English boys qualify for tournament with 5-2 win over Saugus

SAUGUS – The English boys soccer team qualified for the state tournament with a 5-2 decision over Saugus at Anna Parker on Wednesday.English improved to 7-2-2, while Saugus fell to 4-6-1.Click here for a photo gallery.For 28 minutes on Wednesday, the Sachems battled the Bulldogs from end line to end line. Meanwhile, both keepers, Peter Polcari of Saugus and Kerley Der of English, made outstanding point-blank saves.English’s speed, however, was starting to wear down the Sachems, who didn’t have more than a half-dozen subs. In the 28th minute, Jefferson Fobellah carried the ball deep into the right corner and dropped the ball back to Leonel Awokang, who was in the top right corner of the area. He hit a left-footed shot with the outside of his foot that started towards the keeper, who was in the middle of the net. The spin on the ball curved it to the left and it went into the top left corner. This made the score 1-0, English.Three minutes later, at the 31st minute, the same two players were involved in the second goal for English. This time, Awokang hit Fobellah with a short pass through the arc. Fobellah was all alone, and when the keeper came off the line to play him, he flipped a lob over the keeper’s head and it settled in the left corner. This made the score 2-0, English ? which remained the score at halftime.The second half opened with a new keeper for English. Freshman Alex Zayas was in the net with English having the kickoff. Fobellah carried the ball deep into the right corner and fired a 30-yard cross through the area that Awokang headed by the keeper. This score was in the first minute of the second half.In the next 17 minutes, the Bulldogs hit for two more. In the 55th minute, co-captain George Herrera sent a long through ball up the middle and found fellow co-captain Franck Wansi breaking in on the net. Wansi beat the keeper short side low and the score was now 4-0, English.Three minutes later, in the 58th minute, Jose Ayala put a low cross from the right side and Richard Charles one-timed the shot past the keeper. Now the score was 5-0, Bulldogs.English coach Kerry King emptied his bench and put nine players into the game. They all finished the game. During this time, Saugus hit for two scores. In the 64th minute, co-captain David Velasquez scored an unassisted goal from a scramble in front of the net. An English defender misplayed the ball and Velasquez had his goal. With two minutes to go, Saugus scored again. Velasquez set up fellow co-captain Derek Cordere in front and he beat Zayas to the low right corner. This made the final score 5-2, English.After the game, King said, “We needed this. It was a makeup game from two weeks ago. We play Swampscott tomorrow and it will be our fourth game this week. I was glad that I could pull most of the starters and give them a little rest. Jefferson and Leonel were outstanding in the first half, but much credit goes to our deep defenders, who shut down Saugus until we pulled them out with 20 minutes to go.”Saugus coach Tom Duplisea was upbeat with the work of his team.”We played a strong first half and started to wear down in the second half,” he said. “Their team speed was outstanding.”Saugus now gets ready to play Thursday against Revere.