PEABODY — The weather may have been dark, gloomy, and cold, but there was nothing dreary about the Peabody girls lacrosse team’s performance Thursday afternoon at Coley Lee Field.

After dropping their first two games of the season, the Tanners found their rhythm and were firing on all cylinders, routing Northeastern Conference rival Salem, 16-1.

Peabody scored early and often in this one, jumping out to a 5-0 lead after just four minutes to put the Witches in a scary hole. By the time the quarter ended, it was a 9-0 game and, for all intents and purposes, it was all over.

“Salem was working very hard and they did tighten it up a little after that and their goalie made some big saves,” Peabody head coach Michelle Roach said. “We caught them a little by surprise in the beginning, but they settled down and they were grabbing our cutters and they made us work a lot harder for everything.”

Junior captain Brooke Lomasney led the offense with four goals and three assists. Fellow junior captain Madi Barrett also had a big day with three goals and two helpers. Juniors Ally Bettencourt (goal, 2 assists) and Connie Patturelli (goal) also scored.

The Tanners got some surprise contributions from some of their youngest players, who recorded their first varsity goals. Freshman Sophia Kassis and 8th-grader Sydney Angland scored two goals each, while freshman Brianna Symonds, freshman Elizabeth Moore, and 8th-grader Avanni Ingram scored one goal apiece.

“That was just great to see,” Roach said.

Salem coach Nicole Turton said that, despite the lopsided loss, the Witches had plenty of positives to take away from the game, starting with goalie Mari Diaz (8 saves).

“I am super proud of her as this is only her second season playing goal,” Turton said. “She had some great saves for us today.”

Roach highlighted the play of junior draw specialist Ally Bettencourt, goalie Caitlin Snow, and the defensive unit.

“Ally Bettencourt is doing a really great job on the draw and our defense is, also,” Roach said. “Maia Davis, Connie Patturelli, Aaliyah Sainato and Addie Merrill are really the crux of D-core. They really help us set the tempo with Caitlin Snow to get the ball upfield and get that offense going. Caitlin has already come up really big for us in some critical moments and she was solid today as well.”

Roach added she was quite pleased with the win.

“We had lost non-league contests against two very good programs, Chelmsford and North Andover, which are very, very tough teams, so this was our first home game and our first win, so it was good,” Roach said.

The Tanners have a busy – not to mention, challenging – stretch of conference action ahead of them, starting with their next game Monday morning at home against Marblehead, followed by road games against Masconomet on Thursday (4) and Beverly on Saturday, April 20 (10).

“It’s going to be a test as they are all good teams,” Roach said. “I don’t think we’ve ever beaten Masco.”