PEABODY — It was another heartbreaking first round tournament loss for the Peabody High boys soccer team.

The seventh-seeded Tanners were upset by No. 10 Cambridge, 2-0, last night in a Division 1 North first round playoff game before a large crowd at Donahue Field.

The last time Peabody won a first round state tournament game was five years ago against Waltham.

The visiting Falcons broke a scoreless tie in the 54th minute when Simon Cohen's throw-in bounced around in a crowd in front of Peabody goalie Jason Ryan. The defense was unable to clear the ball out of the box, and Cambridge's Pouchy Guerrier booted it into the left corner out of the reach of a diving Ryan.

That goal shifted momentum the visitors' way, and they added an insurance tally with eight minutes remaining when Steven Depina stole the ball from a Peabody defenseman and raced in alone before blasting a low shot into the far corner.

"I knew Cambridge was a very good team and we would have our hands full," said Peabody coach Stan McKeen, his team finishing 12-3-4. "We had the edge in the first half, but we couldn't put the ball in the net. They totally outplayed us in the second half; you can't play the whole half in your own end and expect to win."

Cambridge (12-4-3) is unbeaten in its last 12 games after dropping three of four in the first week-and-a-half.

"We've been coming along after a slow start," said coach Andrew Rollins. "I really knew nothing about this Peabody team, but because they used to play in the GBL I was familiar with their style. We're not used to playing before so many fans, and we got off to a bit of a slow start."

The Northeastern Conference Large champion Tanners made several nice runs in the early going and had the edge, but couldn't get anything past Cambridge senior keeper Oliver McNeely. Ryan was equally good at the other end. The best opportunity came off a Cambridge throw-in that Guerrier headed. Ryan dove to grab it just before the ball went into the net, and it was 0-0 at intermission.

Peabody's Lucas DeOliveira had two good scoring chances early in the second half, but McNeely made a nice save on a free kick, and his second bid was just wide of the net in the 53rd minute. After Guerrier put his team on the board Matt Rodgers came close to getting the equalizer, but his free kick sailed just over the top crossbar with 21 minutes remaining.

For the 12 Peabody High seniors, it was an especially disappointing end to a fine season. McKeen singled out two of them — sweeper Mike Bernazzani and stopper Corey Cronin — for strong performances in the loss.

"This is such a tough loss; I'll never get to play here again," said Bernazzani. "We played our hearts out. It's hard to think our season is over."