MARBLEHEAD — It was senior night at Piper Field on Tuesday as the Magicians took on the Fisherman of Gloucester. All 12 seniors on the team received flowers and a round of applause as their names were announced prior to the game, but Sofia Bathhurst wanted her celebration to be extra special – scoring her first goal as a member of the varsity team to help lift Marblehead over Gloucester, 4-1.
Bathurst’s goal came at the 5:18 mark when she put her team up 2-0 off of a strike from the left side of the field. With her back towards the net, she received a pass before quickly making a cut towards the net between a few defenders. Bathurst then launched a shot past Gloucester goalie Maggie Sperry.
“I got a pass to the side of the goal a little bit. I turned and took an extra touch, shot it, and it went right past the goalie,” Bathurst said.
Just two minutes prior to her goal, junior Samantha Dormer got Marblehead on the board first. Dormer found space at around the 15-yard line to wind up. The kick was low but came in hot towards the net – allowing it to just get past the outstretched arms of Sperry as it bounced off her fingertips and into the bottom right corner of the net.
For the first 20 minutes of the half, both teams were locked into a defensive battle. Gloucester’s offense put some pressure on the Magicians early, but couldn’t capitalize on its chances. The same could be said for Marblehead as multiple players came within inches of scoring. Two balls hit the crossbar and a few others trickled just wide of the net. It seemed like it was going to be that kind of night for Marblehead, but Dormer’s goal with 7:35 left to play gave her team a much needed energy boost with Bathurst’s goal coming a few moments later.
Marblehead dominated possession for the remaining minutes of the first half and went into halftime up 2-0.
Dormer scored her second goal with 33:57 left to play to give her team a 3-0 advantage. The Magicians picked up right where they left off in the first half. Gloucester, again, opened the half with multiple scoring chances, but Dormer’s goal seemed to have taken the air out of the Fisherman’s play. That was until Gloucester caught Marblehead slipping in its defensive zone and sent a rainbow shot that sailed just over goalie Kate Burns to cut the deficit back to two.
With 12:45 remaining, freshman Sydney Ball sealed the deal for the Magicians with her first career varsity goal. She zoomed past a myriad of Gloucester defenders and got enough separation in the penalty box to rip a shot with her left foot that carried all the way to the far right post to put her team up 4-1. Ball also added an assist.
Senior captain Carlin McGowan talked about the team’s impressive showing on offense and how things really clicked for her team on the field.
“We were really good passing up top today, we’ve been working really hard,” she said. “I’m really proud of everyone who scored.”
Marblehead has now won back-to-back games and is starting to get healthier at the right time. Tanners Head Coach John Dormer noted that between injuries and players missing time due to COVID protocols, the starting lineup has only played 20 minutes of game time together, yet the team holds a record of 6-3-5 – something Senior Cait Mullins is proud of.
“Having a lot of starters out makes it difficult, but I think we’re able to adapt to that,” she said. “I think that makes us a better team in the end.”
Everything seems to be coming together at the right time for the Magicians, and they look to continue its strong finish to the regular season at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School in a matchup against the Tanners on Thursday at 4 p.m.
Ryan Vermette can be reached at [email protected]
