PEABODY — There aren’t many better ways to celebrate your birthday than with a win and hat-trick. Marblehead’s Liv Carlson did just that in her team’s 4-0 victory against Peabody Wednesday.
She scored twice in the first half before netting her third early in the second. She helped boost the Magicians’ record to 3-0-1.
“I felt like this was a total team win. We were able to get everybody on the field and play some good possession soccer,” said Marblehead coach Lisa Wales. “Peabody played well. They’re really young, but they didn’t quit and kept going.”
The game was tight early, with both teams registering a shot on goal.
It wasn’t until the 19th minute when Carlson broke the deadlock. On a counterattack, the ball bounced inside the box and Carlson reacted quickest, poking it in for a 1-0 cushion.
With six minutes remaining in the half, Carlson struck again. In front of the goal, she calmly slotted a shot into the bottom-left corner to double Marblehead’s lead (2-0).
Carlson wasn’t done. Four minutes into the second half, she completed her hat-trick. Sydney Ball sprinted down the wing and whipped in a cross that deflected off the post. The ball landed at Carlson’s feet, and she smashed it home to make it 3-0.
“Liv Carlson scoring a hat-trick on her birthday is really cool,” Wales said. “She’s worked so hard in the offseason. She was injured last year and faced a lot of challenges, but she just worked her tail off. I couldn’t be more proud of her today for scoring a hat-trick.”
Ball, Callie Gilmore, Stella Smith, and Avery Gould all registered assists. They were the first career points for Gould and Smith.
Peabody coach Andrew Douglass said his young team is still learning, but showed flashes of potential.
“I’m not going to use it as an excuse all season, but we’re a really young side. We made some silly mistakes that with a little more experience, we won’t,” Douglass said. “It just seems we’re always getting punished for them. I like how we play, though. I like how we take our time and try to build out from the back. Everything to feet — it’s just those errant passes that go astray and get jammed down our throat. We’re growing, and I think we played better today, at least in portions, than we did against Salem the other day.”
One of Peabody’s bright spots came in the second half when Sophia Galbiati held off two Marblehead players before finding Keira Leone on the wing. Leone sent in a cross that Ava Barresi hit first-time, forcing a save.
“We just need more of those chances and more consistency in finishing,” Douglass said. “Sometimes, when we don’t have a lot of the ball, those chances are few and far between, so when you get them, you have to be clinical. It’s easier said than done, but if we had 10 of those chances, we might put one or two in. We’re getting there.”
Douglass also highlighted the play of goalkeeper Isabella Martinez.
“She’s fantastic. She’s only a sophomore, so the mistakes she’s going to make are just communication errors with her defenders,” he said. “She’s a great athlete and great basketball player. She’s 100 percent better than where she was last year. Now, it’s about building that confidence and she’s going to be the one behind the pipes for a while.”
Marblehead’s fourth goal came from Gilmore, who hammered a shot into the back of the net from the edge of the area to seal the win.
In addition to team performance, Wales was glad to see two players return from injury.
“We had two players come back today in Samara Dosch and Stella Smith. It was nice to have them back in the mix.”
Peabody welcomes Lincoln-Sudbury at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Magicians host Beverly at 7 p.m. Monday.
