Girls Soccer: Cleary’s corner kick sends Big Blue past Saugus

Jen Cleary headed in a corner kick by Mallory McDonough with 20 minutes left in the game to lift Swampscott to a 1-0 win over Saugus in girls soccer action Monday at Swampscott.”It was a battle,” Swampscott coach Francesco Recchia said. “We’re very, very evenly matched with Saugus. It was a complete midfield battle. We just happened to finish off that one time.”Freshman Bridget Genoversa-Wong posted the shutout for the Big Blue (9-2-1), who qualified for the state tournament.Saugus (9-4) had strong play from inside midfielder Jessica Capozzi, outside midfielder Gabby Cogliano and defender Lauren Donati.Arl. Catholic 1, St. Mary’s 0At Arlington, the Spartans (5-7-1) lost a heartbreaker when the Cougars scored on a penalty kick with about 15 minutes left to break a scoreless tie.St. Mary’s (5-7-1) has a hill to climb to qualify for the state tournament. The Spartans need seven points in their next five games.”We have a tough road ahead of us,” coach Jim Foley said. “Everyone we have left on the schedule (Austin Prep, Pentucket, Swampscott, Cardinal Spellman and Fontbonne) is tough.”Sweeper Kirsten Ferrari and keeper Angela Dandreo played well for St. Mary’s.Spellman 2, Fenwick 0At Fenwick, Spellman scored 23 minutes into the first half and 23 minutes into the second half. The Crusaders (5-4-4) had good games from Gina Vellucci and Alicia Villett on defense and Brittany Dolan in the midfield.Peabody 5, English 0At Manning Field, the Bulldogs kept the explosive Peabody offense under wraps for most of the first half, allowing only one goal, but the Tanners let loose after the break with four goals. Freshman Hayley Dowd had the hat trick despite a swarming English defense. Emily Manoogian (goal, assist), freshman Victoria DiGiacomo (goal) and Angela Ellison (2 assists) also provided some firepower.”They just keep coming at you and coming at you,” English coach Ed McNeil said.Brittany Goulet had approximately 20 saves (15-16 of them in the first half) for English (5-8-3). Lindsay Roy and Mackenzie Clark supplied some solid defense.”I think their defense and their goalie is what kept them in the game the first half,” Peabody coach Dennis Desrochers said.Cayla Bucci was solid defensively for the Tanners (11-0-1).Salem 2, Classical 0At Manning Field, Lauren Schaejbe scored on a penalty kick 13 minutes into the game and it turned out to be all the offense the Witches (5-5-3) would need. Jasmine Bryant added an insurance tally in the second half with Ashley Maccario picking up the assist. Emma Titus and Lindsay Trammell combined for the shutout.Despite the loss, Classical coach Marcy Durgin was very happy with the way her team played.”We played a great game tonight,” Durgin said, citing strong play from freshman Chelsey Martin on defense, Gabby Galeazzi at halfback and Mackenzie Coppinger in net.Marblehead 3, Gloucester 0At Marblehead, the Magicians (6-5-2) had goals by Meggie Collins, Elizabeth Miller and Mary Keroack with Silvie Cohen getting the job done in net. Emma Crowley and Lindsey Cohen each picked up assists.Beverly 1, Revere 0At Beverly, Heidi Bezemes scored about two minutes into the game and then the defense took over at both ends of the field. Hayley Lorge (3 saves) had the shutout for the Panthers (5-7).Danvers 7, Winthrop 0At Winthrop, Brittany Russo had a monster game for the Falcons, scoring five goals and assisting on one. Nora Harvey (goal, assist); Joanna Zecha (goal, 2 assists); and Becky Landers (2 assists) also helped the cause. Danvers is 12-0-2 overall, 10-0-2 Northeastern Conference.