The Danvers Girls Varsity Soccer Team hosted Peabody Tuesday.  With no fog around and no rain, it was a perfect evening for soccer.  The game started out with a lot of back and forth from both sides.  The pace of the game was extremely fast, mainly dictated by the style of play of the visiting Tanners.  However, it was the Falcons that struck early with the first goal in the 12th minute.  Junior Arianna Bezanson fed senior captain Riley DiGilio and the hosts took the early lead.  6 minutes later, DiGilio repaid the favor dishing off a nice assist to Bezanson.  It would be the first of many for the talented junior midfielder.  The Danvers defense was stifling and gave no chances to Peabody.  The back four of Livvi Anderson, Avery Scharffenberg, Gabby Chisholm and Mikayla Shaffaval played aggressive and were continuously first to every ball.  Danvers got the back breaker goal they were looking for with only a second left on the clock before halftime.  Junior Reese Pszenny assisted on Ari Bezanson's second goal of the evening making it 3-0 at the half.

 

"We were able to match their high pace.  Peabody comes at you fast and furious and they don't give you any time to think out there.  But our girls stayed composed and were able to move the ball well under pressure.  Credit Mia Jordan and Julia Vaillancourt for much of that.  They move the ball so quickly and fluidly.  It's really pretty to watch and it certainly helped us withstand the intensity of Peabody's play."

 

Danvers got an insurance goal 3 minutes into the second half.  This time it was Livvi Anderson who sent a long through ball to Bezanson, who finished the opportunity for her third goal of the game.  The finish was her third straight hat trick in as many games.  Late in the third quarter Peabody got on the board with a well struck distance shot to make the score 4-1.  That goal seemed to ignite the Falcons once again as they added two more goals in the final quarter.  Reese Pszenny scored a goal off of a Bezanson shot rebound.  Bezanson added one more goal mid way through the quarter on a nice pass from Pszenny.  

 

"Arianna is playing at another level right now.  We can play her at mid or up top and she's finding ways to get to goal.  11 goals in 3 straight games is pretty amazing, but 8 of those goals came against Swampscott and Peabody - two of the better teams in our league.  That's impressive.  As teams continue to focus more on Ari, it's only going to open up more opportunities for her teammates."

 

The win puts the Falcons at 4-0 heading into a big time clash with unbeaten Masco, 4-0-1.  The game is scheduled to be played Friday at 4:00 with a possible rain date of Saturday at 12:00.  

 

After the game, Coach Hinchion had tons of praise for his defense.  "Livvi was awesome out their tonight.  She is a real difference maker.  She cleans everything up in the back and really limits what other teams can do.  She's an amazing talent.  I also thought Mikayla Shaffaval really set the tone for our team early.  She was first to every ball in her area of the field and set the intensity level high for us.  When you've got a player in Gabby Chisholm playing the exact same style on the opposite side of the field, it really makes our defense strong.  I also have to give high praise to Avery Scharffenberg.  She gives us so much poise when she plays in the back, but she also is a great decision maker when we move her to midfield.  She had a very strong game.  Those 4 defenders really played well tonight."

 

Holly DeAngelis made 9 saves on the night in goal and continues to be very steady between the pipes.  Coach Hinchion also mentioned Haley Murphy, Emma Dunn and Teagan Price as having really strong games.