SALEM — The Peabody girls soccer team opened the season with a bang Thursday afternoon, notching a shutout win over Northeastern Conference foe Salem, 6-0, on the road at McGrath Park.
“First of all, just to be able to get out here and compete as a team is great and we’re all very excited about it,” said Peabody coach Dennis Desroches. “We’re obviously a little nervous because it kind of feels like any game could be your last, but we’re happy to be out here and we’re embracing the opportunity.”
Amber Kiricoples and McKayla Fisher led the way for the Peabody offense, scoring two goals apiece in the win. Emily McDonough and Hailey Baker each scored one goal, while Hailee Lomasney and Aja Alimonti each had two assists. Maddy Scacchi, Megan Billingsley, Logan Lomasney and Jordyn Collins also played well in the victory, while Emma Bloom and Madison Murphy split time in goal to earn the shutout.
“We’ve got a good mix of players this year, with some good senior leadership and also some freshmen and sophomores who are getting some playing time,” said Desroches. “It was nice to see us come together and play well in our first game.”
Peabody came out with force on the offensive end, dominating time of possession early and getting a number of scoring opportunities. The Tanners got things started early when Kiricoples netted her first of the game just four minutes into the game, then Fisher added her first of the game a few minutes later. With a 2-0 lead, Peabody was off and running.
“We wanted to get on top early so we could play our style of game and control the pace,” said Desroches. “It was really nice to take control early.”
From there, the Tanners continued to tack onto the lead. Baker scored in the second quarter to make it 3-0 at the half, then Kiricoples and Fisher scored goals to push the lead to 5-0. After one last tally from McDonough, Peabody was able to cruise to victory.
Despite the strong performance, the Tanners still found themselves stumbling over a few of the new rules put in place this season due to COVID-19.
“It’s an adjustment period for sure,” said Desroches. “A lot of the restrictions go against the players’ instincts, so it’s tough to get used to. But everyone has to deal with it and we’ll continue to work on it in practice.”
Next up for the Tanners (1-0) is their home opener against Swampscott Tuesday afternoon (4).
“There’s a chance of rain right now and we can’t play when the masks get wet, so we’re hoping for some dry weather,” said Desroches.