Soccer Roundup: English, Swampscott battle to tie

Settling for a tie can sometimes be a tough pill to swallow, but that wasn’t the case Wednesday night at the English-Swampscott boys soccer game, which ended in a 1-1 stalemate.English coach Kerry King and Swampscott coach Mike Chase were both happy to escape Manning Field with a point. Swampscott (5-0-3) remained undefeated and the Bulldogs improved to 4-3-3.”This was a very big point,” King said. “We went up against an undefeated team and tied. It was a measuring stick for us. I think we can play with every team in the league.”Swampscott’s Kyle Taylor headed in a cross from Ethan Scott two minutes into the game to give the Big Blue the early lead, but English responded 15 minutes later when Ashani Nelson took a through pass from Mubarak Nyang, beat the defense and slipped a goal in the far corner. Daniel Cordoba had several clutch saves down the stretch for English to preserve the tie.Chase said his team had plenty of scoring opportunities, but Cordoba played “lights out.” Chase said Cordoba stopped a point-blank shot by Chris Nenshati with about two minutes to go to save the tie.”I thought we controlled a lot of play early on,” Chase said. “My defense played well. It’s a shame we couldn’t pop one in the net, but it’s better than a loss.”King was also happy with his defense, particularly the play of Alex Alvarez and Chukumo Halewhati.The Bulldogs play Winthrop Tuesday (6:30) at Winthrop. That game was originally scheduled for Monday, but it was changed.Lynnfield 2, No. Andover 2At Lynnfield, Matt Dillon scored on a free kick with 10 seconds remaining to salvage the tie for the Pioneers (3-3-2). The Scarlet Knights took a 1-0 lead before the half, but Lynnfield’s Nick Forgione (Steve Knox assist) tied the game 10 minutes later. No. Andover regained the lead on a free kick with 50 seconds remaining, but it was short-lived thanks to Dillon’s heroics.”We’re very excited,” Lynnfield coach Brent Munroe said. “I’m sure we’re a lot happier about it than they were.”Fenwick 4, Arl. Cath. 1At Fenwick, it took a while for the Crusaders (4-2, 4-1 Catholic Central League Large) to find the answer to Arlington Catholic’s offsides trap, but once they did, they managed two score three goals in the final 18 minutes to break a 1-1 stalemate.Pablo Sosa scored the first Fenwick goal with Doug Garabedian (goal, 2 assists) getting the helper. Phil Eagan scored the second goal off a Garabedian corner and Garabedian, who has 10 assists, scored his first goal of the season with Andrew Dinuccio getting the assist. Brandon Ballard scored the final Fenwick goal with Brian Bell assisting. Brian McConnell was in net.GIRLS SOCCERArl. Cath. 2, Fenwick 1At Arlington Catholic, Kristin Verette scored early in the first half on a pass from Lauren Toye-O’Donnell, but the Cougars tied the game three minutes later and won it with five minutes remaining. Jill Dean (10 saves) played well in net.