Girls Soccer Roundup: Wilkie scores two goals to help Saugus qualify for tournament

Saugus got off to a rough start this season, losing its first three games, but the Sachems didn’t stay down for long. With Friday’s 3-0 win over Gloucester, they qualified for the state tournament.”When we lost our first three games, it was getting kind of nerve-wracking, but the kids hung in there, they stayed with the program, and we put on a pretty good run of wins and ties. We’re starting to look a lot better,” Saugus coach Ted Moriello said.Alyssa Wilkie had the golden foot in this one, scoring two goals, the second one coming on a clean breakaway with 17 minutes left. Gabby Cogliano, who had the assist on that one, also scored a goal. Saugus also had assists from Kerri Quinlan and Kaleigh Evans.The Sachems (8-4-2) still have a tough couple of games ahead with Swampscott, Danvers, Winthrop and Central Catholic all on the docket.Marblehead 2, Danvers 2At Marblehead, the Magicians put a ding in the Falcons’ (13-0-1) record. Brittany Russo scored to give Danvers a 1-0 lead (Corey Persson assist), but Marblehead’s Elizabeth Miller, who had both goals for the Magicians, tied it up before the half. Persson scored 12 minutes into the second half to give Danvers a 2-1 lead, but Miller scored again with 49 seconds left to save the day for the Magicians (8-5-1). Liz Whitehill assisted on both goals.Despite only coming away with one point, the Falcons still managed to clinch at least a tie for first in the Northeastern Conference South. Marblehead is six points behind in second place. Danvers played the second half with only 10 players because of a red card.Swampscott 2, Winthrop 0At Winthrop, Tara Nimkar picked up her seventh shutout of the season. Erin Langan got the scoring started with a first-half penalty shot. In the second half, senior captains Marissa Gambale and Skylar Sabbag hooked up for a goal. It was Gambale’s 15th goal of the season. The Big Blue are now 10-4 on the season, with a 9-4 record in the Northeastern Conference.Beverly 3, Classical 0At Hood Park, the Rams (1-12-3) had a much better showing the second time around against the Panthers, but they still came up short. Beverly’s Kate Carlotto scored 31 minutes into the game to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead at the half. Bridget Leahy and Carlotto scored in the second half to put the game out of reach.Classical’s Christine Francois played well at sweeper and goalies Sochitta Men and Mackenzie Coppinger had 25 saves between them.Salem 3, Peabody 2At Bertram Field, the Witches rebounded nicely from a loss to English earlier in the week. Sophomore striker Jasmine Bryant scored all three Salem goals in the first half to put the Witches up, 3-0. Peabody’s Erika Digiacomo made it 3-1 and Sylvi LaFrazia cut the deficit to one on a goal 30 minutes into the second half. Jessica Ngo, Holbrook Phelan and Janelle Gallant all had assists for Salem (7-7-1), which needs three more points to qualify for the tournament.Northeast 1, Tech 0At Manning Field, Northeast scored the winning goal with four minutes left in the game. This one was a battle, with both teams getting their chances. Tech keeper Mah Weah Weah played an excellent game, as did defender Salone Johnson. The Tigers (2-10) have two games remaining.