MARBLEHEAD — It’s usually a good sign when your team dominates time of possession.
The Swampscott girls soccer team did so Wednesday afternoon, scoring twice in a 22-second span in the first half en route to a 4-0 win over Marblehead in a Northeastern Conference bout at Piper Field. Swampscott coach Norman James was especially pleased with the way his team made the most of its opportunities.
“We came to play, that’s all there is to it,” said James. “We were very efficient out there, and we really played well in the midfield. It was a great win all around by us.”
Emerson Laundry led the way for the Big Blue, netting a hat trick along with one assist. KK Kearney added one goal, while goalkeeper Lillian Gosselin earned the shutout in net.
“We really had everyone contribute, which is all you can ask for,” James said. “Our offense got the job done, our defense played well, our possession was great and our goalkeeper made all the saves she had to. It was a full team win.”
Marblehead had a tough time getting anything going offensively against Swampscott’s defense, but Magicians coach John Dormer still took away some positives out of the loss.
“We have a very young team, so any time you go up against a strong team like a Swampscott you get a lot of good experience out of it no matter the score,” Dormer said. “It was a tough game for us, but we have a lot we can learn from it.”
Swampscott was all over the field from the opening whistle, but it still took some time for the Big Blue to get into an offensive rhythm. Once they did, there was no looking back.
Things got going a little over 20 minutes into the game. After an unsuccessful run at the net by Swampscott, Marblehead made an attempt to clear the ball out of its own zone. But the ball found its way onto the foot of Laundry instead, and she broke through the defense for a one-on-one chance on net. She didn’t disappoint, burying one for a goal to make it 1-0 Swampscott.
The Big Blue to add to the lead quickly. Just 22 seconds later, Laundry sent a pass to Kearney — who was streaking toward the net. Kearney quickly dodged a Marblehead defender and buried a goal of her own to make it 2-0.
Marblehead made a couple runs at the net in the final minutes of the first half, but Gosselin stood tall in net and the score remained 2-0 at the break.
The Big Blue didn’t slow down in the second half, scoring less than five minutes into the action. This time it was Kearney who connected with Laundry, sending a pass into the box that Laundry finished to make it 3-0.
Laundry added her third goal of the game with just under 14 minutes to play to round out the scoring.
Marblehead (1-3) will look to rebound Friday (6:30) on the road at Danvers.
“The idea for us is to take something from every game we play and learn from it,” said Dormer. “From what I’ve heard Danvers is a fast team, and Swampscott was a fast team. So hopefully we can take some things we did well against Swampscott and keep doing them when we take the field against Danvers.”
Swampscott (2-1) is also back in action Friday (4) on the road at Gloucester.
“We’ve just got to keep this train rolling,” said James. “We just have to keep this mindset and keep playing the way we have been. All we’re thinking about is going out and scoring the first goal Friday and taking it from there.”