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Accomando sisters power Panthers past Tanners

Thursday, May, 08 By Jean DePlacido
Correspondent

PEABODY | It may have been Senior Day for the host Peabody High girls lacrosse team yesterday at at Donahue Field, but the day truly belonged to a pair of sisters from Beverly.

The Accomando sisters, senior Alyssa and sophomore Mary, combined for four goals and two assists to guide their Panthers to an 11-8 win over the Tanners.

Alyssa Accomando, a Northeastern Conference all-star last season, powered the Panthers (9-2) offensively by scoring two goals and adding a pair of assists. Her younger sister also played a big role in the offense with two scores of her own.

Much like their first meeting this season a week ago, when Beverly had to withstand a late rally by the Tanners for an eventual 8-7 victory, this one provided some late drama. Once again, Peabody attempted to make a second half comeback yesterday before the Panthers' Jess Shaw and Alyssa Accomando scored back-to-back goals 34 seconds apart, giving their team an insurmountable 11-6 lead with just over six minutes to play.

"I don't know what it is, but we can't seem to take control when we play Peabody," said Beverly first-year coach Alyson Healey.

"Last week we battled them all the way and were fortunate to come away with a win. They match up well with us and have girls who are not afraid to drive to the net. We were not consistent in our passing, and at times allowed them to take momentum by beating us to ground balls.

"But we were able to build off a couple of nice passes to increase our lead and really came together as a team, both on offense and defense," Healey added. "A lot of different people were involved in the scoring; that is the way it usually is for us. We don't rely on any one person to get the goals, but (rather) pass the ball around."

The Panthers had a 7-4 lead at intermission, scoring six times in a row after Peabody's Katie Henrick gave her team a 1-0 lead. Mary Accomando and Janie Cooper both had a pair of goals during that run while Katie Williams also scored the first of her three on the afternoon.

Peabody rallied on goals by Caroline Connors and Amanda Lowry before Meg Finn put Beverly ahead by three at the half.

"We got down in a hole, and it was very difficult to climb out of," said Peabody's Dennis Desroches, who is also a rookie head coach. "But I'm very proud of the girls for coming back and making a game of it. They all put forth a lot of effort."

Williams struck early in the second half to open up a four-goal cushion for the Panthers before freshman Brittany Lefave (2 goals, 2 assists) made a strong move to the net and beat Beverly goalie Breezy Dwyer to bring Peabody within three again with 13:30 remaining.

But each time Peabody (6-6) appeared to have momentum, Beverly answered at the other end. Alyssa Accomando capped off a fast break before Lowry scored on a nifty individual effort. Tanner goalie Brittany Costa made 17 saves and came up with a couple of fine stops in the second half to keep her team in the game.

Beverly had strong outings from Katie Von Zweck, Shaw and Cooper, all of whom had single assists.

Desroches singled out Molly Sacherski, who had two assists from a defensive position. Lowry finished with three goals and an assist while Connors scored twice.