to play, we were just unable to finish.”
With just under six minutes to play, it looked like Marblehead was going to get a break as a penalty appeared to be called on a Swampscott defender just outside of Marblehead’s attacking penalty box. A whistle was blown and it looked like the referees were setting the ball up just outside of the box for the Magicians to take a direct kick, but the call was reversed after a long discussion between both coaches and referees that created confusion and controversy both on the field and in the stands. The explanation to the coaches was that the original call was a penalty on Swampscott but after both referees talked it through, it was determined that it was 50/50 play for the ball by both players. Swampscott then became the team that got a huge break as they were awarded a goal kick, washing away what could have been a huge opportunity for Marblehead.
Despite the volume of shots that Gosselin was faced with in net, the Swampscott keeper saved all eight shots that came her way. She was a huge reason why Swampscott was able to escape with a draw. Gosselin was effective as a facilitator for her team as well during the match, as she was extremely vocal for her squad. She communicated where she wanted her teammates to be positioned throughout the game and made sure the players were aware of Marblehead’s tactics both offensively and defensively.
Swampscott head coach Ken Leeder was proud of the way his team fought on the field, despite the end result.
“Marblehead took it to us in the second half, but we found a way to defend and get a tie out of it,” he said. “Any time we can get a point out of that, we’ll take it.”
Though Marblehead dominated possession, Swampscott had a few chances towards the end of the game with multiple throw-ins deep in their attacking zone and a corner kick by senior Laine Foutes that sailed too far beyond the net for any scoring chance. Dormer again decided to play both Rachael Albert and Kate Burns in net for Marblehead. The pair did not see much action from Swampscott’s offense as they had one save combined.
Swampscott senior Mia Schena said that while the team played well defensively, getting the offense going will be a major talking point in practices this week.
“We all played really well, but we definitely gotta work on passing and looking up, and definitely taking our shots,” she said.
Big Blue will look to get back on the scoreboard and in the win column this Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. when they face Gloucester High School on the road. As for the Magicians, they will look to keep up their offensive attack when they hit the road to take on Danvers High on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Ryan Vermette can be reached at [email protected]
