On a sweltering hot, humid day in the upper 80's, the Danvers Varsity Girls Soccer Team traveled to neighbor Peabody for their opening match of the season.  It was also the first day of school for the Lady Falcons and they wanted to get their season off on the right foot.  Danvers controlled play throughout most of the opening half but couldn't seem to put one by the Tanner goalkeeper.  

 

"We were playing very well.  We kept the ball on the turf and moved it quickly.  We were doing everything right so we were hoping it would be just a matter of time before we found the back of the net.  Our defenders were outstanding.  Senior Captains, Reese Holland and Skylar Laws, along with sophomores Lily Delafano and Addi McCarty were all excellent.  They really limited Peabody any chances in our end of the field."  

 

Senior Captains, Molly Godfried at midfield and Krysta Zamejtis on the wing constantly put pressure on Peabody forcing them into mistakes.  Junior Brooke Wynott did a great job 1 and 2 touch passing with her teammates on offense and hit a wicked direct kick that hit right into the Peabody wall. Still, the Falcons were scoreless.

 

In the 25th minute, freshman Emma Sutherland entered the game, her first minutes as a varsity player.  3 minutes later, she was the hero.  Sophomore mid Georgia Prouty beat her defender and sent a crossing ball into the box, that Sutherland calmly finished for the opening goal of the game.

 

"That was an awesome moment for Emma.  I'm so happy for her and what a great way to pick up the team.  That goal really seemed to get us going.  Hopefully Emma will have many more of those over her 4 year career."

 

Only a minute later, Wynott got her first goal of the season off another assist from Prouty making the score 2-0 at the half.

 

"We subbed a lot in both halves trying to keep the girls as fresh as possible in the extreme heat.  We got some big minutes from new players DeAnna Figueiredo, Ashley Freitas, Liv Ferullo, Addie Lamar, Gianna Sutherland and Lila Flynn.  They all did great and against a Peabody Team that always competes at a high level.  Getting these players confident will be a big part of how well we do as a Team this fall."

 

Danvers had a tough set back early into the second half when star, sophomore defender Lily Delafano went down with a knee injury.  It was a tough several moments on the field and the Danvers Team seemed rattled seeing their teammate in pain.  But Danvers rallied for their teammate and came through with a couple more big goals to double the lead.  Georgia Prouty scored both on assists from sophomores Lila Doucette and  Olivia St. Pierre.  Junior goalkeeper Maddie Demboski made 10 saves on the afternoon to post her first career shutout in the 4-0 win.

 

"Georgia had an amazing offensive day with the 4 points.  Reese Holland set the tone for us early with her outstanding play.  She was fantastic in the back for us challenging for every ball in the air and clearing out anything dangerous.  It's was a solid first win, but our Hearts are all with Lily right now.  We just want her to be ok and our thoughts are with her and her family."

 

With the win Danvers is 1-0 on the season with defending champion Masconomet coming to Danvers Friday night for what should be a thriller.

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