PEABODY — Having a goaltender you can count on to not only make the big saves, but also follows the play at all times, directs traffic in front of him and has much needed varsity experience can be invaluable at the high school level.
For Exhibit A, we present to you Peabody’s Aidan Haight.
The Tanners’ standout between the pipes was in midseason form during Thursday’s season opener, making 15 saves while his teammates got their offense untracked in the second half of a 6-4 triumph over Danvers at Coley Lee Field.
The contest was tied (1-1) at halftime, so Haight’s nine second half stops proved essential in the Tanners’ victory. He and his teammates — including defensemen Tyson Higgins and Gabe Santos, both seniors, plus junior Ryan Rich, a former short stick, on the back end — held the visitors off the scoreboard for more than two full quarters.
All four Danvers tallies came on the man advantage, with two of those in the final 37 seconds when the outcome had already been decided.
“Aidan was so dialed in,” said Peabody coach Jason Marshall. “Aside from making all those saves, he was also reading the play and even reading the passes a second before anyone else did. He had some amazing clears, too.”
Jaden Kritikos, a senior midfielder who according to Marshall “has one of the better shots in the area”, had a pair of goals for the Tanners. The hosts also received single strikes from Anthony Costanzo, Higgins, Mason Clickstein, and Derek Collins. Costanzo and Higgins both connected via the long pole.
It was a frustrating beginning to the 2025 campaign for Danvers, which led 1-0 after a Tommy Cyr goal until late in the second quarter. Connor Harvey cut his team’s deficit to two (4-2) early in the fourth quarter, but by the time Brady Tersolo (2 assists) and Harvey scored again in the final minute, it was too late.
“This wasn’t the team we looked like in our scrimmages,” admitted head coach Dan Ritchie. “I’m not sure if it was because it was an actual game, or some of our young guys had nerves, but whatever it was we couldn’t get anything going offensively.”
Particularly upsetting for Danvers was that they couldn’t take proper advantage of the 14 penalties assessed to Peabody.
“When it gets physical out there, we tend not to think about scoring on the next possession. We think about revenge,” said Ritchie. “We’ve been preaching for a few years now that we need to focus on doing things to get us the win. It can be very frustrating.”
“We have to clean up those penalties,” added Marshall. “A lot of our guys are stepping up into much bigger roles this season, and there’s pressure that comes with that, but we have to be able to channel that and not put ourselves down a man repeatedly.”
Aidan Perry, who missed all of last season with an injury and sported a brace over his left knee outside his sweatpants Thursday, had a fine game between the pipes for Danvers with nine saves. Cooper Dunham also acquitted himself nicely in the faceoff circle, while freshman middie Ben Campbell earned his first career point with an assist.
Noticeably strong for Peabody was senior Karl Ngunda, a defensive middie who has taken on greater responsibility this spring and responded in kind.
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