MARBLEHEAD — The offense was flowing for Marblehead’s girls lacrosse team Tuesday. The Magicians improved to 4-5 after defeating Salem 17-3 at SSG Christopher N. Piper Field.
Three Magicians scored four goals apiece: Zoe Dwyer (3 assists), Addie Co Peeps (3 assists), and Emma Ryan. Better yet, Dwyer registered her 100th career point, despite only being a sophomore.
“Zoe Dwyer is an outstanding player and she’s done a fantastic job this season already,” said Marblehead coach Annie Madden. “I’m just really proud of how far she has come since her freshman year, and making sure when she has the ball in her stick, she’s dictating the play. She’s the one out there with the skill that we need on offense and we’re finding the right place for her to utilize her skill and speed and her high lacrosse IQ.”
In the first quarter, the Witches had trouble keeping track of Marblehead’s cutters. The Magicians consistently made cuts toward the net, particularly Emma Ryan.
Ryan scored from Sammy Walker and, minutes later, received a pass from Dwyer to capitalize again. Ryan scored three goals in the first quarter to give Marblehead an 8-3 lead.
“Emma has been doing a great job of asking questions in practice, finding her spot, and making sure that she’s able to move when she has the ball in her stick to find the best scoring opportunity,” Madden said.
Although Marblehead is a young team, the Magicians played like a group of veterans Tuesday, finding the right passes at the right time. When they played defense, they made sure Salem didn’t get easy shots.
“We’re a very young team. Eight or nine of our starting players are either freshmen or sophomores, and of the 24 on the team, 15 of them are freshmen and sophomores. It’s a good thing to have. We’re just learning on the fly, but the team comes in every day wanting to learn,” Madden said. “We have a lot of speed and are very athletic. We play a man-defense and that’s because of how fast and quick we are. Our defense is doing a great job for us.”
Marblehead led 15-3 at halftime and added two more goals in the third quarter. Despite the lopsided scoreline, Madden praised Salem.
“It was impressive to see Salem come out and put forth a backer defense. They put pressure on the ball and forced us to make decisions,” Madden said. “The decisions forced us to adjust and our attackers did a good job. Once we figured out how to adjust, our offense was able to click.”
Another key factor in the win was Marblehead’s draw control, spearheaded by Walker.
“Sammy Walker (2 goals, 2 assists, 3 DC) is doing a great job for us winning draws. Maggie Svencer (goal, 2 assists) in the midfield is winning draws for us,” Madden said. “We moved things around to add some extra legs in the midfield.”
Marblehead has won three of its last four games. Next is Thursday’s home tilt against Beverly at 4 p.m.
“Every day, we’re learning something new. I think, today, we were focusing on playing clean lacrosse, where we were taking care of the ball when it was in our stick and making sure we were getting the 50-50 balls,” Madden said. “I’m excited to see Beverly on Thursday because we need to come out strong against them. They beat us pretty well in the first game.”
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
Photo: Spenser Hasak | Purchase this photo
