Danvers girls defeat Saugus 4-1, advance to D2 semis

DANVERS – If there was a favorite coming into Wednesday evening’s game at Danvers, it was the Danvers Falcons. They finished first in the NEC South with a record of 16-3 and were the third seed in the tourney. Saugus finished third in the NEC South with a record of 8-6-5 and was the 11th seed in D2 North. In their two head-to-head meetings, the Falcons outscored the Sachems, 8-1.There is an old adage in soccer that you don’t want to play a team the third time if you have won the first two. However, the Falcons got the win, 4-1. Danvers will now play Belmont from the Middlesex League at a neutral site with a date and time to be announced.Danvers coach Jim Hinchion was a little apprehensive about the game. He said, “Saugus gave Peabody (the NEC North Champion) a great game until Saugus lost four defenders to injuries.”Saugus coach Ted Moriello had his team ready to play. He said, “We have seen them twice and we know what to expect.”For the 200 fans who braved one of the colder nights of the fall, it was a great game. It pitted the speed and passing skills of the Falcons against the tenacity of the Sachems. Both keepers, Jill Howell for Saugus and Caraline Moholland of Danvers, were outstanding. Their play was definitely tournament caliber.The game started with Danvers pressing Saugus in its own end. Most of the pressure came from the four deep defenders who were in the Saugus end of the field. They kept intercepting the clearing passes and shooting them back in towards the keeper. In the 4th minute, senior co-captain Katelyn Hartnett intercepted a clearing pass, carried the ball down the right wing, and crossed it into the area, where co-captain Ashley Sullivan headed the ball into the far top corner. Howell, the Saugus keeper, had no chance to make a play. This made the score Danvers 1, Saugus 0.Five minutes later, at the 8th minute, the referee called a tripping foul on a Danvers defender in the area and awarded a penalty shot to Saugus. Junior Jillian Herr stepped to the spot and drilled the ball over a diving Moholland to even the score at 1-1. The score remained tied until the 15th minute, when Danvers’ Sullivan again favored the right side of the field, then passed to the left side of the goal. She fed the ball to Alicia Franklin, who came into the area late and picked up the pass and put the ball behind Howell to make the score Danvers 2, Saugus 1. Very gradually, during the remaining twenty-five minutes of the first half, Danvers was controlling the ball for longer periods of time. This was due to the quickness of the Danvers defenders and midfielders, who constantly beat the Saugus players to the ball.The second half had barely begun when the Falcons struck again. Chrissy Barrows, a senior midfielder, took the ball down the left wing and crossed it to Sullivan, who received the pass in the middle of the area and scored against Howell to the left side for her second goal of the game. This made the score Danvers 3, Saugus 1. To the great credit of the Saugus team, it intensified its attack. The Danvers keeper had to make four outstanding saves to keep the two-goal lead. In the 71st minute, the Falcons iced the game. Barrows picked up her second assist of the half when she intercepted a Saugus pass and fed Katelyn Hartnett, who blasted it by the Sachem keeper. This made the score Danvers 4, Saugus 1. Both coaches then emptied their benches, and when the game ended, it was the same score, 4-1, Danvers. Both coaches, who have known each other for years, were liberal in their praise for the other team. Hinchion said, “Saugus always gives us a great game. We were fortunate that the ball bounced our way.”Moriello said, “This is the kind of game you expect from Danvers. They will represent our league very well in the semifinals.”