MARBLEHEAD — The Marblehead girls soccer team has had its share of struggles in the early part of the season, but Monday afternoon saw all phases of the game come together in a 3-0 win over Northeastern Conference opponent Classical at Piper Field.
“We had lost the previous three games, but in every game we were building things up more and more,” said Marblehead coach John Dormer. “We knew at one point we’d put it all together, and once we came out on the field we could see that everything was clicking.”
Marblehead got goals from Carter Murray, Anna Rigby and Mia Attallah in the victory, while Ella Kramer notched one assist.
“We played really well all over, especially out of the back end,” said Rigby, a team captain. “We were able to really lock down on defense and then open things up on offense with some really good passing. It all came together for us out there.”
“We were just able to utilize everyone on the field, which is a key for us,” said fellow captain Emily Pratt. “We were also able to come out with a lot of intensity, which helped us a lot.”
It was a tough game for the Rams, who continue to deal with a rash of injuries across the roster. Now with nine players sidelined, coach Mike Schena knows it’s going to be tough sledding for awhile.
“We just had to keep making adjustments the whole game with new girls coming in and out,” said Schena. “At this point, we’re trying to position everyone in a place where they can make the most impact. But it’s a young team, so everything will take time. But they fought hard out there, and that’s all you can ask for.”
One shining light in the game for Classical was the performance of goalkeeper Anna Flaherty, who made a number of difficult diving saves.
“She did some great work in the net for us,” Schena said of Flaherty. “It’s tough when you have to face that many shots in a game, but she stood tall and took on every challenge.”
It didn’t take long for Marblehead to get on the board in this one, as Murray slipped through the defense and found the back of the net just five minutes into the action, putting the Magicians up 1-0.
“We always say that the first five minutes and the last five minutes of each half are the most important ones, and we played like that,” said junior captain Grace Doody. “We need to come out with that intensity every game.”
“It really helped us set the tone for the game,” added Murray. “We’ve gone up against some really tough opponents so far this year and we haven’t been scoring a lot, so to jump ahead early was big for us.”
The Magicians added to their lead less than 10 minutes later, when Rigby cleaned up a loose ball in the offensive zone, got past a defender and fired a shot under the crossbar. Marblehead took that 2-0 lead into the halftime break.
In the second half, it was mainly a game of possession for Marblehead. However, Attallah capped the scoring for the Magicians with just under 11 minutes remaining. Kramer took a pass from midfield and raced into the offensive zone before slipping a nifty pass past a defender to a waiting Attallah, who broke for the net and knocked one past the keeper for a 3-0 lead.
Next up for Classical (1-5-2) is a matchup with Peabody Wednesday (4).
Marblehead (2-5) visits English Wednesday (5:15).