GLOUCESTER — Put one in the win column for the Gloucester High girls lacrosse team.
After dropping each of their first three games of the season before enduring a lengthy 13-day layoff from competition, the Fishermen finally got on the board with a strong performance against visiting Salem in their return to the turf on Monday afternoon.
Junior Skye Berry scored twice and three others found the back of the net as well as Gloucester came out on top in a defensive battle against their NEC rivals, 5-1.
Not only was it the first victory of the season for GHS, but the first career win for new head Liz Luster.
“They came out aggressive and definitely wanted a win after all being away (for spring break),” said Luster, a GHS alumni. “They worked hard yesterday at practice and came out ready to play, ready to go. I think we needed this, I think they needed it, after not having a win in over three weeks.”
With a young and overall inexperienced roster, the Fishermen are certainly going to endure their share of growing pains this season. They opened the year with setbacks against Malden Catholic, Saugus and Danvers, but showed improvements along the way and were certainly eager to get back to work on Monday.
It showed, as Berry got her squad off on the right foot with a goal in the first quarter. By halftime, Gloucester had seized a 2-0 advantage thanks to another tally from Jordan Macchi. Both of the aforementioned players did a great job of maintaining possession for their team and firing shots on net throughout.
“Skye and Jordan both found a way to get shots on net which was important, especially when we’re making mistakes in the midfield,” added Gloucester assistant coach Ruby Melvin. “Sometimes you want to take as many shots as you can so I think having that, along with Keagan Jewell doing so, too, just putting those shots on net really helped us get ahead.”
While Gloucester was able to jolt ahead in the opening half, nothing came easy. Salem was strong defensively, rushing the ball and forcing the Fishermen to really work it around to find open space.
Still, the hosts were able to remain patient and wait for the right opportunity before striking.
After a scoreless third frame Gloucester was at it again, this time with defender Olivia Testaverde sprinting coast to coast with the ball and firing one home for a 3-0 lead. It was the senior’s first career varsity goal.
Salem responded on a nice shot from Samantha Agno, but Gloucester put home the final two tallies (another from Berry and a final score from Anna Hafey) to officially seal the deal.
“Salem has always been a great team for us to play; always a competitive team so going into this we knew it wasn’t going to be a blowout but a close game regardless,” said Melvin. “I think we went 1-1 with Salem last year so getting a good win like this was definitely needed.”
While the goal scorers got credited in the scoresheet, Gloucester’s defense deserves a ton of praise as well. They were consistent with their marking and slides, and were able to limit Salem’s opportunities at net for four full quarters.
Testaverde was a catalyst on that side of the ball, with Natasha DePaula and goalie Teagan Smith (3 saves) also performing well.
“Defense really stood out today and it helped us a lot because we’re almost half way through the season and a win like this goes a long way going forward; it’s a confidence booster,” said Luster. “We have some tough games coming up, play a tough team tomorrow (Marblehead), so it’s nice to get this win out of the way.”
In total, Berry fired six shots on net, secured two draw controls and scooped a pair of ground balls. Freshman Hayden Koller tallied her team’s only assist of the day while Siri Hale and Jewell also shone.
For Salem, which played a terrific game defensively in their own right, goalie Mari Diaz had a strong showing with nine saves in net.