SWAMPSCOTT ― The Peabody boys soccer team may not have played its most consistent game Tuesday afternoon, but the Tanners put together enough solid plays to come away with a 5-2 win over Northeastern Conference foe Swampscott on the road at Blocksidge Field.
“We didn’t play consistent possession soccer like we’re capable of, but we moved the ball well at times,” said Peabody coach Stan McKeen. “I thought we missed out on a couple of really good opportunities to score in the first half, but it all panned out and we were able to get the win.”
Junior Victor Maciel led the way for Peabody with two goals, while senior Marc Ortiz added one goal and one assist. Juniors Ryan Alves and Bruno Correia each scored one goal, while senior Matthew Calver had two assists and sophomore Hugo Coutinho had one assist.
For Swampscott, junior Andrew Freger and senior Valerio Tatafiore each scored one goal in the loss.
“This was a good lesson for the guys and it gives us things to work on when we get back to it (Wednesday),” said Swampscott coach Adam Bailey. “Peabody is a strong team and they put up a great fight.”
The game was scoreless for the first 10 minutes of play before Peabody got on the scoreboard. After taking the ball up the right side, Calver sent a cross into the box that was headed into the net by Ortiz to make it a 1-0 game.
But Swampscott answered right back, getting a goal from Freger to knot the score at 1-1 and even out the momentum.
The game was back-and-forth for the next several minutes from there, but Peabody was able to retake the lead with about 13 minutes left in the first half when Correia knocked home a rebound. Then, with less than 30 seconds to play in the half, Maciel scored his first of the game to give the Tanners a 3-1 lead at the break.
Peabody then came right out and scored early in the second half, with Maciel finding the back of the net for the second time.
Swampscott was able to get a goal back a few minutes later when Tatafiore launched a missile into the back of the net from 25 yards out, but Peabody offset that momentum when Alves scored to make it a 5-2 game with about 14 minutes to play.
The Big Blue made a couple of runs at the net to try and get a little closer, but the Peabody defense held strong and the Tanners walked away with the win.
Swampscott (1-2-0) travels to Saugus Thursday (4).
“The way we’re looking at it is this game is over and in the past, and it’s time to look ahead to the next one,” said Bailey. “We’ll talk about what we need to do to improve, then hopefully go out to Saugus Thursday and bring home a win.”
Peabody (2-1-0) hosts Gloucester Thursday (4).
“We just need to keep working on the fundamentals and focus on moving the ball more,” said McKeen. “We’ve got three games this week, so we’ve got to stay focused and hopefully come out of the week with a winning record.”